The money comes from the WATERS fund, an initiative to support the development of wave and tidal energy devices.
Scottish Energy Minister Jim Mather says: "Our seas have unrivalled potential to generate clean, green energy and bring jobs, investment and know how to Scotland.
"This funding is another step on the road to a low carbon Scotland that maximises its resources for a sustainable future."
RWE npower received a £6m chunk of the cash to fund construction of one of the world's largest wave stations, the ten turbine, 4MW Siadar project off the Western Isles.
OpenHydro was given £1.92m
