Marine Current Turbines (MCT) has raised £3.5m, it was announced today (21st December) to help fund its plans to deploy the UK's first commercial tidal energy farm in UK waters within the next two years. The money, says MCT, came from a group led by Carbon Trust Investments Limited and including Bank Invest, EDF Energy, High Tide and a group of significant private investors.

The Carbon Trust's investment is drawn from a new £18m fund, provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, announced by the Carbon Trust last month. The new fund is designed to speed up Britain's move towards a low carbon economy by providing promising UK clean energy sector companies with investment over the next 12-18 months.

Commenting on the investment Tom Delay, Chief Executive, of the Carbon Trust said: "The UK is leading the way in marine energy and stands to reap the rewards through new jobs and revenue. Marine Current Turbines has developed one of the leading tidal energy devices and its proven technology is now ready to be deployed in a commercial-scale tidal farm which will be a UK first.  The current economic climate has created difficulties for companies like MCT operating within a capital intensive sector. We're delighted to be able to lead this important group of investors in providing funding to a key player in the UK's growing marine energy sector."

Martin Wright, Managing Director of MCT, said: "We are delighted to secure the support of the Carbon Trust. Their investment, supported by a number of our existing shareholders, underlines the achievements made by MCT in designing, deploying and running a commercial scale tidal system and their confidence in the company's abilities to develop a tidal farm within the next two years.

We have established clear water ahead of our rivals and we see this significant investment, allied by the Government's actions to encourage tidal and wave energy, giving the company a massive boost to realise the commercial opportunities that exist in the UK as well as overseas markets."

MCT installed the world's first commercial scale tidal stream turbine, the 1.2 MW SeaGen, in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland in 2008.  The device is now operating remotely and generating power that is being sold to ESB Independent Energy under a Power Purchase Agreement helping to supply businesses across Northern Ireland with renewable electricity.