Aquamarine wins five year contract for Songa rig work
Aquamarine Subsea has won a frame agreement with Songa Offshore for the provision of a high pressure manifold classing program on four CAT D rigs.
Aquamarine
Technology created by Aquamarine goes up for sale
Technology developed by wave energy company Aquamarine Power has been put up for sale as its administrators try to recoup some of the £90 million invested in the business. Graham Newton and James Stephen from accountancy firm BDO were appointed as administrators of the Edinburgh-based company in October. They were asked by its directors to find a buyer or investors for the business, but a month later in November no offers were on the table and so the firm ceased trading, with the loss of 13 jobs in Edinburgh and one in Belfast.
Wave Energy boosted by European grant
A wave power device tested at a marine energy centre in Orkney has been boosted by a £580,000 European grant. Edinburgh-based Aquamarine Power and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) have together secured a EU Horizon 2020 grant to improve the performance of Aquamarine Power’s Oyster wave energy converter. The company has already built and operated two full-scale Oyster machines at the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) in Orkney.
Opinion: Picking winners – the future for wave energy and other technologies?
Throughout my career I’ve been involved to some extent or other in the development and commercialisation of technology. So, when faced with a selection of technology ideas to back I am acutely aware of the difficulties involved in sorting the wheat from the chaff. Believe me. It isn’t easy because the parameters you need to consider are many and varied and, of course, instinct and experience also count for a lot.
Aquamarine hopes downsizing will help it stay afloat
Wave energy company Aquamarine Power has announced plans to “significantly” downsize its business. It means an undisclosed number of jobs will be lost. According to CEO, John Malcolm, “this will involve retaining a core operational and management team to run the business and continue maintaining our Oyster 800 wave machine at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney”.