Ocean Power Technologies expands with Columbia Wave IP - ICYMI

Ocean Power Technologies expands with Columbia Wave IP - ICYMI

Sat, August 1, 2026 at 11:00 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• OPTT +12.35%

Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) CEO Philipp Stratmann talked with Proactive about the company's acquisition of the subsea wave power generating intellectual property portfolio from Columbia Wave Power, recent financial results and how the business is expanding its capabilities from surface maritime operations to seabed infrastructure.

Proactive: Welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. Joining me now is Philipp Stratmann, CEO of Ocean Power Technologies. Philipp, it's great to see you again. How are you doing?

Philipp Stratmann: I'm doing well. It's good to be on again.

You recently reported your financial results and also completed an acquisition. Tell us about the acquisition.

We acquired the subsea wave power generating IP portfolio from Columbia Wave Power. We've been focused on surface maritime domain awareness and maritime dominance, but this acquisition helps us extend our offering from the surface down to the seabed. As experts in maritime power generation at a non-grid-connected scale, it completes an important part of our overall solution.

Why is the surface-to-seabed capability so significant?

While much of our work is above the water, much of what customers need to monitor is below it. Our existing buoy systems already support subsea applications, including underwater cable connections in Monterey Bay and subsea junction boxes in Chile that collect environmental data. This acquisition allows us to expand into the subsea domain, powering underwater sensors, robotics and other equipment while complementing our existing surface technologies.

It sounds like this creates a more complete technology offering.

Exactly. We've described it as providing the operational infrastructure layer that's currently missing. Everyone talks about robots and autonomous vessels, but those systems still need monitoring, awareness and power. We can now provide that operational infrastructure from seabed to surface and help customers deliver a more holistic solution.

Turning to your financial results, FY26 included your largest deployment and recurring revenue contract worth around $6.5 million from the US Coast Guard. It seems like a transformational year.

It really was. We worked on transforming the company from being a technology provider into an infrastructure services provider. In FY27 we'll focus on increasing recurring revenue, converting more pipeline opportunities into contracted backlog and accelerating backlog conversion into revenue.

Government contracts remain an important opportunity?

Yes. We continue working with the US Coast Guard and are live-streaming data to them. We're also engaged with other US government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Border Protection. Monitoring waterways is vital for economic prosperity, protecting oceans and safeguarding the homeland. We believe FY27 will be even more exciting than FY26.

Thanks for your time.

Thank you. Good to be on as always.

Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity