Gordon McIntosh

Mr McIntosh’s is also chairman at Aberdeen International Associates and a director of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, which he established. He has also held senior roles at the Aberdeen City Council from 1995 to 2016, latterly as director of enterprise, planning and infrastructure.

He was also a director on the board of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm) and was involved in the Aberdeen Hydrogen Strategy.

Mr McIntosh also served as deputy minister of natural resources for the government of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2016 to 2018. Recognising his efforts in the field, Robert Gordon University has honoured Mr McIntosh with a professorship.

Mr 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, valued at £76 billion, is projected to have a GVA of £1.4bn by 2030, supporting approximately 4,000 jobs. Within the UK, experts anticipate that tidal power could meet up to 14% of current energy needs. QED Naval has contributed to this sector with their innovative SubHub tidal platform, which has reduced the cost of deploying and maintaining turbines by 60% and improved yields by up to 48%.

To date, QED Naval has secured EU funding and a spot on Interreg’s €48.2 million (£41.3m) Tidal Stream Industry Energiser Project (TIGER), a global tidal showcase. The company was founded by Mr Smith, a naval architect with two decades of experience in the defence research and marine industry, working on nuclear submarines, composite propulsion systems and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers project.

As Mr McIntosh takes the helm at QED Naval, the former chairman, Peter Syme, has retired.

Mr Smith added: “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.”