Australian govt agency backs Carnegie to support wave energy deployment in Spain

Carnegie Clean Energy has secured a bond facility agreement with Export Finance Australia (EFA) to support the ACHIEVE Program’s CETO wave energy technology deployment at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) in the Basque Country, Spain. 

The agreement is said to see EFA provide advanced payment guarantee bonds, enabling Carnegie’s subsidiary, Carnegie Technologies Spain, to access grant funding for the ACHIEVE Program before project completion.

According to Carnegie Clean Energy, this funding is part of the AGUAMARINA and ACHIEVE+ projects, supported by the Spanish Government and the Basque Government’s Ente Vasco de la Energia.

The €2.4 million bond facility was structured to bolster cash flow during the construction, deployment, and delivery stages of the project, the company noted.

“It is exciting to have Export Finance Australia on board and standing behind our CETO wave energy technology on its first European deployment. The upcoming deployment in the Basque Country will allow us to prove, in a relatively short timeframe, CETO’s scaled electricity generation capacity and operational efficiency, in Europe’s rapidly growing addressable market for ocean energy,” said Jonathan Fievez, Carnegie’s CEO.

“We’ve worked closely with EFA to develop this Bond Facility which enables us to access beneficial advanced payment terms with the Spanish Government and Basque Energy Agency which otherwise would be challenging for small technology developers like us. EFA has undertaken extensive due diligence and their decision to provide the bond facility shows confidence in our technology, our team, and our capability to deliver the ACHIEVE Programme. We are grateful for the support and confidence from Export Finance Australia.”

Carnegie outlined key terms of the agreement, including a 5.0% risk premium fee, a 0.45% bond issuer fee, and no bond cash security requirement at commencement. EFA has also secured general security over Carnegie and its subsidiaries.

In addition to a $2.5 million loan from Ballamena Pty Ltd ATF Ellan Finance Unit Trust, the EFA bond facility will enable Carnegie to navigate cash flow challenges typically associated with advanced payment guarantees.

Carnegie’s ACHIEVE Program marks the Australian company’s first European deployment of its CETO wave energy technology. This milestone is expected to position Carnegie for growth in Europe’s emerging ocean energy market.

Carnegie is also progressing other initiatives to validate and commercialize its technology. In September, the company contracted Lloyd’s Register to begin certification for CETO, advancing the classification process for its wave energy solution.

Additionally, Carnegie’s subsidiary, CETO Wave Energy Ireland (CWEI), recently secured a progress payment of €251,100 under the EuropeWave Phase 3 contract. The company also extended its collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in November for two more years, focusing on integrating AI-driven enhancements into CETO’s wave energy technology.

In November, the Australian company extended collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) by two years, focusing on integrating advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing into the company’s CETO wave energy technology.