Caudal Energy Raises $5.4M for Predictable Tidal Power

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-27

Caudal Energy, an Oxford-based baseload energy company developing a new class of predictable renewable power systems, has raised $5.4 million (4.9 million euros) in funding. The round was led by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Empirical Ventures, with participation from others, including existing investors Zero Carbon Capital and Creator Fund. ### Why Tidal Energy Matters Here’s the thing: water is over 800 times denser than air. That makes tidal flow one of the most energy-dense renewable resources around. Unlike wind and solar, it’s fully forecastable years in advance. So it can provide stable generation that strengthens energy security and cuts grid balancing costs.  ### The Problem with Traditional Tidal Tech But traditional tidal technologies have remained complex, costly, and limited to a small number of extremely high-flow sites. Caudal Energy says it’s changing that. The company is rethinking how tidal energy is generated from first principles. Inspired by the efficiency of the tail or caudal fins of marine mammals, Caudal’s proprietary oscillating foil system works with tidal flows rather than against them. That means a simpler, smarter, and more commercially scalable approach to marine energy generation. ### How It Works Instead of using traditional turbine rotation, the fin-based system converts energy through hydrodynamic lift and motion. It’s engineered to operate efficiently in flow speeds of 3 knots and above, with lower complexity and broader deployment potential. John Kennedy, CEO of Caudal Energy, put it this way: “The future energy system needs renewable power that is not only clean, but dependable and built to scale. We founded Caudal to challenge the assumption that tidal energy has to remain complex, costly and niche.” ### Unlocking More Sites Traditional tidal systems are limited to a small number of extreme high-flow sites. Caudal Energy changes the economics. By operating efficiently in abundant mid-flow locations, they unlock 10x as many sites, being closer to customers and taking potential UK resource from 11GW to 60GW. Combined with modular deployment and lower-cost operations, this creates the potential for tidal energy to scale from niche technology to commercially competitive renewable infrastructure. ### What’s Next for Caudal Energy With this capital, the company plans to expand its engineering and modeling capabilities, advance demonstration and deployment activities, and accelerate commercial partnerships across utility, industrial, and distributed energy markets. Caudal Energy is progressing development and deployment discussions with a range of strategic partners as it moves towards commercial-scale demonstration. Founded in 2024 as Porpoise Power by Professor Adrian Thomas, Hilary Struthers, and John Kennedy, Caudal Energy is a spin-off from the University of Oxford. It was born from the hydrodynamic research conducted by Professor Thomas at the university. ### The Big Picture So why does this matter for the US market? As grid stability becomes more critical with renewable adoption, predictable power sources like tidal energy could play a vital role. Unlike wind and solar, tidal flow is fully forecastable years in advance, enabling stable generation that can strengthen energy security and reduce grid balancing costs. Caudal Energy’s approach could help make that a reality at scale.