Marine Power Systems

Idea

Introduction

The world is transitioning to a low carbon future in which clean, affordable, renewable electricity powers our lives. We estimate global electricity consumption represents a £2 trillion annual market that is growing rapidly.

The ocean’s waves & offshore winds are an immense source of power that will become a vital part of the world’s low carbon future, generating low cost renewable electricity for towns and cities globally.

MPS has developed a revolutionary, flexible technology that can be configured to harness wind power, wave power or combined wind & wave energy at grid scale. This approach is unique globally, and patented by MPS - watch the video below.

This capability to harness any combination of wave or wind energy enables MPS to deliver the energy generation solution that best fits the ocean resource our customers wish to exploit. Maximum energy extraction will be delivered from a given area of ocean whilst ensuring that our customers benefit from the lowest possible cost of energy & ownership.

Intended impact

In addition to the world’s existing energy consumption needing to be ‘decarbonised’ in the near future, the International Energy Agency forecasts global energy demands will increase by 30% between now and 2040, equivalent to adding another China and India on top of today’s energy consumption! This is driving global energy suppliers to actively prospect for technology to extract clean, renewable power from deep water wind and waves – a vast energy source that is currently largely untapped.

MPS’s revolutionary flexible ocean energy technology can be configured to deliver floating wind power, wave power or a combination of both and is a unique proposition at the forefront of developments to harness deep water ocean energy. No other company can offer a portfolio of technologies that can be deployed together or individually in the optimum layout to best exploit the ocean energy resource at each farm location, such as ours.

The fundamentals of MPS’s platform and its proprietary wave energy technology have a number of performance and cost advantages over alternative (individual) approaches, leading MPS devices to have a strong forecast for cost of energy in the sector.

By providing an ocean energy solution that simplifies offshore operations and aiming to offer industry low costs, MPS expects to be one of a small number of companies that is successful in an industry that is forecast to grow into a multi-billion pound sector over the coming years.

Substantial accomplishments to date

Marine Power Systems was co-founded in August of 2008 by Dr Gareth Stockman (CEO) & Dr Graham Foster (CTO).

Since then we have expanded our team into the fantastic group of engineers, scientists & managers we have with us today. Our team also includes some of the best suppliers, sub-contractors and independent experts in the business, increasing the knowledge and experience available to support us on our journey.

We have rapidly progressed into one of the leading marine energy technology developers in the market by testing a series of increased scale prototypes, proving and de-risking the technology along the way.

In parallel with our protype testing we have developed a highly sophisticated computational simulation capability which has enabled us to further optimise the performance capabilities of our unique technology.

Most recently we completed a multi-million pound project to design, manufacture and sea test a 1:4 scale prototype at Falmouth, UK. This test proved the many advantages of our technology and the ability to generate grid compatible electricity. The technical validation and the experience gained from this testing means that we are now ready to prove our technology at full scale ahead of commercialisation. The whole team is motivated and passionate to take the business forward at this exciting time.

Monetisation strategy

The commercial opportunity is from device sales to developers, who will supply the power generated to electricity grids. The global resource is vast and will require hundreds of thousands of devices to be installed over decades to exploit (by which time first devices installed will need upgrading!). We believe that MPS has the opportunity, even as one of a number of companies, to grow into a multi-billion pound annual turnover company.

MPS’s strategy is very similar to that of wind turbine manufacturers. This is a proven model with many successful examples: all market leaders are $multi-billion turnover companies. (Case study: Vestas, market leader, turnover of €10Bn/yr).

Global decarbonisation and ever-increasing energy requirements are creating a huge & accelerating demand. Oceans can provide this energy and MPS’ unique, lower cost tech is perfectly placed to deliver. MPS is confident that its current position as a tech leader will successfully translate into significant global hardware sales in coming years.

Use of proceeds

The funds raised will be used to match-fund £17m+ of non-dilutive government grant funding that is already secured for a project to design, manufacture & test a full scale device demonstrator that will prove the technology is ready for commercial sales.

The government grants were awarded after significant 3rd party due diligence and are testament to the belief that MPS’ technology will be a market leader.

In parallel, business development and regulatory activity will place MPS in a market ready position able to close sales with our customers.

We believe that upon completion of this project, it will be the optimal time for an IPO, secure growth capital, and allow investors to exit and hopefully realise a return on their investment.