This female founder is rethinking wave energy - to power a sustainable planet
(Image: Ash Penley, Founder & CEO of ZOEX)
Engineer. Mother. Inventor.
Ash Penley has raised over £1 million to fix one of wave energy’s biggest blind spots.
She’s the founder of ZOEX, the UK’s only female-founded wave energy company, which just secured £531,000 in funding from Equity Gap, Scottish Enterprise, and the University of Strathclyde - alongside a £196,000 grant from Innovate UK.
The big flaw in wave energy
Her mission?
To solve one of marine energy’s most overlooked flaws: most wave energy systems only work in rare, high-wave conditions - leaving the vast majority of coastlines untapped.
Ash Penley is changing that.
Why most wave systems don’t work
Most wave energy converters (WECs) are designed for breakwaters - massive concrete barriers found only in limited parts of the world. These systems require wave heights over 2 metres to function.
The problem?
Most coastlines don’t see waves that big - or have breakwaters at all.
Turning the model upside down
Ash’s breakthrough came in 2015 while working with an Israeli firm. A study with the University of the Highlands and Islands confirmed that Scotland lacked both the wave conditions and infrastructure conventional WECs need.
So she flipped the model.
At the Wave Energy Scotland conference, she discovered a PTO (power take-off) system that could operate in wave heights as low as 35cm. With SE:SMART funding and support from the University of Edinburgh, she designed a WEC tailored for smaller, more common sea states.
Solving the failure point
She also solved a key failure point: the mechanical end-stop problem. Her patented double-link arm lets the device lift or submerge in storms, improving durability.
And she added something competitors haven’t: versatility.
ZOEX’s modular device can mount onto any marine structure. Its compact form, impact-resistant floats, submerged survival mode, and lack of mechanical end stops make it uniquely suited to real-world ocean environments.
A market most missed
Still, Ash knew innovation alone wouldn’t be enough.
Most wave energy startups failed - not because the tech didn’t work, but because they couldn’t find a viable market early on. Product market fit is key.
Through Unlocking Ambition, she identified one: aquaculture, a fast-growing, energy-intensive industry often reliant on diesel generators.
Diesel is dirty, expensive, and unsustainable.
And ZOEX offers a clean, modular, scalable alternative - with no breakwaters and no fossil fuels required.
Next stop: Turkey
The new funding will support long-term sea trials in Ordu, Turkey, validating the system before commercial rollout end of 2025.
Ash said:
“This investment is a huge step forward for ZOEX and for women in marine energy.
Our technology has been designed not just to survive at sea, but to thrive—efficiently, sustainably and at scale.”
Fuelled by purpose
The name ZOEX is a tribute to her children: Zoe (meaning “life”) and Alex (meaning “defender of humankind”).
Zoe represents her vision of powering remote islands with clean energy and fresh water. Alex symbolises the resilience and protection built into the device’s design.
Ash has engineered her way through technical and funding hurdles, founded a deep-tech company in a male-dominated space, and earned the trust of investors and clients alike—all while raising a family and staying deeply grounded in purpose.
Her motto?
“If I can do it, you can do it.”
And she’s proving that - every step of the way.
Why The Purse is watching
At The Purse, we spotlight women inventing the future, especially when they’re building the foundations of a more sustainable planet.
Ash is not just engineering a better wave energy system, she’s reshaping who gets to build climate tech, and how we define progress.
Her solution is practical, inclusive, and rooted in the realities of our changing world. It’s exactly the kind of leadership this transition needs.
In an industry that’s historically overlooked both smaller coastlines and female founders, Ash is quietly, and powerfully, changing the narrative.
We’ll be following her journey…and sharing more stories like this to inspire, inform, and shift the system for good.
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka. We do no provide investment advice. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser.
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