Contact Dr Luofeng Huang
Background
Dr Luofeng Huang is a UK Senior Lecturer (equivalent to an Associate Professor in most of the world) and has been endorsed by Forbes as a "30 under 30" in Europe. He graduated from University College London (UCL) with a PhD related to ships and marine structures. In recent years, he has adapted relevant knowledge to renewable energy systems in seas, such as floating solar farms, wave/tidal energy devices, and offshore wind turbines. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, alongside a book, Ocean Renewable Energy Systems, by Springer Nature.
Additionally, Dr Huang is a Deputy Editor of the Elsevier journal Ocean Engineering, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a Member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (MIMarEST), a Chartered Engineer (CEng), and a Chartered Marine Engineer (CMarEng).
Research opportunities
Dr Huang is keen on interdisciplinary research, backed by a wide network and a trustworthy playmaker character. He has been managing or working within projects funded by UKRI, Innovate UK, EPSRC, Royal Society, EU Horizon, British Council, Lloyds Register Foundation, Department for Transport, alongside a variety of industrial projects. As Principal Investigator (PI), Luofeng has successfully organised research projects worth over 拢3 million and brought over 拢1 million of direct funding allocation to 成人直播.
The research coverage of Dr Huang spreads across energies, structures, and fluids, especially their interactions. He has expertise in coastal and offshore engineering, particularly interested in the design, prototyping, simulation, experiments, construction, operation and sustainability of relevant renewable energy systems. Dr Huang was trained as an expert in experimental (e.g., towing/wave tank) and computational modelling (e.g., CFD). In recent years, he has also been developing AI technologies to support the ever-evolving research needs, such as machine learning, computer vision, and digital twins. Moreover, Dr Huang has worked closely with industry to conduct site-based projects; for example, he led a team to deliver Indonesia's first-ever ocean-based floating solar farm at a remote island.
Current activities
Dr Huang is currently the PI of the Innovate UK Project - Solar2Wave. In this project, he coordinates a large team of over 30 members from both academia and industry. The project aspires to place floating solar panels on seas to save scarce land and lake space, whilst addressing a key challenge - designing a novel solar farm that can remain intact in the destructive power of ocean waves. This innovation will be provided as a clean and affordable energy solution for remote Indonesian islands, where millions of residents still lack access to electricity. Solar2Wave has been featured by the BBC, the Energy Institute, and TED. The team is operating Indonesia's first ocean-based solar power plant (as well as one of the world's first) - the power plant currently provides 80% cheaper electricity for the residents than using a diesel engine, and produces ice for locals to keep their food fresh. Read more about this project at: https://solar2wave.co.id/
Dr Huang works closely with the UK clean maritime research hub funded by EPSRC. Under this theme, he has collaborated with multiple UK ports, including designing renewable solutions for ferry electrification (Port of Dover), digital twins, automation, and clean fuel systems for tugboats (Shetlands), and AI-driven logistics optimisation (Port of Tyne). In addition, he has supported his Postdoc to secure a flexible fund of 拢50k from the hub to develop retrofit-based clean maritime design.
Dr Huang's expertise in AI has expanded his opportunity to collaborate with the industry, which has led him to become the PI for two digital-twin projects on the recycling of rare-earth materials: (a) ReCell-Smart Digital Platform for Battery Recycling, and (b) ReEarth: Smart Digital Platform for Rear Earth Recycling.
