Inverness firm 4C Engineering has received close to £260,000 from two separate wave energy funding competitions organised by the Scottish and US governments.
Wave Energy Scotland (WES) awarded 4C £200,000 from the second round of its direct generation competition.
The funding will allow 4C to continue its research into direct generation (DG) technology for wave energy conversion.
DG refers to the application of novel electrostatic generation technologies, which can directly transform movement of a material into electrical energy.
4C said the technology offers opportunities for significant cost reductions for wave energy converters (WEC).
4C will partner with Italian firm Cheros on the EBB:FLOW project.
Highland firms ‘at the cutting edge’
Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy (DoE) awarded 4C $80,000 (£62k) as part of the InDEEP Phase II competition for a practical demonstration same technology.
4C Engineering director Peter MacDonald said the team is “extremely proud” of its “hard-won awards”.
“They are the result of a combination of hard work and innovation by the team here in Inverness, combined with the expertise of our partners Cheros in Italy,” he said.
“This international collaboration has been instrumental in our success in securing these prestigious awards.
MacDonald said the funding from WES had enabled 4C to “compete on the global stage”.
“It is a testament to the capabilities of Highland companies that we are at the cutting edge of energy innovation, demonstrating that our region can continue to lead in the development of groundbreaking technologies,” he said.
The Inverness firm has achieved similar success in recent years, with 4C winning funding from WES in 2017 and 2019.
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