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MAXBlade, a project aiming to optimize tidal energy generation, has been launched at Edinburgh University’s FastBlade facility. The project’s long-term aim is to ‘ensure the European composite sector becomes the international leader in tidal blade manufacture’.
The EUR 10 million project, funded by the European Union and UK Research and Innovation, aims to deliver a range of innovations to improve the performance of tidal turbines and reduce costs.
It will investigate the full lifecycle of tidal turbine blades, from materials, manufacture and operation, to decommissioning and recyclability. MAXBlade plans to increase the area harnessed by Scottish tidal technology company Orbital Marine Power to generate power – known as the rotor swept area – by 70, to over 1000m2.
According to the team, MAXBlade will increase the length of the turbine blades from 10 to 13m, making them the longest of their kind. Modelling by Edinburgh University’s Institute of Energy Systems estimates GBP 40 billion could be generated for the UK economy by harnessing wave and tidal energy.
The project will involve a two-year design and development phase, followed by an 18-month build, during which blades will undergo advanced structural testing at FastBlade.
The technology will then undergo two years of real-world testing at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. Two of Orbital Marine Power’s O2 floating platforms will each be fitted with four of the newly developed blades.

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