Bath’s Drift Energy set for £5m boost

A start-up based in Bath which uses hi-tech sailing vessels to generate clean energy at sea is expected to announce this week that it has secured close to £5m of new backing from Octopus Ventures and Blue Action Accelerator.

DFRIFT plans to deploy a fleet of high-performance sailing vessels that harness deep ocean wind to produce green hydrogen at sea and them distribute it around the world.

The company has also recently been awarded funding from Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, through its Investor Partnership Programme.

It said the grant would fuel its research and development programme and accelerate the design process for its first vessel.

Ben Medland, DRIFT founder and chief executive, said: “Alongside the support from Blue Action Accelerator, this funding (from Octopus Ventures) enables us to drive with momentum into the next phase of our mission.”

Mat Munro, an investor at Octopus Ventures, added: “We’re incredibly excited about DRIFT and the team’s potential to lead the way in developing a truly innovative source of renewable energy.”