200 kilograms of hydrogen from waste to fuel cargo vessel in 40-day sea trial

UK-based startup Carnot has selected waste-to-hydrogen producer Compact Syngas Solutions to provide 200 kilograms of hydrogen to power a 40-day sea trial of its zero-emission marine engine.

Backed by a £2.3 million two-year government grant, Carnot has developed a 70%-efficient 50 kW hydrogen auxiliary engine to be deployed on a general cargo vessel. The 50kW engine is a precursor to 200 to 400 kW auxiliary engines, and eventually 1 to 10 MW main engines.

The engine will be tested at Brunel University before being mounted on one of Carisbrooke Shipping’s K-class cargo vessels for a trial through the Irish Sea between Bristol and Belfast ports in March 2025.

Wales-based Compact Syngas Solutions will supply 200 kilograms of hydrogen produced from waste to power the 40-day sea trial of this zero-emission marine hydrogen engine. The producer recently secured almost £4 million in government funding to make its biomass and waste-to-hydrogen plants greener by using carbon capture from its hydrogen production.

Karen Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer of Compact Syngas Solutions, said: “The marine industry is facing some huge challenges as it tries to decarbonise, with hydrogen and methanol increasingly looking like the best solutions. We’re looking forward to playing our small part in this hugely exciting trial, which could pave the way to drastically reducing emissions in the marine industry.”

Jeremy Howard-Knight, Head of Business Development at Carnot, said: “Sourcing hydrogen for our trial has proved harder than we expected, and we’re massively grateful to Compact Syngas Solutions for helping out. It’s incredible to think that these huge ocean-going vessels are being powered by waste wood that could have ended its days by rotting on a tip.”

Japan’s shipping major Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) recently revealed plans to invest in Carnot and its engine technology that is expected to improve fuel efficiency by up to 40%.

In a project led by MOL (Europe Africa), Carnot is developing engine technology that eliminates energy loss during the cooling process and increases thermal and fuel efficiency by using highly heat-resistant materials.

Based on the results of demonstration tests and the feasibility of this technology, MOL said it will consider applying it to its fleet of merchant vessels in the future.