Major funding lift for Edinburgh wave power pioneer at heart of net-zero emission drive

An Edinburgh-based wave power pioneer has raised the thick end of £1 million to bring green power to subsea oil and gas.

Mocean Energy has secured the investment to accelerate the commercialisation of its ground-breaking wave energy technology.

Mocean Energy has secured the investment to accelerate the commercialisation of its ground-breaking wave energy technology.

The capital start-up has raised £612,000 of equity seed funding along with £250,000 from Innovate UK to advance the design of its Blue Star wave machine and drive its adoption in subsea oil and gas.

The funding round has been led by business angel syndicate Equity Gap and includes investment by Old College Capital, which is the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund, and the Scottish Investment Bank – the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.

The equity funding unlocks a further £250,000 from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

Mocean Energy managing director Cameron McNatt said: “Our goal is to produce a commercially-available wave machine which can deliver low carbon power for tie backs and future fleets of autonomous AUVs [autonomous underwater vehicles].”

McNatt has worked alongside company co-founder Chris Retzler to build a 12-strong expert team to take the technology forward.

“Blue Star has been created from first principles to operate autonomously in remote locations and deliver green energy for a range of applications – including scientific ocean monitoring, aquaculture, oil and gas, and delivering energy to remote communities,” added McNatt.

“We are currently working with firms in the Scottish supply chain to build and deliver our first prototype, which will commence testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney next year.”

Fraser Lusty, director, Equity Gap, said: “Mocean Energy has an exciting technology backed by some very sound science and ideally placed to help the oil and gas sector decarbonise its operations, with other worldwide applications to follow.

“This funding allows them to broaden their team and seek well-aligned commercial partners who can bring offshore experience to accelerate their ambitious plans.”

Kerry Sharp, director of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “Bold and ambitious low carbon technology companies like Mocean Energy are fundamental to Scotland’s transition to a net-zero emission economy.

“This latest injection of funding, alongside the significant Innovate UK funding, will allow the team at Mocean to move ever closer to fully commercialising their ground-breaking wave power technology.”

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