The tide is turning on the marine energy sector.

Atlantis Resources is a tidal turbine supplier that joined London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in an IPO in 2014 that netted the company a cool £12 million. The company, which has offices in Bristol, Edinburgh and Singapore, is making a splash through its development of a range of tidal power projects.

Nursing a team of 65 staff, it helps to finance and construct projects in both the UK and in overseas markets, with recent contract wins in Indonesia and Hyundai in Korea adding to the jewel of its crown, MeyGen in Scotland.

The MeyGen project is based off the North East of coast of Scotland close to the island of Stroma. It is a tidal stream project that has been underway since 2014. The lease has capacity for 398 megawatts with a grid capacity of 252 megawatts. It holds the majority stake in MeyGen.

This September the company lost out in a contract for difference (CfD) auction for phase 1C of the project. The company’s CEO said at the time that Atlantis faced “the difficulties of competing on a level playing field with established technologies like offshore wind”.

In October it provided an update on phase 1A of the MeyGen project, noting that total production at the site stood at 2.6 gigawatt hours and that 800 megawatt hours were supplied to the grid during September. It also added that all four turbines were added to the site.

It is at this point worth explaining a bit about how tidal turbines work. Being installed close to the seabed, the motion of the tides drives the turbine, which in turn supplies energy onshore via cabling. Much of the British expertise used in tidal has been built over decades of expertise in the oil and gas industry in the North Sea.

As previously mentioned in Renewables Investor, the critical advantage of tidal technologies is the predictability of tidal power. Although it still does not yet compete with offshore wind on a per kilowatt hour basis, it will play an important role in the future energy mix of the UK as a compliment to offshore wind energy generation.

In its results for the year to June 2017 Atlantis declared a cash position of £6.9 million.

Tidal power is at an early stage in its development compared to more mature forms of energy generation such as the offshore wind industry. Nonetheless the benefits are obvious not only in terms of the ability to generate a reliable source of energy but in the potential for the UK to grow into a world leader in tidal energy.

Critically, Atlantis is one of the more mature companies in the sector, generating revenues and carrying out partnerships in overseas markets. Indonesia, Canada and France in particular are all regions that could see substantive deals with Atlantis.

Analysts at Macquarie forecast sales of £7.4 million for 2018 and £12.4 million for 2019.

It’s perhaps unsurprising that Renewables Investor took a shine to Atlantis, however we continue to maintain that tidal  (and wave) energy remains one of the most exciting areas for investors to consider in the renewable energy sector.

The high strike prices that mean tidal projects look uncompetitive versus offshore wind are due to the fact that marine renewables are simply not as mature as wind power but given time there are innumerable innovations that should surely help to drive down the costs on a per kilowatt hour basis.

For those interested in taking a stake in a publicly listed company in the marine renewables sector, Atlantis Resources represents the sturdiest bet.

Note: Neither the author nor any of the members of the Renewables Investor staff have received any payments from Atlantis Resources or associated companies. The above does not constitute financial advice and those seeking out financial advice should seek out the services of an Independent Financial Adviser.