Bombora rides £10 million funding wave

Bombora Wave Power Europe has secured over £10 million in EU funding to build and commercialize its wave energy technology.

Govenerment, and Bombora Wave Power's representatives (Photo: Marine Energy Wales)

The £10.3 million, announced by the Welsh Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, will support the design and testing of Bombora’s fully-submerged membrane-style wave energy converter dubbed mWave.

The project, worth £15 million, is expected to create up to 20 skilled jobs in South West Wales, supporting the local economy and creating opportunities for communities in Pembrokeshire.

Sam Leighton, Bombora Wave Power Europe’s Managing Director, said: “Bombora is very grateful to secure the £10.3 million EU support package for our exciting 1.5MW trial project. Since setting up our European headquarters in Pembrokeshire last year we have been working with local suppliers and have quickly grown our talented team to work on this exciting new project.”

Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, added: “This investment is excellent news for the local economy and the wider marine technology industry. Clean energy will play an important role in the development of our prosperous, low carbon economy and help us deliver our aim of reducing emissions by at least 80% by 2050.”

The latest EU funding allocation follows the investments made by EU and Welsh government in Wales’ marine energy industry, including those for the demonstration zones in Pembrokeshire and Anglesey and support for technology developers based in Wales.