Atlantis gains tidal muscle in purchase of Siemens marine energy business

Industrial giant Siemens has agreed to sell its world-leading UK-based tidal power business, Marine Current Turbines, to rival developer Atlantis Resources.

The deal, which is being seen as a signal of further consolidation in the emerging renewables sector, will see Atlantis – a company founded in Australia and still run by Australians – acquire the entire issued share capital of MCT from Siemens, in return for a 10 per cent stake in the company.

It also combines two world leading tidal technologies to create one of the largest portfolios of current tidal power projects in the UK, with nearly 600 MW of project pipeline.

Last year we reported that the world’s largest tidal-stream power plant is one step closer to being built after Atlantis Resources raised around $US83 million towards commencing construction. The funds will be used to finance the installation of four 1.5MW turbines in Scotland’s Pentland Firth – a small portion of the 86MW planned for the project’s demonstration phase.

For Atlantis the deal includes the acquisition of MCT’s 1.2MW surface piercing tidal SeaGen system in Northern Ireland; the world’s first utility-scale electricity generating tidal stream project with the longest track record of generation, in operation for over 5 years and sending approximately 10GWh of electricity to the grid.

MCT’s portfolio of six projects around the UK will also expand the Singapore-based company’s footprint into Wales and Southern England.

“This deal sees two industry leaders, MCT and Atlantis, combining to underpin the UK’s position as one of Europe’s tidal power leaders,” said Atlantis CEO Tim Cornelius in a statement on Thursday.

“Marine Current Turbines has developed a world leading tidal turbine, a world class engineering team, unrivalled expertise in long-term turbine operations and testing through its SeaGen installation at Strangford Lough and an impressive portfolio of projects under development across the UK.”