QED Naval appoints Gordon Macintosh as Chairman

Gordon Macintosh has been appointed as new Chairman of leading Scottish tidal energy firm QED Naval.

Gordon  is Chairman of Aberdeen International Associates and a Director of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group. He held senior roles in Aberdeen City Council from 1995 to 2016, latterly as Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure. 

In 2016 he was approached by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, to be their Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, a role he held until 2018. 

He established Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group,  was a Director on the Board of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm) and was involved in the Aberdeen Hydrogen Strategy. 

Gordon also holds an honorary Professorship from Robert Gordon University.

Gordon McIntosh said: “I am delighted to join QED Naval at this crucial time for the marine energy sector. Government funding for tidal energy has been severely restricted and we are not on track to achieve our net zero goals.  In the UK we have 50% of the EU’s tidal energy potential, but we are still relying on fossil fuels for the majority of our energy supply. 

“We want to build a new industry for Scotland, and the UK, which can then be exported globally, in the same way that the wind industry benefits Denmark and Germany. The UK has the chance to lead the tidal energy market globally but we must ramp up investment now.”

Jeremy Smith, CEO of QED Naval said: “Gordon has extensive experience building businesses in the energy sector, as well as significant experience in marine energy development and policy. He has been a key player in projects to develop a joint supply chain which will prove invaluable as we move ahead with commercialisation of our tidal turbine technology. The supply chain is the aspect which will create highly skilled jobs in marine energy and will demonstrate the potential of a predictable, low-cost, domestic energy supply to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.”

The global tidal energy market is valued at £76 billion, with a predicted GVA of £1.4 billion by 2030, supporting some 4,000 jobs.

In the UK, experts predict that tidal power could supply up to 14 per cent of our current energy needs.

QED has developed the SubHub tidal platform – a pioneering submersible system designed to support the commissioning, testing, transportation and installation of tidal turbines to the seabed. SubHub reduces the cost of deploying and maintaining turbines by 60% and improves yields by up to 48%.

To date, QED has secured EU funding and a place on Interreg’s €48.2 million Tidal Stream Industry Energiser Project (TIGER), a global tidal showcase.

The company was founded by Jeremy Smith, a Naval Architect with 20 years’ experience within the defence research and marine industry, working on nuclear submarines, composite propulsion systems and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers project.

Peter Syme,  former Chairman of QED Naval, has retired.

Jeremy Smith continued:

“The shareholders, board and staff of QED Naval would like to thank Peter for his wisdom and guidance over his five years as Chairman. We wish him all the best for the future.”