Mocean Energy, a wave energy company based in Edinburgh, has secured £3.2 million in European Union funding for the development and deployment of a 250kW wave energy device named Blue Horizon 250. This large-scale wave energy device will be manufactured in Scotland and deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney as early as 2025. The project aims to pave the way for a small wave farm capable of delivering 1 to 2 MW of low-carbon electricity by 2030.

The funding comes from Phase 3 of EuropeWave, a pre-commercial procurement program funded by the EU and managed in collaboration with Wave Energy Scotland, the Basque Energy Agency, and Ocean Energy Europe.

Mocean Energy has already demonstrated its technology successfully at a small scale and plans to build a significantly larger machine based on its proven hinged raft design and novel direct drive generator. The company aims to work with supply chain partners across Scotland and the UK to bring this ambitious project to fruition.

The Blue Horizon 250 represents a significant scale-up from Mocean Energy's previous Blue X prototype and is designed for commercial applications in islands, remote communities, early grid projects, and off-grid applications such as oil and gas and aquaculture. The project is expected to have a significant local supply chain content, similar to that of the Blue X prototype.

Mocean Energy is working towards its goal of delivering a small array in UK waters in this decade, contributing to the generation of home-grown green energy from the seas in the UK and globally.

The deployment and demonstration of the Blue X prototype at EMEC was funded by Wave Energy Scotland and supported by Interreg North West Europe’s Ocean DEMO project.

Mocean Energy's success in securing EU funding highlights the potential for wave energy as a renewable energy source and the importance of collaboration between public funders to accelerate technology development and achieve net-zero targets.