StatoilHydro was one of the main players involved in putting in place a 300 kW tidal turbine pilot in Kvalsundet outside Hammerfest in 2002, through the company Hammerfest Strøm AS.
The world's biggest producer of renewable energy, Iberdrola, has seen the potential of this technology and acquired a stake in the company.
Together with Scottish Power, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, a 1 MW pilot is to be built in Scotland.
The goal of the pilot is to commercialise the technology with a view to full-scale development.
