Background and Liquidity	12 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2021
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Background and Liquidity	(1) Background and Liquidity *(a) Background* Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) was founded in 1984 in New Jersey, commenced business operations in 1994 and re-incorporated in Delaware in 2007. We are a complete solutions provider, controlling the design, manufacturing, sales, installation, operations and maintenance of our products while working closely with partners that provide payloads, integration services, and marine installation capabilities. Our solutions provide distributed offshore power which is persistent, reliable, and economical along with power and communications for remote surface and subsea applications. Since fiscal 2002, government agencies have accounted for a significant portion of the Company’s revenues. These revenues were largely for the support of product development efforts relating to our technology. Today our goal is to generate the majority of our revenue from the sale or lease of products and solutions, and sales of services to support our business operations. As we continue to develop and commercialize our products and services, we expect to have a net decrease in cash due to the use of cash from operating activities unless and until we achieve positive cash flow from the commercialization of products, solutions and services. *(b) Liquidity* *For Fiscal 2021* In fiscal 2021, the Company incurred a net loss of approximately $14.8 million and used cash in operations of approximately $11.7 million. The Company has continued to make investments in ongoing product development efforts in anticipation of future growth. The Company’s future results of operations involve significant risks and uncertainties. Factors that could affect the Company’s future operating results and cause actual results to vary materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, performance of its products, its ability to market and commercialize its products and new products that it may develop, technology development, scalability of technology and production, dependence on skills of key personnel, concentration of customers and suppliers, deployment risks and integration of acquisitions, pending or threatened litigation, and the impact of COVID-19 on its business. The Company currently has committed sources of equity financing through its At the Market Offering Agreement with A.G.P/Alliance Global Partners (“AGP”) and the Aspire Capital financing (see Note 11), but the Company cannot be sure that additional equity and/or debt financing will be available to the Company as needed on acceptable terms, or at all. Management believes the Company’s current cash balance of $83.4 million is sufficient to fund its planned expenditures through at least July 31, 2022. *For Fiscal 2020* The below disclosure describes the Company’s liquidity as of April 30, 2020 and is being included within this report as a requirement in relation to the Company changing external auditors in the current year. As our previous auditors are still required to opine on the information related to 2020, which they audited, and because their audit report makes reference to this disclosure, it has been included below. Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020 were prepared assuming the Company would continue as a going concern. The Company had previously experienced substantial and recurring losses from operations, which had contributed to an accumulated deficit of $220.1 million at April 30, 2020. At April 30, 2020, the Company had approximately $10.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash on hand. On May 5, 2020, the Company received $0.9 million proceeds from the PPP Loan (see Note 9 to these Consolidated Financial Statements for more information). The Company generated revenues of only $1.7 million during the year ended April 30, 2020. Based on the Company’s cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances as of April 30, 2020 plus the subsequent proceeds from the PPP Loan, the Company believed that it would be able to finance its capital requirements and operations into the quarter ending April 30, 2021. The Company required additional equity and/or debt financing to continue its operations. The Company could not provide assurances that it would be able to secure the additional funding when needed or at all, or, if secured, that such funding would be on favorable terms. As of June 29, 2020, the issuance date of the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020, these factors raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plan in regard to these factors at the time included evaluating different strategies to obtain the required additional funding for future operations. These strategies included, but are not limited to, continued pursuit of business opportunities; additional funding from current and /or new investors, officers and directors; borrowings of debt; a public offering of the Company’s equity or debt securities; partnerships and/or collaborations. As of June 29, 2020, there was no assurance that any of these future-funding efforts would be successful. As a result of this, the consolidated financial statements as of April 30, 2020 were prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplated the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. These consolidated financial statements did not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded assets amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Background and Liquidity

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2021

(1) Background and Liquidity

(a) Background

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) was founded in 1984 in New Jersey, commenced business operations in 1994 and re-incorporated in Delaware in 2007. We are a complete solutions provider, controlling the design, manufacturing, sales, installation, operations and maintenance of our products while working closely with partners that provide payloads, integration services, and marine installation capabilities. Our solutions provide distributed offshore power which is persistent, reliable, and economical along with power and communications for remote surface and subsea applications. Since fiscal 2002, government agencies have accounted for a significant portion of the Company’s revenues. These revenues were largely for the support of product development efforts relating to our technology. Today our goal is to generate the majority of our revenue from the sale or lease of products and solutions, and sales of services to support our business operations. As we continue to develop and commercialize our products and services, we expect to have a net decrease in cash due to the use of cash from operating activities unless and until we achieve positive cash flow from the commercialization of products, solutions and services.

(b) Liquidity

For Fiscal 2021

In fiscal 2021, the Company incurred a net loss of approximately $14.8 million and used cash in operations of approximately $11.7 million. The Company has continued to make investments in ongoing product development efforts in anticipation of future growth. The Company’s future results of operations involve significant risks and uncertainties. Factors that could affect the Company’s future operating results and cause actual results to vary materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, performance of its products, its ability to market and commercialize its products and new products that it may develop, technology development, scalability of technology and production, dependence on skills of key personnel, concentration of customers and suppliers, deployment risks and integration of acquisitions, pending or threatened litigation, and the impact of COVID-19 on its business. The Company currently has committed sources of equity financing through its At the Market Offering Agreement with A.G.P/Alliance Global Partners (“AGP”) and the Aspire Capital financing (see Note 11), but the Company cannot be sure that additional equity and/or debt financing will be available to the Company as needed on acceptable terms, or at all. Management believes the Company’s current cash balance of $83.4 million is sufficient to fund its planned expenditures through at least July 31, 2022.

For Fiscal 2020

The below disclosure describes the Company’s liquidity as of April 30, 2020 and is being included within this report as a requirement in relation to the Company changing external auditors in the current year. As our previous auditors are still required to opine on the information related to 2020, which they audited, and because their audit report makes reference to this disclosure, it has been included below.

Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020 were prepared assuming the Company would continue as a going concern. The Company had previously experienced substantial and recurring losses from operations, which had contributed to an accumulated deficit of $220.1 million at April 30, 2020. At April 30, 2020, the Company had approximately $10.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash on hand. On May 5, 2020, the Company received $0.9 million proceeds from the PPP Loan (see Note 9 to these Consolidated Financial Statements for more information). The Company generated revenues of only $1.7 million during the year ended April 30, 2020. Based on the Company’s cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances as of April 30, 2020 plus the subsequent proceeds from the PPP Loan, the Company believed that it would be able to finance its capital requirements and operations into the quarter ending April 30, 2021. The Company required additional equity and/or debt financing to continue its operations. The Company could not provide assurances that it would be able to secure the additional funding when needed or at all, or, if secured, that such funding would be on favorable terms. As of June 29, 2020, the issuance date of the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020, these factors raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Management’s plan in regard to these factors at the time included evaluating different strategies to obtain the required additional funding for future operations. These strategies included, but are not limited to, continued pursuit of business opportunities; additional funding from current and /or new investors, officers and directors; borrowings of debt; a public offering of the Company’s equity or debt securities; partnerships and/or collaborations. As of June 29, 2020, there was no assurance that any of these future-funding efforts would be successful.

As a result of this, the consolidated financial statements as of April 30, 2020 were prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplated the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. These consolidated financial statements did not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded assets amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.