Mocean secures funding to commercialise wave power technology

UK wave power start-up Mocean Energy has attracted GBP 2.7 million (USD 3.29m/EUR 3.08m) in fresh capital to support the commercialisation of its wave energy technologies and secure first orders.

Mocean’s flagship products include the smaller wave energy machine Blue Star and the utility-scale wave energy converter Blue Horizon the development of which is backed by a prototype model, the Blue X, which was installed off the coast in 2021.

The new funds will help the British firm commercialise and secure first orders for Blue Star which will be deployed in Scotland and is targeted at decarbonising subsea operations in the offshore energy sector, the company said in a statement published today.

A portion of the proceeds will also go for additional research and development related to the Blue Horizon technology. Mocean intends to refine the 250-kW device ahead of the manufacture and deployment of a grid-connected machine at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney as early as 2025.

The capital secured by the Edinburgh and Aberdeen-based company includes GBP 2.2 million raised in a funding round that attracted two new shareholders -- Norwegian impact investors Katapult Ocean and MOL PLUS, the corporate venture capital arm of listed Japanese shipping conglomerate MOL. It was also backed by existing investors including Equity Gap, Scottish Enterprise and University of Edinburgh’s venture investment fund Old College Capital.

Some GBP 499,500, on the other hand, was secured as a grant under the Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund. The sum is targeted specifically at the detailed design, build and testing of key subsystems for the Blue Star machine.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.222/EUR 1.144)

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