Mocean Energy steps up commercialization plans with new funding and investors on board

Scottish wave energy company Mocean Energy has raised €2.5 million in new equity, alongside €572,000 grant to drive the commercialization of its wave energy technologies, bringing Katapult Ocean and MOL Plus as new investors in the business.

The equity funds come from existing investors including Equity Gap, Scottish Enterprise and Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh’s venture investment fund, alongside new shareholders Norwegian impact investors Katapult Ocean and MOL Plus, the corporate venture capital arm of listed Japanese shipping conglomerate MOL.

In addition, Mocean Energy has secured a Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund grant, targeted specifically at the detailed design, build and testing of key subsystems for their small-scale Blue Star wave energy machine.

The low carbon fund is administered by Scottish Enterprise and is part of Making Scotland’s Future, a partnership between the Scottish Government, public agencies, industry, and academia that aims to secure a strong, sustainable future for the country’s manufacturing businesses.

The new funds will help the Edinburgh and Aberdeen-based company commercialize and secure first orders for Blue Star which will be built in Scotland and is targeted at decarbonizing subsea operations in the offshore energy sector.

It will also drive further research and development into Mocean Energy’s large-scale Blue Horizon technology, which was recently awarded €3.7 million by the EU-backed EuropeWave program.

According to the company, it plans to refine the Blue Horizon 250kW design ahead of the manufacture and deployment of a grid-connected machine at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney as early as 2025.

Cameron McNatt, Mocean Energy’s managing director and co-founder, said: “This new equity investment is significant for Mocean Energy – not just in the quantum invested, but in the additional strengths and specialist expertise our new shareholders bring.

“MOL has a global footprint in marine transport sector and MOL Plus will help us access MOL Group’s significant resources and expertise to accelerate our commercialization.

“Katapult Ocean invests solely in technologies which will have a positive impact on our oceans, and the Mocean team will now be able to participate in Katapult Ocean’s award-winning accelerator program to help drive our business growth.

“The grant funding is also vital and has been match funded through this new equity round. It will help us accelerate the commercial development of our Blue Star technology.

“The coming years will be crucial to Mocean Energy, and as we scale up we need to take on board all of the learnings from our current Renewables for Subsea Power project and draw on the experience of our partners and new investors.

“I am extremely grateful to our existing shareholders who have invested again in this round, to Scottish Enterprise and to MOL Plus and Katapult Ocean for joining us on this exciting journey.”

Takuya Sakamoto, CEO of MOL Plus, added: “We believe that Mocean Energy has a great potential of growth in this market with a strong team of advanced initiatives and rapid implementation of their Blue Star project.

“We will keep up with the Blue Star and Blue Horizon projects and be proactive with collaborating with Mocean Energy and all partners. To support this, we have agreed a memorandum of understanding for business alliance between Mocean Energy, MOL HQ and MOL Plus. We are looking forward to an exciting journey with Mocean Energy.”

Mocean Energy is currently a key participant in the multi-million Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) program which has connected its 10kW Blue X wave energy prototype with a Halo underwater battery system developed by Aberdeen intelligent energy management specialist Verlume.

The two technologies are currently in the seas off Orkney where they are delivering low carbon power and communication to infrastructure including Baker Hughes’ subsea controls equipment and a resident underwater autonomous vehicle (AUV) provided by Transmark Subsea. The program has been supported by industry partners alongside the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).

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