OCEAN Power Delivery, the Edinburgh-based wave-power developer, is poised to complete a new round of funding worth around £13 million - enough to see it through until 2008.
The company - widely seen as the world's most advanced player in the fledgling marine energy sector - has secured the funds from sources ranging from General Electric to AIM-listed investment minnow Sigma. The firm told The Scotsman it was "in the process of completing" the cash injection, and was likely to confirm it later this week.
Max Carcas, the group's director of business development, said he was "delighted" with the success of the fund-raising exercise, which follows an initial round of £7.5m. All the original investors - which include venture capitalists 3i - have contributed a second time.
"This really allows us to move forward with our plans," Carcas said. "It is funding for success - we want to get further orders."
He added that a stock-market floatation was "an option going forward", depending on how the company develops.
Carcas was speaking as the group's third and final machine - known as Pelamis - was dispatched for Portugal, where it will be used on the world's first-ever commercial wave farm. The deal was worth £5.5m, but OPD could supply more machines towards the end of this year.
Carcas insisted that the company's goal was still to build a wave farm in Scotland, but that the Scottish Executive had been slower than the Portuguese government in setting up a viable investment model. "The initial costs are high, but they should fall as the market develops," he said. "You have to invest for it to work - and that has to come from both the public and the private sectors."
OPD is awaiting the results of a Scottish Executive consultation into the industry, which Carcas - said was "imminent". The firm hopes the findings will include calling for the adoption of Renewable Obligation Certificates for marine power, which is thought to have the potential to supply up to 20 per cent of the UK's electricity.
Sigma, which last week reported a 147 per cent rise in full-year profits to £640,000, made OPD the first recipient of cash from its new £6m fund aimed at sustainable energies. The investment firm will manage the money on behalf of a consortium of firms including Scottish & Southern Energy.
Neil Crabb, Sigma's joint managing director, said: "OPD is a very interesting company that is the first to be deploying this kind of technology commercially. It is a strong leader in a high growth area."
John Bowker, Deputy City Editor, The Scotsman