Leith-based wave energy company, Pelamis, have published an announcement on their website today that the company is in administration and Blair Nimmo and Gary Fraser of KPMG have now been appointed as Joint Administrators of Pelamis Wave Power.
The company was founded in 1998 by Dr Richard Yemm and their latest wave energy converter is being tested at EMEC in Orkney.
The directors of Pelamis regret to announce that they have been unable to secure the additional funding required for further development of the Company’s market leading wave energy technology. As a result of this the board has reluctantly moved to appoint an administrator to assess the options for securing the future for the business and employees of Pelamis.
Pelamis is the world’s most advanced wave energy technology and company. It recently received a strong endorsement of this leading position from independent consultants following a series of due diligence exercises. This work included detailed assessments of the onward commercial viability of the technology and designs. The combination of over 350 man-years of experience in the team, some 15,000 hours of real grid connected test data and intensive parallel R&D work gives Pelamis a unique platform from which to develop and demonstrate the viability of its technology for commercial deployment at scale.
The directors and employees of Pelamis are dedicated to the success of this revolutionary technology, and are committed to working with the administrator when appointed, the Scottish and UK Governments and any future partners to ensure its success.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:
“This is a sad day for Pelamis and an anxious time for employees and their families.
“Clearly the news that PWP has gone into administration is a matter of real regret. Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government have been working closely with the company and its shareholders to try and find a way forward and help support the company in its current form.
“The Scottish Government stands ready to engage with the company and we will support affected employees through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE).
“Early stage technologies such as this can be difficult, but the development of wave energy has been blighted by the uncertainty facing the energy sector more widely, following reforms of the UK’s electricity market. Our belief in the future success of wave energy is undiminished.”
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