Marine energy firm Aquamarine Power has appointed former Shell WindEnergy manager Matthias Haag as its new Chief Operating Officer.
Haag will be responsible for the design, manufacture and deployment of Aquamarine’s marine renewable energy technologies including the Oyster® hydro-electric wave power converter and Neptune™, a 2.4MW tidal stream converter.

Thirty-eight year-old German-born Haag previously developed offshore wind power projects in the UK and Netherlands, including the North Sea 36-turbine Offshore Windpark Egmond aan Zee.“Over the course of my career I’ve moved from oil and gas projects, to wind power and now to marine energy”, said Haag.

“Scotland has the potential to be a world-leader in generating power from the ocean and a whole new marine energy industry has established itself here. We have a number of challenges to overcome in terms of technology, sites and grid connections, but that makes it a very exciting time to be in the industry.

“Aquamarine’s Oyster® device has the potential to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than other systems currently under development. A wave farm of just 10 devices powering one onshore hydroelectric plant could provide enough energy to power around 3,000 homes”, he added.

Last October, Edinburgh-based Aquamarine Power joined forces with Scottish and Southern Energy’s subsidiary, Renewable Technology Ventures Ltd (RTVL), securing a £6.3m investment from SSE and a further £1.5m from Sigma Capital Group plc.

The firm now plans to be the first in the world to deploy both wave and tidal devices on a commercial scale, and is expanding rapidly with an international recruitment campaign currently underway.

Aquamarine Power has worked closely with key partners, including the award-winning wave power research group at Queen’s University Belfast, to develop Oyster®, and Strachan and Henshaw, marine engineering specialists who delivered the Neptune™ design.

The company’s technology programme has attracted a wide range of sponsors including Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Technology Strategy Board, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Aquamarine has also secured substantial private equity investment.