Nova Innovation, founded in Edinburgh in 2009, installed one of the first offshore tidal energy arrays, in Bluemull Sound in Shetland. By January 2023 the array had six 100 kW turbines on the seabed, turned by the tide, according to Wikipedia's account of the company.
In the October 2021 cut-off Nova won a €2.5 million EIC Accelerator grant for UpTEMPO, a two-year project to design, build and demonstrate a 200 kW turbine with blade pitch control that would "reduce tidal energy costs by 30%". We found no UpTEMPO project in CORDIS, and no report that the 200 kW turbine was installed. Nova's accounts at Companies House show that in 2024 it wrote down £11.8 million of intangible assets, "some of the early technology in tidal energy", and that its staff fell from 39 in 2023 to 28 in 2025.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Nova Innovation Ltd, SC358996, Edinburgh
- Founded
- 1 May 2009
- CEO
- Simon Forrest, co-founder
- Businesses
- Tidal turbines, floating solar, marine services
- Investor
- Scottish National Investment Bank (from 2021), per company
- EU tidal project
- SEASTAR, 4 MW array at EMEC, Orkney
- EIC award
- UpTEMPO, October 2021 cut-off, grant
Where Nova Innovation Stands Today
Nova's news page is now mostly about floating solar: Scotland's first floating solar array at the Forth Ports headquarters in Leith in 2023, the AquaGen365 joint venture with the consultancy RSK in 2024, a contract in December 2025 for a floating solar array at a quarry in Cheshire and, in June 2026, an announcement that it was powering a UK quarry. Its about page now lists "Floating Solar, Electrification, Marine Services". In its 2024 accounts the directors wrote that "delays in getting consent, along with the choke point of grid-access, have seen tidal projects face delays" and that Nova had offset them "with the addition of floating solar". The company appointed a new chair in December 2025 and allotted new shares in August 2026.
The Technology: Turbines on the Seabed
Nova's turbines sit on gravity foundations on the seabed and turn with tidal currents, which run on a predictable timetable. The UpTEMPO turbine was to add blade pitch control, to capture more energy, and a more compact body to cut weight and cost, meeting the EU's target of €150 per MWh for tidal energy by 2025. Nova's next array, SEASTAR, is a 4 MW, 16-turbine project at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, backed by Horizon Europe and announced in November 2023. The project's own documents, summarised by Tethys, say it will be "installed and commissioned in a single phase in 2027/28".
"Tidal energy is needed for our future renewable energy mix – it is clean, reliable, predictable and has no visual impact."
Simon Forrest, CEO of Nova Innovation, on the EIC awardWhat the EIC Project Promised, and What the Record Shows
UpTEMPO promised a 200 kW turbine demonstrated within two years, cutting the cost of tidal energy by 30%. There is no CORDIS record with results, Nova has not announced the turbine's deployment, and SEASTAR, its next array, has not been installed. The 2024 accounts say the company "impaired some of the value of some of the early technology in tidal energy that has now been superseded", writing off assets with a cost of £4.8 million in full and part of assets worth £7.9 million.
- A 200 kW pitch-controlled turbineNot shownNo deployment announced.
- 30% lower tidal energy costNot shownNo results published.
- A larger tidal arrayNot yetSEASTAR set for 2027/28.
- Company growthMissedStaff down to 28.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The Money
Nova's filed accounts show net assets of £22.0 million at the end of 2023, falling to £12.4 million a year later after the impairment, and £13.2 million at the end of 2025; cash was £1.4 million at the end of 2025. The directors prepared the accounts on a going-concern basis, citing forecast "positive operational cash flow for at least the next 12 months". The company names the Scottish National Investment Bank as an institutional investor since 2021. The UpTEMPO grant does not appear in CORDIS, so its payments are not visible in EU project data.
What cannot be checked
Whether the 200 kW UpTEMPO turbine was built or tested, how much of the grant was paid, and how much of Nova's revenue now comes from tidal rather than floating solar are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EIC backed Nova to push tidal energy towards commercial cost. Nova's own accounts describe consent and grid delays holding tidal projects back, and the company has turned partly to floating solar to fill the gap. Europe's tidal ambitions now rest on SEASTAR, which is still to be installed.
What the project promised
A 200 kW turbine that cuts the cost of tidal energy by 30%, demonstrated within two years.
What the record shows
No reported deployment, an £11.8M tidal write-down, a shrinking team and a move into floating solar.
The Verdict
A tidal bet, partly hedged
The public record does not show that UpTEMPO delivered its turbine. Nova has written down early tidal technology, shed staff and moved into floating solar, while its large EU-backed tidal array waits for 2027.
Nova Innovation has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements, UK company filings and project documents, linked throughout.
