The news follows the announcement last month that a full-scale demonstrator of Aquamarine’s Oyster wave energy converter has been successfully deployed at its testing berth at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. Work is currently ongoing to connect Oyster to sub-sea pipelines which will deliver high pressure fresh water to an onshore turbine and the company expects to begin generating power to enable full-scale offshore testing, which will take up to two years, to begin later this year.
Aquamarine has a total funding requirement of approximately £50 million to take Oyster through to commercialisation, which will be raised in stages, with a second fundraising round due to commence shortly. Aquamarine expects to have a fully commissioned commercially available wave farm in place by 2014.
Martin McAdam, Chief Executive Officer of Aquamarine Power commented that “there will be winners and losers along the way as technologies compete for market share and Oyster has all the right ingredients to be one of the winners – an amazing piece of UK engineering which is one of the best wave devices out there.”
The Oyster system consists of a hinged flap connected to the seabed at around 10 metres depth. Each passing wave moves the flap which drives a hydraulic piston to deliver high pressure water to an onshore turbine which generates electricity. The key strength of Oyster is the simplicity of its design, with minimal moving parts and all electrical components onshore. The device is also designed for deployment near shore in depths of around 10 to 12 metres; which means it is easy to access and will also capture power efficiently in the smallest of seas.
A commercial farm of just 20 devices (15 MW) could provide clean renewable energy to power a town of 9,000 homes. Oyster has already demonstrated that it can produce electricity on a commercial scale during onshore testing at the New and Renewable Energy Centre, near Newcastle (England) and has an agreement in place with Airtricity, the renewable energy division of Scottish and Southern Energy, to develop up to 1,000 MW of marine energy sites by 2020 using Oyster technology.
As well as securing funding from Scottish and Southern Energy subsidiary, Renewable Technology Ventures (RTVL), and Sigma Capital Group plc., it has received funding and support from Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Technology Strategy Board, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Scottish Government.
Martin MacAdam added that “raising substantial funds in these exceptionally difficult market conditions is an incredible achievement for Aquamarine. It proves that there is considerable investor appetite for renewable energy companies. Aquamarine has a great team in place with the technological and commercial know-how to take Oyster all the way through to the finishing line.”
For additional information:
