Sustainable Marine Energy Completes £150K Funding

Sustainable Marine Energy (SME), a Bedford, UK-based tidal energy platform specialist, completed a £150k funding round.

The round was led by a London Business Angels (LBA) syndicate, which committed £133k, including a £40k investment by the LBA SEIS Roundtable Syndicate Fund 2012.

The company, which works closely with Cranfield University, is bringing to market an innovative platform technology, called PLAT-O, which is intended to reduce the costs and commercial risks of deploying tidal energy devices. The platform will enable access to deeper water sites where over 60% of the UK tidal stream energy resources are located.

The funding, which has been supplemented by an award from the Department of Energy and Climate Change Energy Entrepreneurs Fund, will be used to deploy an at sea prototype in the Solent during 2013. Over the coming year, SME will expand its IP portfolio and develop relationships with industrials with a view to a trade sale or technology licence agreement exit after demonstrating the value of its sector enabling technology.

Commenting on the investment, Anthony Clarke, London Business Angels CEO, said: “SME, led by a highly experienced management team, is developing a ground-breaking technology in the fast growing tidal energy sector and has the potential for explosive growth.
“With this round of SEIS funding which has been supplemented by a substantial award from DECC the company now has an excellent base from which to commercialise its technology and expand its IP portfolio.
“I am particularly pleased that LBA has introduced a lead angel who will bring valuable support to the company post investment and that our LBA SEIS 2012 fund has been able to make its first of six planned investments – indeed investors had to be scaled back given the strong interest in participating in the round
”.

FinSMEs

07/02/2013

 

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