Israeli startup wave energy developer Eco Wave Power has closed a $2 million financing round (its first financing round) led by Pirveli Ventures. Following the investment, a partner of the investment fund will join Eco Wave Power's board of directors.
This news follows the announcement by the Tel Aviv company last month that a "Second Generation" power station has been successfully deployed by Eco Wave Power at Jaffa Port.
Eco Wave Power (EWP) cofounders David Leb and Inna Braverman said, "This new investment is a vote of confidence in Eco Wave Power's technology, our team, and the global market potential of onshore wave energy. Our goal is to finalize the commercialization of our wave energy conversion systems with the help of our global partnership."
Pirveli Ventures managing partner David Oren said, "We are excited to join Eco Wave Power in its mission to harvest electricity from ocean waves and share it with the world. We believe that there are significant business opportunities in the renewable energy sector and are glad to take part in the initiative of establishing a globally successful wave energy company."
EWP has already demonstrated that it can produce electricity on a commercial scale during onshore testing at Jaffa Port, and holds a 111MW projects pipe-line. The total funding requirement for the execution of the whole pipe-line is around $150 million in different locations around the globe, which will be raised in stages.
In the meantime, EWP expects to have a fully commissioned commercially available wave farm in place by the end of 2015, which will start by selling electricity to the low voltage grid and expand to eventually producing up to 15% of all of Gibraltar's electricity.
The Eco Wave Power station consists of buoys which rise and fall with the up and down motion, lifting force, change of water level, hydraulic air lock, and incident flux of high and low waves. The converters are attached by robust arms to any type of structure, such as breakwaters, piers, jetties, floating barriers and fixed platforms. The ocean's wave power in conjunction with the company's uniquely shaped buoys and state-of-the-art technology harvests the constant energy produced by waves, driving a hydraulic piston to deliver high kinetic pressure to an onshore generator which generates electricity. The key strengths of EWP's design are the simplicity of its design, the added storm protection and the minimal moving components being onshore. The device is easy to access, operate and maintain.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 18, 2015
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