The story behind Pliosaur Energy
I left a career in offshore energy to help build what comes next
Marine energy holds immense potential, but progress towards large-scale commercial deployment has been too slow. Pliosaur Energy began with a belief that decades of offshore engineering experience could be used to develop a more practical and scalable way of harnessing the power of the ocean.
Meet the founder
Experience built across the complete offshore project lifecycle
My engineering career began with mining engineering degree from the Camborne School of Mines, graduating in 1983.
After spending two years in the gold mining industry, I moved into the offshore oil and gas sector, where I spent the next twenty-seven years working across engineering, offshore operations and the complete project lifecycle of major offshore developments.
Those years provided invaluable experience in subsea systems, project development, production operations and the commercial realities of delivering complex offshore infrastructure safely, reliably and economically.
By the time I reached a senior production management role, I had become convinced that many of the engineering principles successfully applied in offshore oil and gas could also be applied to marine renewable energy.
Founder and director
A change of direction
Choosing to pursue a practical marine-energy solution
In 2012, I was offered several promotion opportunities within BG Group, providing a clear path towards further senior operational leadership.
But I had become convinced that the experience developed throughout my offshore career could be put to better use. Marine renewable energy held enormous potential, yet its progress towards commercial deployment remained far slower than the scale of the opportunity required.
I believed that proven offshore engineering principles could help address some of the technical and economic barriers holding the sector back.
I did not know whether a commercially viable solution existed. I only knew that the problem was important enough to pursue.
A different starting point
Designing around the ocean rather than adapting a machine to it
I did not begin by designing a turbine and then searching for somewhere to place it. I began with the Bristol Channel.
Its exceptional tidal range, powerful currents, energetic waves and demanding operating environment made it an uncompromising place from which to begin.
If a system could be designed around those conditions, the lessons could have value far beyond a single location.
While much of the marine renewable energy sector was concentrating on seabed-mounted devices, I believed a floating system could offer important advantages in installation, access, maintenance and deployment in deeper water.
The next chapter
Marine energy will not move forward through engineering alone
It will require engineers, coastal communities, manufacturers, researchers, policymakers, investors and members of the public who believe that the ocean should play a greater part in our energy future.
Pliosaur Energy began with one engineer’s decision to pursue a different approach. Its future will depend on bringing many more people into that journey.
Explore what we aim to achieve and how you can help move the programme forward.
Developing the technology
Starting digitally and improving continuously
From the outset, the company adopted a digital-first engineering approach, using advanced computer modelling and simulation to refine concepts before physical prototypes were built.
In 2012, Pliosaur Energy joined Autodesk’s Cleantech Partnership Programme, providing access to industry-leading engineering software that accelerated development.
As the technology matured, protecting the underlying intellectual property became an important priority.
A UK patent application was filed in 2014, followed later that year by an international Patent Cooperation Treaty application supported through funding from Innovate UK.
These milestones established the foundations for the technology’s future commercial development.
Independent evaluation
Testing assumptions and learning from every stage
Independent expertise, computer modelling and physical testing have all contributed to the continuing development of the system.
Progress has not come from protecting early assumptions. It has come from testing them, finding weaknesses and improving the design.
Learning through challenge
A design problem that led to a better solution
Recognising the importance of independent technical evaluation, Pliosaur Energy began working with Plymouth University and the Marine Innovation Centre.
Their expertise proved invaluable in validating the technology and identifying a significant design challenge relating to the platform’s draught.
The issue was subsequently confirmed through wave-tank testing in 2019.
Rather than bringing development to a halt, the result prompted a fundamental re-examination of the turbine arrangement. That process ultimately led to a breakthrough that substantially improved both the system’s performance and its commercial potential.
Our engineering philosophy
Continuous improvement rather than a single dramatic redesign
This development process reflects the Japanese principle of Kaizen: continuous improvement through small, deliberate changes.
Rather than relying on a single dramatic redesign, I have refined the concept progressively over many years.
Computer modelling, physical testing, independent evaluation and the lessons learned at each stage have all been used to improve performance, reliability, maintainability and commercial viability.
Wherever possible, Pliosaur Energy combines original engineering with proven technologies from other industries.
This allows development effort to focus on genuine innovation while reducing costs, improving reliability and accelerating commercial deployment.
The concept of floating watermills is far from new. Our innovation has been to transform that principle into a modern offshore energy platform capable of generating electricity from both tidal currents and ocean waves.
The system is also being developed with the potential to help collect floating plastic waste from the marine environment.
Looking ahead
The original belief remains unchanged
More than a decade after founding Pliosaur Energy, I remain convinced that the knowledge developed during a lifetime offshore can help address one of the defining challenges of our time.
The journey has taken longer and demanded more persistence than I could have anticipated in 2012.
But the reason for beginning has not changed. The ocean contains a vast and predictable source of renewable energy, and we have not yet done enough to unlock it.
Pliosaur Energy exists to help change that: by developing practical marine technology, supporting a stronger maritime economy and showing that energy infrastructure can contribute to healthier oceans as well as cleaner electricity.