QED Naval has announced that Fred Gibbs and Arif Alzakri are representing QED Naval and Tocardo at the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC). Their participation forms part of the IDCORE Industrial PhD research and development programme at the University of Edinburgh.
Both researchers are making significant contributions to the conceptual design of QED Naval’s next-generation utility-scale turbine.
Fred Gibbs is working on the optimisation of electrical machine design surfaces within QED Naval’s digital twin model, Tidal 2 Wire. He has developed and validated electromagnetic analysis tools to optimise generator sizing matching peak efficiencies matched with the Morlais resource, at both industrial and utility scales. His work also incorporates six years of operational data from the Oosterschelde Tidal Project, which is being used to inform thermal modelling and assess opportunities to extend turbine performance.
Arif Alzakri is developing a mid-fidelity unsteady dynamic design toolset using the OpenFAST framework from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States. His modelling explores fluid–structure interactions, turbulence, wake effects and fatigue, providing valuable insights into turbine behaviour, blade response and drive-train performance under real-world conditions.
Both projects also contribute to Tocardo BV’s Offshore for Sure project, which is creating a digital twin for predictive maintenance.
Jeremy Smith, CEO of QED Naval, commented:
“This collaboration underlines our commitment to bridging academic excellence with commercial deployment. The research being presented at EWTEC demonstrates how QED Naval is using advanced modelling, digital twin technology and real-world operating data to accelerate the development of scalable and reliable tidal energy solutions.”