UK-Based Plunge Pool Will Be "Huge" Research Asset

A 50-m-deep plunge pool will be the centerpiece of a planned U.K. research and testing facility at a site near Cornwall, England. The 16-m-dia. shaft will drop below a 50-m-by-40-m pool to form “a huge research asset for aerospace, offshore energy, underwater robotics, human physiology, defense, leisure and marine industries,” says John Vickers, CEO of project owner Blue Abyss Diving Ltd. The company aims to construct the pool in 18 months, in 2023, subject to securing planning approval. The job is valued at about $70 million, with London-based Pell Frischmann Consultants handling the civil design.