Limerick hydro-kinetic firm all set for fair sailing in the New Year
THE co-founder of a local wind energy firm has outlined ambitious growth plans for 2022.
Roisin McCormack, the chief operating officer of Newcastle West’s GKinetic Energy was speaking as the company seeks planning permission for a new development upstream from the Thomond Weir.
GKinetic Energy exists to develop floating tidal energy devices, and has announced its intention to apply to Limerick City and County Council to deploy three turbines, associated anchors and marker buoys upstream of Thomond Weir in the River Shannon.
Ms McCormack said if permission is forthcoming, she hopes turbines will be in the water by April.
The firm had initially indicated it would seek planning permission back in October, but have now returned with a fresh application having secured a letter of support.
“The wheels are in motion now,” she said, “We are pushing for a pretty aggressive timeline. On our side, we can have the turbines ready to go in April next year, but it's all down to planning now.”
Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, Ms McCormack has reported that GKinetic has hit its targets for 2021.
“So the key thing is we set out to bring in strategic investment. It's our first time taking in equity investment. We have closed deals with two investors we are very happy with. As a result of this, we have ambitious growth plans for next year. We are going to be advertising for two roles this week or next week, and we'll probably advertise another two in January. We are hoping to have 10 people by February, and all going well with sales, another eight by the end of next year,” she told Business Leader.
On top of what it plans close to the weir in Thomondgate, GKinetic is also seeking to provide a junction box and cable carrying metal conduit.
This will link to the ESB building at Brown's Quay, while a portacabin will be erected here, if the proposals get the go-ahead.
GKinetic Energy has been working on a new off-grid floating device for a number of years, with the aim of providing enough electricity to power up to 15 homes.
In October last, GKinetic Energy was named one of only 10 global ocean impact tech startups to receive investment from the Katapult group.
Katapult is an investment company, focused on tech startups, and currently manages $50m in investment.
Since 2017, Katapult has invested in 138 companies from 35 countries.