2025 has been a successful year for ESR Technology, reflecting both the strength of our technical expertise and the trust our clients place in us across multiple current and emerging sectors.
Building on the momentum of recent years, ESR sustained 10% sales growth across 2024 and 2025, underpinned by continued investment in people, innovation, and specialist capability. From advancing safety and risk methodologies for the energy transition to award-winning space research and expanded inspection and tribology services, this year has demonstrated the breadth of ESR’s impact and our commitment to delivering technically excellent, innovative solutions.
In 2025, ESR Technology solidified its position as a key partner in the energy transition while reinforcing its long-standing reputation for technical safety excellence. A major milestone was our sponsorship of the IChemE Hazards 35 conference, where we presented technical papers on CO2 release modelling for pioneering UK offshore injection trials. We further expanded our technical footprint in the UK and Europe by attending the FABIG Technical Meeting in Paris and SafeNetZero25 in Edinburgh, engaging with global experts on the critical shift ‘From Hydrocarbons to Hydrogen’ and ensuring our fire and explosion safety methodologies remain at the cutting edge.
At the HYNET Conference in Chester, we engaged with clients about hydrogen decarbonisation while affirming our long-term support for the Stanlow Refinery. At the Offshore Energies UK HSE Conference in Aberdeen, ESR actively engaged with clients on the future of energy, discussing with offshore operators about novel projects, including floating offshore wind. Furthermore, ESR continued to drive consequence modelling techniques, publishing guidance on terrain effects for tank overfill to support robust COMAH Safety Reports, ensuring we remain the go-to experts for major hazards support across both traditional and emerging sectors.
European Space Tribology Laboratory (ESTL) and ESR Space:
For our Space Group, 2025 was a successful year. A key highlight for the ESTL team was the completion of research and the move to commercialisation of enhanced MoS2-based lubricant variants having improved life and environmental resilience. This was presented by Dr Michael Buttery, Principal Project Scientist, at this year’s ESMATS conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, and was recognised by receiving the Best Presentation Award 2025.
ESR Space achieved genuine growth in 2025, underpinned by steady recurrent builds activity for long-standing customers and the successful award of new mechanism design work for flight programmes. This included both traditional space instruments (PMI) and new space Earth observation instruments. The team also secured work on ESA’s first lunar surface exploration rover, MAGPIE, and strategically positioned the business for anticipated future demand in this sector, with three developments progressing towards potential productisation.
National Centre of Tribology (NCT):
This year has been a strong and highly productive one for the National Centre of Tribology, with numerous achievements to highlight. The team has seen a substantial increase in turnover within its hardware assessment and forensics business, reflected in a record number of bearing assessments. This growth also includes selection for a major nuclear industry project focused on replacing obsolete mechanical components through the development of bespoke testing capabilities and the application of specialist tribology expertise, alongside the award of a significant contract for a major bridge assessment.
The business unit has continued to enhance its laboratory capabilities, investing in new equipment such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). This addition enables more detailed characterisation of lubricant degradation, supporting the critical analysis required for bearing inspection and failure investigation work.
The NCT team has also strengthened its technical capability through multiple new hires in 2025. The addition of Senior Consultants Aaina Cooke and Dr David Macmillan, along with Principal Consultant Stephen Lewis, brings extensive expertise across tribology, materials, and mechanical engineering, further reinforcing the team’s core technical strengths.
Inspection Consultancy and HOIS:
In 2025, ESR made significant contributions to the HOIS community and the wider industry. The team delivered seven presentations across conferences and seminars and issued eleven technical reports and guidance documents to HOIS members. Transparency and knowledge sharing were further strengthened with four previously confidential HOIS guidance documents released into the public domain.
The year also marked the return of Aker Solutions to HOIS, reinforcing the strength of the group, and alongside this, the public launch of HOIS-RP-058, the HOIS Recommended Practice for the Remote Internal Inspection of Pressure Vessels, supporting safer and more efficient inspection practices across the sector.
Looking Ahead
As we reflect on 2025, it is clear that ESR Technology continues to grow not only in scale but in influence, capability, and impact. Our success this year has been driven by the dedication of our experts, the strength of our client partnerships, and our ability to apply deep technical expertise to the most complex engineering and safety challenges. As we move into 2026, ESR remains firmly focused on supporting the energy transition, advancing space and tribology technologies, and delivering trusted, independent expertise across all our business areas.