Invitalia Ventures and Enel Green Power have closed a €2.25 million co-investment round in the Italian wave energy company 40South Energy.
The investment will support the development of 40South Energy’s technology and the commercialisation of the H24 wave energy device, set to start this year.
The announcement comes shortly after Enel bought the H24 wave energy device in late 2016. H24 was developed by 40South Energy, in collaboration with Elements Works, and was first deployed off Italy in November 2015 as part of Marina di Pisa project.
Michele Grassi , CEO of 40South Energy, said: “The investment made from Enel Green Power and Invitalia Ventures comes at a turning point for 40South Energy Italy, in which the prototype stage of the H24 Machine is about to terminate and that one on the commercialization of the first products is about to start. The involvement of Enel Green Power is therefore significant for us, keeping the ‘Open Innovation’ spirit, that characterizes their approach of innovation.”
“We have recently sold to Enel Green Power the first energy wave conversion machine that is already in place in Marina di Pisa. The investment made by Invitalia Ventures is an evidence of the attention towards a strategic sector like the renewable energy in Italy,” Grassi added.