Welsh wave energy developer Marine Power Systems has secured almost £13m of European Union funding to build a full-scale demonstrator of its WaveSub device. The £12.8m grant from the Welsh European Funding Office will help finance a four-year programme running until June 2023. The WaveSub project will also be funded through a £5.5m investment opportunity to be raised by Marine Power Systems over the coming months. The Swansea developer expects to deploy the around 1.5MW full-scale machine at Cornish test site Wave Hub in 2021. Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “We want Wales to be a leading player in the marine energy sector.” He added: “This means supporting Welsh developers like Marine Power Systems, continuing to attract developers from around the world to Wales and exporting our knowledge, technology and services globally.” The WaveSub device is the invention of Swansea University graduates Gareth Stockman and Graham Foster (pictured left and right with Mark Drakeford, centre), who founded Marine Power Systems in 2008. “Having recently concluded testing on our quarter-scale prototype WaveSub device, this funding is a solid endorsement of the progress that MPS has made with the WaveSub's development,” said Stockman.
The EU has provided £12.8m ($16m) towards the funding of a full-scale, four-year demonstrator of Marine Power Systems' 1.5 MW WaveSub device. The programme will be based at the Wave Hub test site in Wales. The grant is being provided by the Welsh European Funding Office while a further £5.5m will be raised by the wave energy developer.