Gareth Stockman is one of the founders of Marine Power Systems, one of the UK’s leading marine energy technology developers.
Their PelaFlex flexible deep-water platforms are designed to harness wind energy in deep waters, unlocking vast energy resources that have previously been out of reach.
Tell us about your current role and your connection to the Welsh marine energy sector, what led you to where you are today?
I am the CEO of Marine Power Systems (MPS). My role spans everything from commercial strategy, fundraising, government engagement, and forming international partnerships.
Graham and I established the company; as engineers, we were both very much attracted by the scale of the opportunity within the sector. Initially, in the very early days we were looking at wave, tidal and wind opportunities – today MPS is specifically focused on the industrialisation of deep-water wind. It’s serendipitous really, that Wales happens to be a good place for our business, and it’s also the place we met and decided to do our respective university degrees many moons ago.
We are working to establish Wales as a centre of excellence for deep-water offshore wind, bringing highly-skilled jobs, developing manufacturing capability and exporting Welsh innovation globally.
For us, the opportunity has always been bigger than energy generation alone — it’s about creating a new industrial sector that designs, manufactures and exports technology.
We’re still as motivated by it today as we were when we set the company up, our ambition is absolutely possible, and Wales is undoubtedly a place where technology can be designed, manufactured and delivered.
Looking back over the last 10 years of the sector, what do you think has changed the most?
The whole sector has shifted and fundamentally, a market now exists. Today there are an abundance of commercial developers (MPS customers) who want to deploy technology globally, in deep-water wind. 10 years ago when we set out in tidal and wave, the market pull did not exist to drive development.
As well as this demand, there is much more policy alignment and government support. Ten years ago, this just wasn’t the case.
Just recently, we had an announcement from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero who control the funding pots for the Contracts for Difference. They confirmed that for Allocation Round 8, hybrid technologies will be included, such as our PelaFlex GS Device, which is fantastic news.
In terms of deep-water wind, the sector has matured dramatically. The market that is being created in the Celtic Sea, with 4.5 gigawatts of allocated sites, and a further 8 GW in development, just didn’t exist ten years ago.
The conversation has also fundamentally changed. Ten years ago we were proving technologies could work. Today we’re discussing industrialisation, manufacturing facilities and how quickly deployment can scale. What was once viewed as a future opportunity is now attracting significant global attention, and the UK is becoming one of the first places to help scale that ambition.
There is a lot more financial backing now than there was ten years ago too. When Graham and I set up the company, the first grant we received was £25,000 from the Welsh Government, which we match-funded. Since then, we’ve received funding from the likes of DESNZ, The Crown Estate, IUK and the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership. We are engaged with GB Energy, the National Wealth Fund and others, with the aim of securing financial support to establish our first manufacturing facility. A lot has happened in the last decade, and it’s exciting.
Has there been a moment in the last decade that made you stop and think, “this industry is actually happening?”
There probably wasn’t a single moment, but rather a series of milestones that collectively changed perceptions. For us, it’s been the conversation moving away from ‘will the technology work?’ to ‘how many and how quickly?’.
In April this year, Welsh Government invested £8 million directly into Marine Power Systems, which is a real sign of validation and confidence. This wasn’t simply an investment in a technology company; it was recognition of the wider economic opportunity. It reflected confidence that Wales can capture the jobs, manufacturing capability and long-term value associated with the energy transition, whilst contributing to the UK’s energy resilience.
More widely for the sector, we’ve seen major government support, global developers and institutional investors all coming to the fore, putting serious capital into some of these projects and the supply chain, which is a clear indication that the industry is reaching a new level of maturity.
Have there been any tough moments or big challenges for the sector or for you personally during your career? if so what did they teach you?
All emerging industries face challenges, and the reality of building a company in a new sector is that the market often develops more slowly than people expect. The funding side is obviously difficult, and so are the things you can’t predict, such as Brexit. When Brexit happened, all EU funding disappeared. Having said that, right now there are some fantastic opportunities for funding, some of which we’ve gratefully managed to leverage.
One of the lessons we’ve learned is that resilience matters. Industries aren’t built through a single breakthrough; they’re built through persistence and long-term commitment.
“I hope future generations see this as the decade when Wales moved from being a consumer of renewable energy technology to becoming a creator and exporter of it.”
What role has Marine Energy Wales played in your own career or organisation and for the wider industry?
I think Marine Energy Wales has undoubtedly helped shape the sector over the past decade. They champion our interests, and those of their members, and ultimately you can’t build an industry alone; it’s all about collaboration.
MEW is now recognised as a serious, trusted and respected player within the sector, and it has evolved over the years.
Aside from the bigger outputs like the annual conference and the reports, many people don’t see the considerable amount of work that happens behind the scenes to connect organisations, facilitate collaborations, influence policy and create alignment across the sector.
Considering the limited funding MEW receives, it provides a lot of bang for the buck. I think the progress of the sector in Wales would have been slower without it.
if someone reads this article in 2036, what do you hope they’ll say about what the sector has achieved? What are your hopes for the next 10 years?
I would like them to see that this was the decade Wales seized the opportunity and grabbed the bull by the horns. I think this is the decade where Wales will start homegrown manufacturing of platforms for deployment at industrial scale.
In the next decade, I would like to see thriving projects in Welsh waters, as well of course across the UK and globally. I would like to see the construction of MPS’s advanced manufacturing facilities in order to be able to support the market with highly skilled jobs.
It would be fantastic if people recognised Wales as having the confidence to lead and capitalise on this opportunity. More than anything, I hope future generations see this as the decade when Wales moved from being a consumer of renewable energy technology to becoming a creator and exporter of it. If that happens, we’ll know we laid the foundations for a globally significant industrial sector.