TIDAL energy company Nova Innovation surpassed its crowdfunding target after raising approx £900,000 following a public opportunity to invest in the company.
Nova Innovation designs, builds and operates tidal turbines that generate renewable energy from the sea.
The company was looking to crowdfund £500,000 on investment platform Seedrs, to fast-track tidal energy technology and accelerate growth across Europe and North America.
As of now, 1,036 individual investors have raised £881,316 for 3.03% equity of the company. (13 December.)
When the crowdfunding was launched, Simon Forrest, CEO of Nova Innovation said: “With the climate emergency and a global hunger for clean, sustainable energy, the time is right to invest in additional sources of renewable energy.
“Nova’s tidal technology can generate clean, predictable electricity from the abundant tidal resources around the world.
“As well as harnessing a great source of renewable energy, Nova’s tidal technology offers the ability to deliver baseload power to the grid, giving it the opportunity to displace coal, diesel and nuclear – something solar and wind are unable to do.
“We are offering the opportunity for people to invest in Nova and join our mission to harness energy from the tide, securing this source of clean electricity for the future.
“The investment will drive our three-year plan to lower the cost of tidal energy, accelerate growth and move into new international markets. Not only are we delivering clean energy, we are creating a clean tech industry with a truly global mission.”
“The UK is already a world-leader in the tidal energy sector. It is not a question of ‘if’ tidal energy happens, it is happening right now. It is now a matter of ‘how quickly’ we can bring it to market.”
In 2016, Nova installed the world’s first offshore tidal array.
Located in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, the turbines have been generating clean electricity and exporting to the grid for over three years.
In 2018, Nova worked with Tesla to add energy storage to their tidal technology, creating the world’s first tidal power station with the ability to deliver baseload (constant, steady-state) power and provide energy on demand to meet consumer needs.
UK Catapult has estimated that the tidal industry could bring a net benefit to the UK of £1.4bn by 2030, supporting almost 14,500 jobs in the UK by 2040, boosting local economies and coastal communities.
