Ireland-based designer and manufacturer of tidal turbines, OpenHydro, has raised €47 million ($53 million) which will be used to fund the equipment production and projects development in Europe and Canada, Bloomberg reports.
A DCNS-owned company has secured €47 million from its shareholders since September 2015 when the company’s Board approved the process of raising funds.
“In September 2015, our board approved a process of raising funding, with a target of €55 million. The plan was to have two phases. The first, of €45 million, was focused on our internal shareholders,” Peter Corcoran , OpenHydro’s CFO, said for Bloomberg .
Corcoran added that the company’s Boad is currently evaluating the second phase and the 2016 fundraising necessary to complete the project.
To remind, OpenHydro/DCNS recently deployed the first out of two 500 kW tidal turbines off Brittany, France, as part of the Paimpol-Bréhat tidal project DCNS is developing together with EDF.
The second turbine is expected to be installed in the following months.
Also, OpenHydro plans to deploy two 2 MW tidal turbines in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, in spring 2016. The project is delivered through Cape Sharp Tidal, a joint venture OpenHydro formed with Emera.
OpenHydro is developing another tidal energy project with EDF in France – The Normandie Hydro project at Raz Blanchard. It will see the installation of an array of 7 tidal turbines with the total capacity of 14 MW. The turbines, expected to be deployed in 2018, will provide power to 13,000 local residents.