12.08.10: Hammerfest Strøm announces significant strategic investment

 

 

  • Tidal turbine developer Hammerfest Strøm completes funding round
  • Andritz Hydro will become a significant shareholder and is expected to make a strong technocal contribution
  • Existing shareholders are also investing further


Hammerfest Strøm is one of the world’s leading tidal turbine developers and the company’s tidal technology has been thoroughly tested since the company installed and connected the world’s first tidal turbine to the national grid in Norway in 2004. The proceeds from this funding round will among others finance the construction of the company’s HS1000 1MW tidal stream turbine and its deployment at the EMEC test centre in 2011.

 

"We are very pleased to have a strong industrial player like Andritz Hydro as a new shareholder who will ensure the further technological, industrial and commercial development of Hammerfest Strøm"; - said Hammerfest Strøm’s CEO Stein Atle Andersen.

 

The lead investor is Andritz Hydro of Austria, a world leader in the supply of turnkey plants, rehabilitation and upgrading of existing plants and related services for the hydropower industry through global R&D, manufacturing and sales capabilities. The company sees tidal power as an important area for extending its renewable energy business. Andritz Hydro will offer strong technical support for the HS1000 project as well as playing an active role in the future development of Hammerfest Strøm.

 

"We see tidal power as an emerging growth opportunity and regard Hammerfest Strøm to be one of the technology leaders in this field"; - said Harald Heber, Managing Director of Andritz Hydro.

 

Hammerfest Strøm aims to deliver several tidal power arrays in the UK and is already working with ScottishPower Renewables on the recently submitted plans for a 10MW tidal project in the Sound of Islay.

 

ScottishPower Renewables’ CEO Keith Anderson said: "We welcome this significant investment by Andritz Hydro, which reinforces our belief that the tidal power technology being developed by Hammerfest Strøm is the most advanced in the market. Within the next year we will be installing a test device in Orkney, which will be followed by the world’s first tidal array project in the Sound of Islay."

 


Note to editor　:

 

  • HAMMERFEST STRØM was established in 1997 in Hammerfest in Norway. The company’s business is the development of technology for utilising tidal current energy and supplying devices and systems for production of electric power from tidal energy. The company is established with parent company in Hammerfest, Norway and a subsidiary in Glasgow, handling the UK and Irish energy markets. The main shareholders in the company are Andritz Hydro, the international energy group Statoil, the Norwegian utility company Hammerfest Energi and the international utility company Iberdrola.
  • The ANDRITZ GROUP is a global market leader for supply of systems and services to the hydropower, pulp and paper, metals, and other specialized industries (solid/liquid separation, feed and biofuel). The Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of approximately 13,400 employees worldwide. ANDRITZ operates over 120　production sites, service and sales companies all around the world.
  • ANDRITZ HYDRO is a world leader in the supply of turnkey plants and services for hydropower stations. In addition, rehabilitation and upgrading of existing plants are offered. Further fields of activity are development, design, and manufacture of pumps for selected applications (e.g. for water transport, in the energy sector, and in the pulp and paper industry) and of turbo generators for gas and steam power plants.