Caudal Energy, an Oxford University spinout formerly known as Porpoise Power, has raised £4.3M led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Empirical Ventures to test a fin-based tidal generator that operates in mid-flow sites conventional turbines cannot reach.
The raise brings total funding to £5.5M and funds full-scale testing at Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, ahead of a first commercial deployment targeted for 2028.
The tidal energy market stands at $1.4B in 2025 and is forecast to reach $3.66B by 2030 at a 21.1% CAGR, according to The Business Research Company.
Tidal energy has one advantage no other renewable can match: it is completely predictable. The tides run on lunar cycles, not weather systems. Every grid operator in the world knows exactly how much tidal power will be available at any given hour, decades in advance. And yet tidal energy remains a rounding error in the global renewables mix, because the technology built to harness it has always been too complex, too expensive, and too site-specific to deploy at scale.
Caudal Energy, the Oxford-headquartered spinout founded in 2024 and formerly known as Porpoise Power, is trying to change that. The company has raised £4.3M in a round co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Empirical Ventures, with participation from returning investors Zero Carbon Capital and Creator Fund, and new backers Kibo Invest and Oxford Innovation Finance. Total funding now stands at £5.5M, following a £1.2M pre-seed in 2024 led by Zero Carbon Capital.
