Belgium-based Laminaria (www.laminaria.be) has secured funding worth £1.83 million to support further work on its wave energy technology; a full-scale demo of its device is planned at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.

The money comes from new investors Qbic II (established by inter-university seed capital fund Qbic) and Flemish investment company PMV, alongside existing investor Clean Energy Innovative Projects.

In 2015, Laminaria tested a 1-in-5 scale energy-producing version of its wave device; the company is now preparing to upscale the technology to 200kW and prepare for its deployment at the EMEC.

Roald Borre, head of PMV’s Equity Investment team, said: “Laminaria has a clear road-map to becoming a provider of renewable-energy products and services at a competitive cost in the long term.”

“The company has also secured support under the FORESEA (Funding Ocean Renewable Energy through Strategic European Action) programme, which is financed by Interreg Europe.

“In addition, under the MaRINET2 project, it has secured access to Plymouth University’s test tank facilities for further control optimisation.

“Peter De Smet, director of CEIP, said: “We first teamed up with Laminaria in 2014, at the very earliest stages of proof of concept.

“We are convinced that the unique characteristics of its device will deliver a competitive marine renewable-energy technology.”