Dr. Eddie McCarthy

With 20+ years' work experience, Dr. McCarthy has led projects for clients in the oil, offshore wind and tidal energy sectors; his projects span across 3 continents.

Dr. McCarthy is Senior Lecturer in Composites Design and Testing at The University of Edinburgh, and specialises as a polymer and fibre reinforced polymer composite expert. He is recognised as a world leader in the elastomer sector, and has delivered bespoke, high value semi-conductor oil and gas seals for various private sector clients using his own research and technologies.

Years Experience

3

Continents

In

Over

20

Technical Lead, Energy Solutions

Our Experts' Projects

3D Printed Core Tidal Rotor Blade

United Kingdom

Design and manufacture of a bespoke 2.5m long tidal turbine blade with a 3D printed inner core leading to significant reductions in manufacturing cost.

Rotor Blade Test Rig

United Kingdom

Data-driven approach to design and installation of rotor blade test rig and supporting components in Edinburgh, UK.

Optimal sensor placement optimisation used to minimise construction, operational and maintenance while ensuring accurate data collected from tests.

Tidal Rotor Blade

United Kingdom

Prototype design and manufacturing of a 5 m long tidal turbine blade with a support structure consisting of a cast-iron spart, carbon-glass composite ribs and skin system. Use of finite element modelling and data-driven design led to significant cost reductions over conventional tidal blade designs.

Power Station Upgrade Works

Australia

Lattice towers, roof strengthening for gantry cranes, building works, pipe bridges, access platforms and wind-shields design related to the upgrade works in Loy-Yang and Tamar Valley Power Stations, using data-driven engineering to improve construction costs and operational efficiency.

Lattice Wind Rotor Blade

Ireland

Prototype design of lattice structure designed with a finite element modelling approach. Results showed a significant reduction in overall material weight and cost.

News

Led by Dr. Eddie McCarthy, a new state-of-the-art tidal turbine blade has been manufactured in Scotland for the first time — and at a lower cost than previous versions. According to its developers, this innovation could help reduce the levelised cost of tidal energy.

FastBlade leader Dr Eddie McCarthy, said: “This project represents a major step change in our group’s capacity to manufacture tidal blades at reasonable size scale (around three metres long) at a reasonable speed ... we have found a faster, cheaper route to manufacture than the usual tidal blade fabrication."