UK-based wave energy company Aquamarine Power secured £7m ($10.8m) on 27th September from investors including SSE Ventures, the corporate venturing division of energy firm Scottish and Southern Energy, and power and automation corporation ABB.
SSE and ABB each contributed £3m, with the remaining £1m coming from Scottish Enterprise, which acts as an enterprise agency for the regional Scottish government. Aquamarine raised £11m, in November 2010, with ABB contributing £8m and SSE £3m.
Derrick Allan, head of ventures at SSE, said: "With its Oyster technology, Aquamarine Power has a proven marine technology and a clear programme for developing it into a commercial product. The consistent delivery of key milestones by the Aquamarine Power management team, is what has given us the confidence to make a further investment in Aquamarine Power and ensure it is able to move forward to full commercialisation over the next few years."
Gary Steel, member of the ABB Group Executive Committee, added: "This investment underscores our belief in the strategic importance of the marine sector as part of ABB’s overall focus on renewable energies. We see the progress that Aquamarine Power is making in deploying its next generation Oyster as further confirmation of the strength of Aquamarine Power’s technology and its management team."
The funding follows a £3.4m loan obtained from Barclays Bank earlier in the month to part-finance the completion of a wave power array, in Scotland. SSE, ABB and Scottish Enterprise are now working in conjunction to develop a further round of funding worth £18 million in order to accelerate commercialisation of Aquamarine, targeted for 2014.