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Green-Tide Turbines featured on BBC Look East in a short segment on Tidal Power (http://www NULL.bbc NULL.co NULL.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-15740886). Although most focus on tidal power in the UK current rests on Scotland and the South Coast, the seas off the East Anglian coast have relatively high tidal current speed – making tidal farms possible.
Cambridge Cleantech start-up, Green-Tide Turbines Ltd, (G-TT), presented to the Vice President of BNDES (the Brazilian National Development Bank) as “Britain’s most promising start-up” by Lord Green, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment. Green-Tide’s CEO, Michael Evans, was invited to join senior executives from some of the UK’s biggest companies on a business delegation to Brazil headed up by Nick Clegg, Lord Green and David Willetts aimed at improving UK-Brazil relations.
During the course of the visit Green-Tide signed an agreement with COPPETEC, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s Post Graduate technology centre, to collaborate on the future research and development of their river and tidal stream turbines in Brazil. Green-Tide also moved one step closer to the formation of a Joint Venture with a prominent Brazilian company to set up Green-Tide Brasil, a Brazilian company aimed at manufacturing and distribution of G-TT’s turbines in South America. G-TT’s strategy in Brazil will lead to 100% funding of on going R&D within Brazil by two of G-TT’s end customers; Eletrobras and Petrobras Renewables. This funding will reduce the amount of capital required to get their turbines to market by up to £20-30 million. This also demonstrates a significant endorsement for G-TT’s technology and gives G-TT access to Brazil’s rapidly growing market and the markets of the rest of South America.
Green-Tide are currently seeking further equity finance to fund on going R&D activities in the UK involving QinetiQ in Haslar in the South of England. This funding will also be used to build the Brazilian management team and support fund raising activities in Brazil for our Brazilian company.
The Brazilian market has seen annual growth of 7.5% in 2010 at a time when most of the leading world economies are struggling to get above the 2%. Brazil has now surpassed Italy to become the world’s seventh largest economy. With its new found oil wealth and up coming World Cup and Olympic events, Brazil is expected to see significant growth for years to come. Brazil recognises that they need external help to develop their economy and are opening their markets to the UK and others to take advantage of the latest technologies, to learn to innovate and develop the skills of their work force.
Michael Evans, G-TT’s CEO quote: “We have been stunned by the size of the opportunity in Brazil and greatly encouraged by the way Brazil is open to doing business with the UK. We are extremely grateful for the outstanding support we have received from UKTI in helping us find and exploit these opportunities and for providing us with credibility through inviting us to join such a high level delegation. “
The UK business delegation consisted of : the Vice President of the BG Group, Regional MD for Atkins Global, Director for Latin America for Shell, Senior Principle for Populous, Vice Chairman of Deloitte, CEO of MIRA, President of Rolls Royce Energy, Vice President of Invensys, Chairman of 3i Americas and 3i Asia, Vice President of BP, Rumi Verjee CBE, Chairman of ARUP, Head of Global Banking and Markets Division of Santander UK, MD of BAE Systems , CEO of ISG, UK MD of AECOM, Group COO of Tullett Prebon plc and ….. Michael Evans CEO of Green-Tide Turbines Ltd the Cambridge based Cleantech start-up!
Cambridge marine start-up Green-Tide Turbines has lined up £20 million potential investment in Brazil.
CEO Michael Evans has just returned from Brazil and exclusively revealed to Business Weekly that the reception for GTT’s technology had crystalised the young company’s strategy.
He told me: “I had to pinch myself on the flight home to check if it was all a dream!
“Three independent offers of potential investment of £20m from three of the biggest energy companies in the world, a couple of JV opportunities and offers of free R & D at the University of Rio de Janeiro. That’s not a bad return.
“I emphasise at this stage the ‘potential’ nature of these opportunities because we are not the kind of business that wants to set expectations too high. That said, securing three ‘potential’ competing offers is quite an achievement.
“Brazil is developing at an astonishing rate with massive infrastructure being installed. European markets can’t compete when it comes to opportunities for companies like ours.
“It’s early days but BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China – look like where we are heading.”
GTT recently won £100,000 from EEDA to develop its novel technology for generating energy from tidal power.
Green-Tide, which is in Business Weekly’s elite ‘Killer50’ and also in the running for our Business Awards ‘Killer technologies’ honours on March 24, is trialling the technology in small streams in the East of England but is targeting some of the world’s most iconic waterways and coastlines – including the Amazon.
Long term, Green-Tide’s technology could revolutionise the quality of life for people living in some of the remotest communities on the planet.
The EEDA grant will help Green-Tide develop a revolutionary method of generating energy from tidal power that is more efficient and cheaper to operate than existing technology.
Based at IdeaSpace in Cambridge University’s Hauser Forum, the company’s turbine technology can be adapted to serve remote communities in developing countries – where the cost of extending electricity infrastructure or supplying fuel is simply not affordable – by generating 2-5kW of vital power supply from nearby rivers.
The same technology can also be applied to larger expanses of water, generating 500kW of tidal energy from a turbine approximately 10m in diameter, helping developed countries to reduce their carbon footprint.
By 2014, the Cambridge company hopes to see its ‘Tidal Turbine’ technology installed across the UK coastline, with its smaller run-of-river turbines installed in iconic rivers such as the Amazon, Yangtze and Ganges by 2012
The UK Government are keen to strengthen the UK’s relationship with Latin America and showcase UK business talent and expertise to Brazilian companies. Green-Tide Turbines Ltd were invited to join a business delegation accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, on a VVIP visit to Brazil between 14-16th February 2011.
With the support of UKTI under the Passport to Export scheme, one to one meetings were arranged to coincide with this visit with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Eletrobras, Petrobras Renewables, MPX and Mabel to introduce them to their technology and discuss possible commercial relations.
A small business from Cambridge is on the verge of seeing its technology installed on some of the world’s most iconic rivers and coastlines after winning a £100,000 grant from EEDA to develop their innovative water turbine.
Green Tide Turbines, based at IdeaSpace in Cambridge University’s Hauser Forum, are developing a revolutionary method of generating energy from tidal power that is more efficient and cheaper to operate than existing technology.
Their turbine technology can be adapted to serve remote communities in developing countries – where the cost of extending electricity infrastructure or supplying fuel is simply not affordable – by generating 2-5kW of vital power supply from nearby rivers.
The same technology can also be applied to larger expanses of water, generating 500kW of tidal energy from a turbine approximately 10m in diameter, helping developed countries to reduce their carbon footprint. By 2014, the Cambridge company hopes to see its ‘Tidal Turbine’ technology installed across the UK coastline, with its smaller run-of-river turbines installed in iconic rivers such as the Amazon, Yangtze and Ganges by 2012.
Green Tide Turbine’s project has received crucial early stage funding from EEDA’s Low Carbon Grants for Research and Development programme. The grants are being made available thanks to funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and local companies are being urged to apply now to secure their own grant before the new financial year.
Michael Evans, CEO of Green Tide Turbines, said:
“Our technology will do for water turbines what the jet engine did for aviation. This is a revolutionary and adaptable product with the capability of supplying power to some of the most disadvantaged people in the world. The fight against climate change and energy security are also hot topics on the global political agenda, and we believe our turbines could be at the forefront of harnessing power from some of the world’s biggest rivers and oceans.”
The Environment Agency and the World Bank have identified an almost, as yet, untapped market for in-river generation of electricity, which Green Tide Turbines believe their new turbine will fulfil. The company has big plans for its technology, and is currently in early discussions with one of Brazil’s leading electricity companies about supplying in-river turbines to remote rural communities in the Northern Amazon Basin.
Green Tide Turbines are working alongside Cambridge Consultants and top academics from the University of Cambridge to develop their technology. They have also received funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and were supported by UK Trade and Investment’s Passport to Export scheme in taking their product to Brazil.
With a ‘top secret’ test site on the River Cam, Green Tide Turbines are developing their prototype thanks to the £100,000 research and development grant from EEDA.
“EEDA’s support has been fantastic,” Michael Evans continued. “The Grant for Research and Development provided us with funding early in the project development cycle, when the smallest amounts of money make the biggest difference. Our business is growing rapidly, this project started out being developed in a garden shed and now we have some of the best brains in Britain working on our turbine.”
EEDA’s Low Carbon Grants for Research and Development are available to support businesses developing innovative low carbon technologies and products. The grants can be used for proving a market place, developing a prototype and/or testing feasibility. Up to £250,000 is available to match fund 40 per cent of a project’s total cost.
Paul May, executive director of innovation at EEDA, said:
“EEDA’s grant funding can give businesses developing low carbon technologies the early-stage funding boost they need to get their projects off the ground. They also have a track record of giving up-and-coming businesses the stamp of approval they need to go on and attract further investment.
“EEDA has £2 million of grant funding available to support low carbon research and development up to the end of this financial year. But it’s first come, first served and applications need to be in and approved by the 31 March.”
Richard Tunnicliffe, regional director of the CBI – the ‘voice of business’ – said:
“As the economy continues to strengthen, more and more businesses are looking to the future and starting to develop innovative new products. EEDA’s funding can give companies a helping hand in taking those ideas a step closer to reality, into the marketplace.
“There is going to be a significant reduction in the amount of funding available to businesses over the coming months and years. It is therefore important that local companies take advantage of the publicly-funded support that is out there now, before it disappears.”
Green-Tide Turbines Ltd was selected by Business Weekly as one of the new Killer50 – the 50 hottest, disruptive technology companies in the East of England – reflect changing trends in the local tech cluster.
http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37865:green-tide-turbines-g-tt&catid=430:50-profiles&Itemid=1750 (http://www NULL.businessweekly NULL.co NULL.uk/index NULL.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37865:green-tide-turbines-g-tt&catid=430:50-profiles&Itemid=1750)
One cold morning in December 2010 at G-TT’s secret river test site, BBC camera crews join the G-TT team to talk about their technology and plans for the future. Follow this link to the interview.
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1500/ (http://www NULL.thenakedscientists NULL.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1500/)
Cambridge, UK – 14th June, 2010 – Marine start-up, Green-Tide Turbines (G-TT), has appointed Cambridge Consultants to help with the development of its tidal stream turbines. G-TT promises to revolutionise tidal energy in the same way that jet engines changed the face of aviation. Their turbines use natural water movement to tap energy from the tidal stream, helping to bring more cost effective renewable energy to the world. Cambridge Consultants has been contracted to carry out G-TT’s Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis design – once again demonstrating its credentials at helping start-ups answer complex technical questions and offering vital support as they seek a route-to-market.
By 2020 the UK Government has committed to 20% of its total energy requirements coming from renewable sources. Of this, it is estimated that only 3% will be from a combination of tidal and wave devices, but G-TT believe marine renewables have the potential of providing 15 – 20% of the UK’s energy needs if deployed correctly. Current tidal stream technologies are still at an early stage of development and one of the main technical challenges developers are facing is how to best predict and plan how the underwater turbines will interact and work with the varying depths, strengths and directions of water flow. To help overcome this challenge, G-TT called upon Cambridge Consultants to carry out CFD analysis, which is an essential part of the turbines design process.
Green-Tide’s turbine technology aims to achieve 30% capital cost savings relative to competing technologies by a means of an optimized innovative design that operates at a higher efficiency and uses less material.
“As a start-up company operating in a market that is still in its infancy, selecting our technology partners was a detailed process. We took recommendations from key figures in the industry who advised that CC had the right staff and skills in turbo machinery analysis” said Michael Evans, CEO Green-Tide Turbines. “After meeting with them, we felt confident that they were the right partner to provide Computer Fluid Dynamics support and engineering services to our project. They are now a fully integrated member of our development team.”
“We find this type of analysis is essential in achieving good results on your R&D process. By the use of appropriate modeling, the development process can be shortened and risks reduced” commented Craig Webster, head of Cleantech at Cambridge Consultants “It is important that start-ups have access to this level of technology. All too often, we find that financial restrictions coupled with a need to show hardware to investors encourages them to short circuit this process. However our experience is that it’s much better to do the right thing early on, than to cut corners and bear the cost of dealing with any issues later on in the process. Our teams develop new technologies and deal with development challenges on a day to-day-basis. We know how to apply the right analytical techniques in an appropriate manner for the early stages of a project. As such, we are delighted to work with innovative start-ups, like G-TT, and are willing to tailor our services to their needs. Indeed some of today’s most successful clients were start ups when we first met them.”
Green-Tide Turbines Ltd were among the leading figures from across the energy sector descended on Manchester for the prestigious black-tie dinner at the Hilton Deansgate Hotel, hosted by writer, columnist and presenter Guy Browning.
The awards, the brainchild of Cheshire’s world-class Energy Innovation Centre, attracted entries from across the UK and Europe and plans are already in place to build upon this in 2011.
The awards were supported by a host of leading organisations including the Northwest Regional Development Agency, European Regional Development Fund, Department for Energy and Climate Change, EA Technology Group, EA Technology Ventures, Energy Networks Association, Electricity North West, Envirolink Northwest, IET, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy and UKTI.
Addressing the 200 strong audience, Denise Massey, Director of the Energy Innovation Centre, paid tribute to all of the winners and runners up as she said:
“These awards not only recognise the marvellous advancements in technology being developed behind the scenes, but also the sheer tenacity of individuals and teams investing their all in creating new solutions and technologies. Success happens after most people have given up and we’ve shared our evening with some truly remarkable individuals. Well done to all of the winners. We hope that these awards inspire further innovation within the industry here in the UK and internationally, and we look forward to building upon the success of our inaugural awards in the years to come.”
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said:
“The Energy Innovation Awards are testament to the hard work taking place across the region as we work towards the goal of a low carbon Northwest. I’m pleased to support these awards and reward companies for their investment into energy-efficient technologies.
The region is a leading example, developing energy-efficient, high-tech environmental technologies. I hope that the success of this year’s awards spur others on so that we can continue to build on this success.”
Manchester-based company Out There Events supported the Energy Innovation Centre in staging the awards.
Green-Tide Turbines Ltd’s in-river test facility is now on-line.
The facility is built in a disused Water Mill on the River Cam and allows us to conduct in-river testing of our turbines at various flow conditions.
The Mill test facility will be essential in finding the optimum rotor and generator combinations and will be used to conduct live river testing.
15 Nov 2011
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