SWANSEA: City firm lands £8m to become world leader in deep-sea wind power

Marine Power Systems (MPS), based in the city, is developing cutting-edge platforms that allow wind turbines to be installed in waters too deep for traditional methods.

The major funding boost is set to help the firm commercialise its technology and position Wales as a global leader in the offshore wind industry.

The company says the investment will also lay the foundations for a large-scale manufacturing facility in Wales, creating high-value jobs and strengthening local supply chains, providing a major boost to the Welsh economy.

Around 80% of the world’s offshore wind resource is in water deeper than 60 metres, which is where MPS’s ‘PelaFlex’ floating platform technology comes in.

(L-R) Dr Graham Foster (CTO), Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Evans, Dr Gareth Stockman (CEO), and Dr Martin Carruth (Commercial Director) at Marine Power Systems in Swansea. (Image: Welsh Government)

Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Rebecca Evans, said the investment was a significant step for Wales’s renewable energy ambitions.

“This investment in Marine Power Systems is another exciting step in Wales’s journey to becoming a global leader in offshore wind,” she said.

Ms Evans added that supporting innovative companies like MPS helps to “build a high-value supply chain, creates skilled jobs and helps us meet global and national net zero targets.”

“We have the talent, the technology and the ambition — and this funding helps turn that ambition into reality,” she said.

Dr Gareth Stockman, CEO at Marine Power Systems, said the investment was a “powerful vote of confidence” in the company and its technology.

“PelaFlex is designed to unlock deep-water offshore wind, where the majority of the world’s wind resource lies,” Dr Stockman said.

“With this support we can accelerate commercialisation, scale deployment and position Wales as a global centre for deep-water wind innovation and manufacturing.”

He described the funding as a “catalytic step toward making deep-water offshore wind a practical reality at industrial scale.”

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