The company will use the cash to design, manufacture and test a purpose-built quarter scale model prototype of the WaveSub, a wave energy converter. It is hoped trials will begin next year.
The private investors, all based in the Swansea area, made the investment under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). The money from the Welsh Government was £359,000 in SMARTCymru research, development and innovation funding, as reported by Insider last week.
The company, co-founded by Swansea University graduates Dr Gareth Stockman and Dr Graham Foster in 2009, has previously raised around £250,000 from a combination of government grants and private investors to build its earlier prototypes.
Dr Gareth Stockman, Managing Director at Marine Power Systems, said:
“We are very grateful to our investors who clearly understand the revolutionary potential of the technology we are developing.
“This will ultimately generate global interest as wave energy can potentially be harnessed in almost any offshore environment using the technology that we have developed.
“We are now very excited about embarking on the next phase of testing for the device. It represents a big step forward for us as a company. Should the results be as positive as we anticipate we are only a few years away from the full commercialisation of this technology.”
The WaveSub is said to solve the four main challenges involved in harnessing wave energy. These are: developing efficient energy capture in any sea conditions; securing the technology’s long-term survivability in a harsh environment; ensuring the devices are easy to deploy, recover and service; and guaranteeing they are cost efficient to build in relation to the power they produce.
Two of the investors in Marine Power Systems are Chris Richards, one of the founders of Eco2, a developer and operator of a wide range of renewable energy projects; and Justin Morris, the founder and chief executive of DezRez, a developer of software and back office services for estate agents.
The advisers on the deal were law firm JCP Solicitors, accountancy firm Bevan & Buckland and patent attorney Chapman Molony.
Original Article by Insider Media