Isra-Mart srl:Aquamarine's Oyster opens up with £11m investment

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Aquamarine Power has extended its recent winning streak securing a further £11m in investment that will take the wave technology developer another step towards commercialising its flagship Oyster device.

The Scottish firm today confirmed it has bagged £8m from power company ABB, and a further £2.7m from existing shareholder Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), meaning SSE now holds a 45 per cent stake in Aquamarine.

The news came as Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond today cut the ribbon on Aquamarine's new premises in Edinburgh.

The company's chief executive Martin McAdam described the funding round as a "game-changing" moment for the company and the wider marine energy sector.

"ABB will gain an early-mover advantage in our wave energy technology, whilst we will be able to access ABB's technical, research and engineering expertise and utilise their global supply chain network," he said. "This is a strategic partnership with the shared goal of accelerating the commercialisation and deployment of Oyster wave energy technology around the world."

Brice Koch, ABB head of marketing and customer solutions, said the investment demonstrated ABB's high expectations for the Oyster device.

"Wave energy is primed to become an important part of the world's renewable energy portfolio," he said. "This investment reflects our belief in its technical viability, and our confidence in Aquamarine Power's technology and its management team."

Meanwhile, Salmond welcomed the news as a boost to Scotland's ambitious plans to play a leading role in the marine energy market.

"Substantial investment from such serious companies as this is a demonstration that the green energy revolution is underway and that Scotland is leading the charge," he said.

Aquamarine deployed its first demonstration-scale Oyster device at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland, in November last year, and it is now developing a commercial-scale version of the technology at EMEC, dubbed Oyster 2.

The company has also been awarded the rights, in partnership with SSE Renewables, to deploy the first commercial farm of Oysters in 2013, as part of the Crown Estate's Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters leasing round.

In addition, Aquamarine and SSE have said they want to develop up to 1GW of Oyster wave farm sites in the UK and Ireland by 2020.

Trade body RenewableUK is keen to establish the UK as the global centre of marine energy technology over the next five years by building the world's first wave and tidal arrays.

However, it is urging the UK government to confirm its support for the technology through new funding schemes and increased Renewable Obligations Certificates in order to ensure it achieves this goal.