Swedish renewable energy company Minesto has raised over €2 million in new capital to finance the installation of an underwater tidal kite off the coast of Northern Ireland  Minesto AB, a privately held start-up company with a focus on electricity productionfrom tides, announced that it has raised in excess of €2 million in new capital. The money will be used to test the company's power plants Deep Green off the coast of Northern Ireland in 2011.

SAAB AB, Midroc New Technology, BGA Invest, Dunross & Co. and Hexiron are participating with a number of private investors in the issue.The test in Northern Ireland is intended to prove the functionality of the product and support the cost of energy calculations that shows that Minesto’s technology is very cost competitive in comparison with traditional electricity production.

Minesto CEO Anders Jansson commented:

"Minestos’ owners are a perfect constellation of industrial companies and entrepreneurial finance companies with strong global networks. We look forward to commercialising our technology with the help of old and new owners. " 

Minesto was formed in 2007 to develop and commercialize plants using tides to generate electricity. The company is a spin-off from the Saab Group, which started to develop the product in 2003.  Minestos power plant, Deep Green, is an underwater kite consisting of a turbine, generator and a rudder, which is attached to the bottom with a tether.

Deep Green will convert tidal currents into energy and offers several competitive advantages compared to other tidal concepts, including:

• Ability to operate cost effectively in deep water with low flow velocity where no other known tidal technology can operate.

• Operational cost.

• Small in size and weight makes it possible to carry 0.5 MW works in the standard EU container.

• High comparative energy extraction without a gearbox.