Oxford-based Caudal Energy has secured £4.3 million in funding to accelerate development of its next-generation tidal energy platform designed to deliver predictable renewable power at scale.
The investment round was led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Empirical Ventures, with participation from existing investors Zero Carbon Capital and Creator Fund, alongside Kibo Invest and Oxford Innovation Finance.
Founded in 2024 as Porpoise Power and spun out of the University of Oxford, Caudal Energy is developing a new class of tidal generation technology inspired by the movement and efficiency of marine mammal tails.
The company’s proprietary oscillating foil system uses fin-based hydrodynamics rather than conventional underwater turbines, allowing energy to be generated efficiently in a wider range of tidal environments.
Already operating at Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL5), the company said the funding will support full-scale testing of the technology at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, with the first commercial deployment targeted for 2028 as it progresses toward TRL8.
Caudal Energy says its modular, surface-mounted architecture has been designed to simplify installation and maintenance while significantly expanding the number of viable tidal deployment locations globally.
Traditional tidal energy systems have typically been limited to a relatively small number of high-flow sites with peak currents above five knots.
Caudal’s platform is designed to operate efficiently in more abundant mid-flow tidal locations with peak flows above three knots, opening up a substantially larger market opportunity across utility-scale, industrial and distributed energy applications.
The company believes predictable tidal power could play an increasingly important role in balancing future renewable energy systems by complementing intermittent generation sources such as wind and solar.
John Kennedy, CEO of Caudal Energy, said: “The future energy system needs renewable power that is not only clean, but dependable and built to scale.
“We founded Caudal to challenge the assumption that tidal energy has to remain complex, costly and niche.
“Our approach combines smarter hydrodynamic design with modular deployment architecture to create a system designed for real-world performance. By unlocking the potential of mid-flow tidal sites, we believe Caudal can dramatically expand where tidal energy can be deployed and how commercially competitive it can become.”
Andy Straiton, Investment Lead at Oxford Science Enterprises, said: “Caudal Energy is addressing one of the most important challenges in the transition to renewable energy: how to provide predictable, scalable generation that complements intermittent power sources such as wind and solar.
“The combination of simpler deployment, lower operational complexity and access to a far broader range of viable sites can make tidal energy cost competitive with established renewables such as solar and wind.”
The funding will also support the expansion of Caudal Energy’s engineering and modelling capabilities, demonstration and deployment activities, and commercial partnership development as the company moves toward commercial-scale deployment.
The founding team combines scientific research and commercial expertise, including CEO John Kennedy, Chief Commercial Officer Hilary Struthers and Chief Technology Officer Professor Adrian Thomas, whose hydrodynamic research at the University of Oxford formed the scientific foundation for the technology.
Caudal Energy has now raised a total of £5.5 million to date.
