Renewable deal

UK-based Renewable Energy Holdings (REH) has sold its portfolio of wave energy patents to Australia’s Carnegie Corporation in a deal worth about £30m.

The sale will see Carnegie take over global development of REH’s CETO technology, including work with EDF Energies Nouvelles that aims to commercialise the wave energy system in the northern hemisphere.

CETO is claimed to include the world’s only wave power converter unit to be fully submerged and able to produce high-pressure seawater for delivery onshore. This is then used to generate power through conventional hydro-electric methods, with freshwater a possible by-product of the process.

REH will take a 35 per cent stake in Carnegie as part of the deal. The Australian group said the agreement would open up huge potential markets: ‘While the southern hemisphere has a superior wave resource, approximately 90 per cent of global power consumption takes place in the northern hemisphere.’

REH said handing over financial responsibility for CETO would allow it to concentrate on its other renewables activities in areas such as wind, solar and hydro.