SCOTTISH marine ­renewables company QED Naval has attracted funding of up to £550,000 from Kelvin Capital and the Scottish Investment Bank.

It marks Kelvin's entry into the renewable energy market to back QED's Subhub project, which the company believes can offer a breakthrough in reducing the costs of deploying tidal turbines, so helping the industry become more commercially viable. The Subhub is a foundation structure for transporting and installing wave and tidal turbines aimed at replacing the need for large, specialist deployment vessels.

Jeremy Smith, managing director of QED, said: "These funds will allow us to commercialise Subhub in a strategic manner, to minimise the technical risks of the project providing confidence to the investors."

Jim Hall, co-founder of Kelvin Capital, said: "Jeremy and the team at QED Naval have patented technology which could be transformational for the tidal energy sector in Scotland and beyond and has already attracted significant government backing."

The Scottish Co-investment Fund will provide £200,000 now and a further tranche early in 2015.