Sam Etherington founded Aqua Power Technologies in 2014, with a focus on building and bringing to market his MANTA design for producing power from the sea.
MANTA, which draws its name from the manta ray which inspired its distinctive design, is submerged in the sea beneath a buoy with two ‘wings’ on either side.
As it rises and drops in the peaks and troughs of the waves, its wings move up and down to power a generator.
One clear market for the device is aquaculture, where salmon farms currently burn large amounts of diesel to power various processes. While the design for MANTA is being finalised, Sam has developed a range of spin-off products which are now in wide use by salmon farming operations in Scotland.
“I’ve seen too many companies start up as marine developers and then disappear because they’ve run out of money, or not commercialised anything,” said Sam, who runs the company from a workshop in Cark-in-Cartmel.
“We’re taking a different approach, which is focused on developing the MANTA but also operating as a profitable business alongside that.”
Sam has developed a new prototype of the MANTA which was unveiled this summer, taking lessons from the first machine and incorporating them into a larger design with a higher power output.
The second generation machine, which was partially developed with grant funding from the government’s Seafood Innovation Fund, will head back to the Isle of Skye next summer for further testing at a salmon farm off Uig Bay.
As R&D on the MANTA continues, Aqua Power Technologies also manufactures a range of products which streamline operations, save money and cut emissions for the salmon farming industry.
David Beeby – who is well-known in Cumbria as former group CEO of Innovia, in Wigton, and as chair of Cumbria Economic Growth Board, among other roles – sits as chairman of the company, offering his guidance and experience.
