UK startup’s yachts to use underwater turbines for green hydrogen production

A startup in United Kingdom is going to build a fleet of hi-tech sailing vessels which will aid in green energy production at sea.

The UK based startup, Drift Energy, plans to harness deep ocean winds to produce green hydrogen in the sea, on Sunday it announced the closure of its seed funding round.

In the seed funding round, Drift Energy managed to raise $6.02 million (£4.65 million) led by Octopus Ventures.

Green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis using renewable energy, has a much lower carbon footprint than the hydrogen fuel which is produced from natural gas through steam methane reforming.

It is in high demand globally owing to the essential role it can play in accelerating the decarbonization of sectors such as heavy industry, transportation and manufacturing.

Drift Energy aims to deploy a fleet of high-performance sailing vessels that can harness ocean winds to produce green hydrogen which can be delivered around the globe.

The startup has also recently been awarded funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, as part of its Investor Partnership Program. The program is designed to drive investment into high-growth, innovative UK companies working on cutting-edge technology.

According to a press release by Drift Energy, the money raised from the seed funding round will enable it to “bolster the company’s vessel design program, support team growth and enable the onboarding of new partners as the company plans its first keel laying in 2025.”

The technology employed by Drift Energy

Drift Energy will use modern, hi-tech sailing vessels which cruise around the world’s tradewinds in an effort to harvest energy from underwater turbines.

The energy thus generated will be used to power up an on-board electrolyzer which according to the company can “produce and store Gigawatts of green hydrogen.”

For the purpose of distribution, the vessels will rely on artificial intelligence (AI) routing algorithms to keep the yachts in the optimum weather conditions ready to deliver to port.

The company says it has developed a unique vessel routing algorithm that will help the yacht or vessel to find and stay in the best weather conditions possible and will also allow it to return to port at the exact time its hydrogen tank is full. The payload will be stored in standard 40 feet containers.

It also states that its vessels have the ability to directly bunker other vessels in port or at anchor, furthermore it plans to equip the future vessels with refueling at sea capability to enhance production time.

AI boosts performance

A case study presented by the company shows that a vessel made by it was capable of reaching 28.8 miles per hour (25 knots). As the boat picks up speed, an underwater propeller drives a turbine which produces electricity. This electricity is then used for extracting hydrogen from water.

The AI system used the boat’s design, weather conditions, and their combined impact on hydrogen generation to plan a route which would cut the time which a vessel with full hydrogen tank would have to spend at sea.

This was done through the creation of a digital twin, and carrying out simulations using it.

“At the end of July 2022, during the first trial off the coast of Brightlingsea, Essex, DRIFT’s boat became the first in the world to produce and store hydrogen at sea. The boat produced six litres of green hydrogen in one two-hour test run, far exceeding results predicted during simulation,” the case study states .

Drift Energy now wants to continue sea trials and experiment with bigger boats with more production and storage capacity.