In this paper the electrical to mechanical energy conversion efficiency of a double-sided Thomson coil actuator is investigated by means of finite element simulations. It is shown that performance gains compared with the conventional Thomson coil actuator are possible and in line with theoretical analysis. Based on a sensitivity assessment, fine tuning of a double-sided Thomson coil actuator has been conducted, which predicts energy conversion efficiencies as high as 34 %. This efficiency considerably surpasses efficiencies reported in research literature for other magnetic repulsion based actuators. It is also shown that the doublesided Thomson coil actuator exceeds substantially the mechanical performance of a single-sided Thomson coil design.