The European Marine Energy Centre Appoints New Managing Director

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has recently announced the appointment of Matthew Finn as its new Managing Director. Finn will be leading a restructured executive team as EMEC continues to focus on advancing clean energy initiatives and promoting the testing of wave and tidal energy converters.

Mark Hamilton, who previously served as the Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director at Orbital Marine Power, will now take on the role of Operations and Technology Director at EMEC. With his expertise in tidal energy, virtual power plant software platforms, and energy systems, Hamilton brings valuable experience to the team.

Donna Ritch will continue to serve as the Finance Director, overseeing financial operations, HR, IT, and support services. Eileen Linklater, who was promoted to Corporate Affairs Director last year, will remain responsible for quality, legal matters, stakeholder engagement, and communications.

Former Managing Director Neil Kermode, who led EMEC for two decades, will stay on in an advisory capacity. Kermode, recognized with an OBE for his contributions to renewable energy, continues to advocate for marine renewables.

Speaking about his new role, Finn expressed his excitement, stating, “As an innovation catalyst, EMEC uses its know-how, services and infrastructure to reduce the time, cost, and risk to progress innovative sustainable technologies to market. I am honored to step into this role alongside such a talented team.”

EMEC has also announced plans to expand its test and demonstration sites for wave and tidal energy, with a focus on accelerating prototype-to-array deployments and supporting the growing floating wind sector. In December 2024, two Scottish companies, Ocean Kinetics and Green Marine, successfully completed the decommissioning of OpenHydro’s tidal energy platform at the EMEC in Orkney.