Ocean wave energy company CorPower Ocean, has secured €32 million (roughly USD$35 million) in its Series B1 funding, its largest funding round to date. The company, which recently completed upgrades on its newest C4 model in Portugal, plans to use the funding to advance toward commercialization, including increasing the technology’s peak power output from 600 kilowatts (kW) to 850 kW.
Founded in 2012, CorPower uses point-absorber technology to convert the power of ocean waves into electricity. A buoy on the ocean’s surface is connected to the seabed using a tensioned mooring system. The waves move the buoys which convert the power stored in those waves into mechanical energy and then into electrical energy. CorPower has operations in Sweden, Norway, Portugal and Scotland, and is expanding to the U.S. West Coast.
“We’re hugely grateful for the support and confidence from this premiere group of investors who bring crucial experience and capacity to support our mission to power the planet with clean electricity from ocean waves,” said CorPower Ocean Co-founder & CEO Patrik Möller. “This financing combined with the technology breakthrough recently reported delivers a firm message about wave energy’s readiness for widescale adoption and its key role in the global energy transition.”
The funding was led by NordicNinja VC – the largest Japanese backed VC in Europe focusing on Deep Tech and Climate Tech, SEB Greentech the cleantech investment arm of the SEB bank, and EIT InnoEnergy. The investor consortium also includes Santander Asset Management, Iberis Capital, Cisco Investments and existing investors.
“The CorPower Ocean team combines decades of wave-power experience and world-class company building ability to unlock untouched ocean resources in Europe, the US and Japan,” said NordicNinja VC’s Managing Partner Tomosaku Sohara. “We are excited to support CorPower Ocean as a lead investor, and this funding round is a strong testament to the team’s achievement and the momentum from the market.”
With a theoretical potential of 30,000 terawatt hours (TWh), and a resource that covers over 70% of the planet, wave energy has the potential to be the world’s largest source of energy if technology developers can solve its challenges. Increased investment, such as that received by CorPower is essential to bringing this renewable to market.
EIT InnoEnergy CEO Diego Pavia said, “Wave energy is a must to supply the 24/7 green electricity we need to decarbonize the energy and industrial system. CorPower Ocean has consistently demonstrated the energy ratings and maintainability it promised, also in harsh environments.”
