Wave power specialists Mocean Energy has secured major new investment to accelerate the commercial roll-out of its innovative wave energy technology.
The Edinburgh firm has raised £730 000 in equity funding from existing funders, led by syndicate Equity Gap, together with Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund, and Scottish Enterprise.
The new funds will enable Mocean to advance the design of their next-generation Blue Star wave machine and drive its adoption in subsea oil and gas. Last year the firm successfully trialled its Blue X prototype at sea at the European Wave Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, and is currently collaborating with partners to advance a demonstrator project, called Renewables for Subsea Power, to show how their technology can be coupled with underwater energy storage to provide reliable low carbon power to subsea equipment and autonomous underwater vehicles.
They now plan to test this system at sea this year. Commenting on the new funds, Mocean Energy MD Cameron McNatt said: “The equity funding … will allow us to accelerate our product roll out. This year we’ll start fabricating Blue Star 10 – a 10 kW machine based around the Blue X design which will begin commercial trails in 2023. In parallel we are developing our next-generation Blue Star 20, a 20 kW machine based on a new optimised geometry, which will include solar panels and a novel direct drive generator, with trials and rollout targeted for 2024-25.”
