UK Firm Readies Containerised Hydrogen Engine for Seatrial

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday February 20, 2023

UK marine technology start up and government competition winner Carnot is to trial its auxiliary hydrogen engine unit onboard a Carisbrooke Shipping vessel.

The containerised unit will be mounted on the cargo ship's deck for a 40-day seatrial in early 2025 in northern European, Baltic and Mediterranean waters, according to Carnot.

The company came out a winner in the UK government's recent net zero funding round and was awarded £2.3 million ($2.8m) to develop the project.

The hydrogen-fuelled, 50kW engine will be a precusor to "planned 200-400 kW APUs and 1-10 MW main engines", the company said.

"Our engines have a break thermal efficiency of 70%, nearly double what is achieved by modern, state-of-the-art engines."  The technology reduces fuel consumption and therefore operating costs, the company added.

In addition to Carisbrooke, other project partners are the Manufacturing Technology Centre and Brunel University.