Carnegie Wave Energy’s shares have risen after the company won the backing of Clean Energy Finance Corporation with a $20 million five-year loan that has an equity component.
Carnegie Wave Energy’s shares have risen after the company won the backing of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation with a $20 million five-year loan that has an equity component.
Carnegie called a trading halt yesterday before today’s loan announcement, which caused its shares to go up 3.77 per cent to 5.5 cents at 9.22am WST.
The loan will partly fund Carnegie’s CETO 6 project, which the company expects will take it from the concept design phase to commercial production of its wave energy technology.
Its establishment and commitment fees for 2014 can be paid by Carnegie to the CEFC through the issue of 15 million ordinary shares, to be issued in three tranches of 5 million.
The first 5 million-share tranche was issued today, representing equity to the value of about $275,000, or 0.3 per cent of current market capitalisation.
Carnegie’s CETO wave energy technology is a fully submersible system that uses wave power to pump high-pressure water to generate zero-emission electricity and desalinated water.
Carnegie chief executive officer and managing director Michael Ottaviano said the funding would help the company take a significant step forward.
“With our wave energy resource and technology capabilities particularly in the offshore oil and gas industries we believe there is significant potential for Australia to be a leader in this field, which can create new industry and export opportunities,” he said.
Carnegie has previously announced its CETO 6 unit will have at least twice the capacity of the 240kW CETO 5 unit being used in the Perth wave energy project, which is being built off Garden Island.
Clean Energy Finance Corporation chief executive officer Oliver Yates said CEFC chose to fund Carnegie to allow it to capitalise faster on its leading global position.
“Australia has arguably the best wave energy resources in the world, and the necessary skills to be a leader in the field,” he said.
“This is the technology of the future, with the potential to create new manufacturing and employment opportunities for Australia.”
Carnegie raised $4 million last November through the issue of convertible notes, with the money raised going towards the design of CETO 6.
