Nova Innovation

Nova Innovation is a Scottish renewable-energy company that develops, deploys, and operates tidal-stream turbines. The company was founded in 2009 by Simon Forrest and Gary Connor, both of whom held engineering doctorates from the University of Edinburgh. Its core proposition is to convert predictable tidal currents into electricity through arrays of seabed-mounted horizontal-axis turbines, while reducing the cost and complexity of marine-energy infrastructure through iterative engineering and experience in operating real projects. Nova's best-known demonstration site is in Bluemull Sound, Shetland. In April 2014, the company installed a 30 kW turbine there in partnership with the North Yell Development Council. The project was connected to the local grid by a subsea cable and supplied electricity to facilities at Cullivoe Harbour and nearby homes. It was presented as the world's first community-owned tidal-power generator and established Nova's practical credentials in deploying tidal technology in an island community. The original three-bladed Nova 30 was decommissioned in 2016; one of its blades was later placed on display at the National Museum of Scotland. The company subsequently developed a larger 100 kW platform and built a tidal array in Bluemull Sound. The first M100 turbine entered service in 2016, followed by additional machines. The project was expanded and reconfigured through the European Horizon 2020 EnFAIT programme. Six turbines were deployed at the site over time, using gravity foundations and subsea electrical infrastructure. Early machines used gearboxes, while later M100-D units adopted direct drive, a design change intended to lower costs and simplify maintenance. The array also incorporated battery storage and later supported an electric-vehicle charger at Cullivoe Harbour. Nova has described the charger as the world's first tidal-powered EV charger. Nova has used its Shetland operations as a platform for scaling, reliability testing, and demonstrating tidal power's predictability. It has also pursued projects outside Scotland. In 2023, the company tested a 50 kW RE50 turbine in France's Étel Estuary, its first turbine installation outside Scotland. It has proposed or investigated developments in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, waters off Wales, the Sound of Islay, Yell Sound in Shetland, Indonesia, and the Morlais tidal-energy project in North Wales. Several of these projects remain proposed, delayed, or mothballed rather than operating commercial assets. The company has broadened its technology interests beyond tidal generation. In 2023, it tested a floating-solar system at Leith Docks, and in 2024 it announced AquaGen365, a joint venture with RSK intended to design, build, and install floating-solar platforms. Nova has also participated in publicly funded research and development programmes, including Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Innovate UK initiatives. In November 2023, Nova announced Horizon Europe support for SEASTAR, a planned 4 MW array of sixteen 250 kW turbines at the European Marine Energy Centre's Fall of Warness test site. In September 2024, it received three Contracts for Difference in the United Kingdom's sixth allocation round for a combined 6 MW associated with the SEASTAR and OCEANSTAR projects. The awards represent a route toward larger-scale deployment, although the company's projects remain subject to development, financing, consenting, grid, and construction requirements. Nova has also indicated that it is seeking substantial investment and has considered a possible future initial public offering, but it is not identified here as a listed company.

Nova Innovation was established in 2009 in Scotland by Simon Forrest and Gary Connor, engineers with doctoral backgrounds at the University of Edinburgh. The company was created to develop practical tidal-stream technology and demonstrate that marine currents could provide dependable renewable electricity for coastal and island communities. Its first major deployment was the Nova 30, a 30 kW, three-bladed horizontal-axis turbine installed in April 2014 in Bluemull Sound, Shetland. The project was developed with the North Yell Development Council and supported through the Scottish Government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme. A one-kilometre subsea cable connected the turbine to the local electricity network, enabling it to supply the Cullivoe Harbour ice house and as many as thirty homes. The installation was notable for its community-ownership model. The turbine was removed in 2016, and a blade was later displayed at the National Museum of Scotland. Nova then moved toward array-scale development. It designed a 100 kW, two-bladed horizontal-axis turbine mounted on a gravity foundation resting on the seabed. The first M100 unit in Bluemull Sound was connected in August 2016, with two additional turbines following later that year. The project was originally planned as a five-turbine array, but a revised licence permitted six units. Its configuration was developed partly through the European Horizon 2020 EnFAIT programme. A fourth turbine was added in 2020, and two further turbines were installed in January 2023 using a subsea hub and shared export cable. Three of the older turbines were removed later in 2023 after the EnFAIT project ended, leaving the operating array at approximately 0.3 MW. By December 2020, the array had generated 469 MWh over more than 14,000 operating hours. The Shetland project also served as a test bed for system integration. Nova installed Tesla batteries in 2018 to smooth output across the tidal cycle and added an electric-vehicle charger at Cullivoe Harbour in March 2021. The company refined its turbine architecture from the geared M100 to the direct-drive M100-D, reporting that the simplified design could reduce costs substantially. The deployed machines were given the names Ailsa, Betty, Charlotte, Eunice, Grace, and Hali Hope. Nova began pursuing overseas and wider United Kingdom opportunities. In 2019, Natural Resources Canada granted it a licence for a proposed 1.5 MW array in Petite Passage in Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy. The project was intended to use fifteen 100 kW turbines in phases and received C$4 million from Canada's Clean Growth Program, but the planned deployment did not occur as originally anticipated. In Wales, Nova secured £1.2 million from the Welsh Government in 2020 for a proposed 0.5 MW array between Ynys Enlli and the Llŷn Peninsula. Environmental surveys were undertaken with Bangor University and other partners, but the company announced in February 2023 that it was mothballing the project because of grid-connection difficulties and insufficient revenue support. Other development initiatives included a 3 MW option in the Sound of Islay, a 15 MW option in Yell Sound, a feasibility study for a 7 MW Indonesian array in the Larantuka Strait, and a partnership with Sabella concerning a potential 12 MW berth at Morlais in North Wales. In 2023, Nova tested its 50 kW RE50 turbine in France's Étel Estuary through the Horizon 2020 ELEMENT project. The design was oriented toward the estuary's stronger ebb current and did not yaw between flow directions. Nova later diversified into floating solar. A floating-solar system was tested at Leith Docks in 2023, followed by the June 2024 announcement of AquaGen365, a joint venture with RSK. The company has continued to focus on scale-up through SEASTAR, a Horizon Europe-backed proposal for sixteen 250 kW turbines with total capacity of 4 MW at EMEC's Fall of Warness site. In September 2024, three Contracts for Difference were awarded for a combined 6 MW related to SEASTAR and OCEANSTAR. Nova has discussed raising further investment and has considered a future IPO, but no public listing is established by the available material.

1. 2024AquaGen365 joint venture is announced

   Nova and RSK form a joint venture for floating-solar platform development.

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2. 2024Contracts for Difference are awarded

   Three United Kingdom Contracts for Difference cover a combined 6 MW for SEASTAR and OCEANSTAR.

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3. 2023French turbine test begins

   Nova tests a 50 kW RE50 turbine in the Étel Estuary, its first installation outside Scotland.

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4. 2023SEASTAR receives Horizon Europe support

   The company announces support for a planned sixteen-turbine, 4 MW array at EMEC Fall of Warness.

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5. 2021Scottish National Investment Bank invests in Nova

   Nova receives a further £6.4 million investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank.

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6. 2018Battery storage is added to the Shetland array

   Tesla batteries are incorporated to help smooth electricity output over the tidal cycle.

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7. 2016First M100 turbine connects to the grid

   Nova begins operating its larger 100 kW turbine platform in the Bluemull Sound tidal array.

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8. 2014Nova 30 enters service in Shetland

   A 30 kW turbine is installed in Bluemull Sound as part of a community-owned tidal-power project.

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9. 2009Nova Innovation is founded

   Simon Forrest and Gary Connor establish the Scottish tidal-energy developer.

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A specialist marine-energy technology company positioned around predictable, low-carbon tidal electricity, community-scale demonstration projects, and the progressive commercialization of tidal-stream arrays.

• Nova 30Tidal-stream turbine2014

  A 30 kW, three-bladed horizontal-axis tidal turbine mounted on a gravity foundation. Installed in Bluemull Sound in 2014, it supplied the local grid through a subsea cable and supported a community-owned renewable-energy demonstration.

• Nova M100Tidal-stream turbine2016

  A 100 kW, two-bladed horizontal-axis turbine designed for seabed deployment on a gravity foundation. The M100 formed the initial technical basis of Nova's Bluemull Sound array and used a geared drivetrain.

• Nova M100-DTidal-stream turbine

  A later version of the 100 kW platform using direct drive rather than a gearbox. Nova developed the simplified architecture to reduce component count, maintenance requirements, and reported cost.

• RE50Tidal-stream turbine2023

  A 50 kW tidal turbine tested in the Étel Estuary in Brittany in 2023. It was configured for the site's asymmetric flow conditions and faced the stronger ebb current rather than yawing between ebb and flood directions.

• SEASTARTidal-energy array2023

  A planned 4 MW array at the EMEC Fall of Warness test site, comprising sixteen 250 kW turbines. The project is intended to scale Nova's existing turbine technology toward a larger multi-machine installation.

• Floating solar platformsFloating solar2023

  Nova's newer floating-solar activity includes a system tested at Leith Docks and the AquaGen365 joint venture with RSK, which is intended to design, build, and install floating-solar platforms.

• 2023Great British Energy launch event

  United Kingdom

  Nova hosted Keir Starmer's June 2023 launch of the proposal for a Scottish-based publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, at its Leith turbine factory.

  Outcome. The event associated Nova's manufacturing and marine-energy facilities with a national clean-energy policy campaign.

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• 2024Create AquaGen365 with RSKM&A

  Nova sought to broaden its renewable-energy portfolio beyond tidal generation.

  What changed. Nova and RSK announced a joint venture to design, build, and install floating-solar platforms.

  Aftermath. The venture marked a diversification into floating solar while retaining a focus on water-based renewable infrastructure.

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• 2024Secure Contracts for Difference for future arraysStrategy

  Commercial tidal projects require predictable revenue support to proceed from demonstration to larger-scale deployment.

  What changed. Nova received three Contracts for Difference in allocation round six for a combined 6 MW associated with SEASTAR and OCEANSTAR.

  Aftermath. The awards created a policy-backed route for the projects, subject to development and delivery conditions.

  Contracted capacity. 6 MW (United Kingdom Contracts for Difference allocation round 6, announced September 2024)

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• 2023Mothball the Welsh tidal-array projectStrategy

  Nova's proposed 0.5 MW project between Ynys Enlli and the Llŷn Peninsula faced grid-connection problems and a lack of revenue support.

  What changed. In February 2023, Nova announced that it was mothballing the development.

  Aftermath. The project was paused rather than advanced to deployment, while Nova continued pursuing other tidal projects.

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• 2020Shift from geared M100 to direct-drive M100-DGeneration change

  Nova sought to reduce the cost and maintenance burden of its seabed-mounted tidal turbines.

  What changed. The later M100-D design replaced the gearbox with a direct-drive mechanism.

  Aftermath. Nova reported that the simplified design could cut costs by about one third, although the available material does not establish a verified commercial cost outcome.

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• 2018Add battery storage to the Shetland tidal arrayStrategy

  Tidal generation varies over the approximately six-hour tidal cycle, creating a need to manage fluctuations in electricity output.

  What changed. Nova installed Tesla batteries alongside the Bluemull Sound array to smooth and manage generated power.

  Aftermath. The project extended Nova's demonstration from turbine generation to integrated marine-energy storage.

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• 2024Nova announces floating-solar joint venture with RSK

  Nova and RSK announced AquaGen365, a joint venture focused on designing, building, and installing floating-solar platforms.

  M&AProduct launch
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• 2024Nova receives United Kingdom Contracts for Difference awards

  The company was awarded three Contracts for Difference in allocation round six, covering a combined 6 MW for the SEASTAR and OCEANSTAR projects.

  RegulationOther
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• 2023Nova announces Horizon Europe support for SEASTAR tidal array

  Nova announced funding support for a planned 4 MW array of sixteen turbines at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal test site.

  OtherProduct launch
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• 2023Nova tests a tidal turbine in France

  A 50 kW RE50 turbine was tested in the Étel Estuary in Brittany, marking Nova's first turbine installation outside Scotland.

  Product launchOther
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• 2023Nova hosts launch event for proposed Great British Energy

  Nova's Leith turbine factory hosted Keir Starmer's launch of the proposal for a Scottish-based publicly owned energy company called Great British Energy.

  CampaignOther
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1. Nova Innovation
2. Nova Innovation official website