Green Ocean Energy Attracts £250,000 Investment Package

Green Ocean Energy has secured a significant boost to the development of its wave power technology after receiving £100,000 of funding from the Scottish Enterprise Seed Fund, matched by £150,000 of private investment. The company, which is based in Carden Place, Aberdeen, has been awarded the investment package by Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Seed Funding initiative which aims to improve the availability of finance for start-up and young growing companies in Scotland. The support will allow the company to continue the engineering and testing of its ground breaking Wave Treader device which is designed to attach to the transition piece of an offshore wind turbine thereby providing combined wind and wave energy. Graeme Bell, Special Projects Director at Green Ocean Energy said: “We are delighted to receive this support from Scottish Enterprise. The funding will enable the company to take a major step forward and begin detailed engineering and design of a full scale Wave Treader. It’s been an exciting time for the company and we’re enjoying a fantastic level of interest in our activities. “The confidence Scottish Enterprise has shown in us has also helped open doors to potential private backers and we are currently in discussions with a number of other possible investors.” The Scottish Seed Fund provides financial support of between £20,000 and £100,000 to new Scottish companies with Green Ocean Energy attracting the maximum amount of funding available. Neil Ross, investment director at Scottish Enterprise said: “Green Ocean Energy is currently developing an exciting new product for the renewable energy sector, so this provided a great opportunity for us to invest in an early stage company operating in one of Scotland’s fastest-growing sectors” The Wave Treader device is designed to rotate to face into the oncoming wave harnessing its energy and then convert the motion into electricity. This is then fed back to shore through the offshore wind farm’s existing cable network. A 1:12.5 ratio scale prototype of Wave Treader has undergone detailed testing at wave tanks at Strathclyde University to determine its likely power output. Initial results suggest a peak power rating of 500kw but this is expected to improve through further optimisation and design improvements. It is anticipated that manufacture of a full scale prototype will commence next year once a suitable site has been identified with deployment in early 2011. Commercialisation is expected to begin in 2012. For further details about Green Ocean Energy phone 01224 651051.