The company, based on the Isle of Wight, UK revealed it had partnered with UK engine manufacturer Carnot LTD, which is involved in a consortium which had been awarded £2.3m ($2.7m) to develop the hydrogen-fuelled engine.

Following design, simulation and testing, the 50kW hydrogen single-fuel engine is planned to be integrated into a containerised system, then mounted on the deck of one of Carisbrooke’s cargo-vessels for a 40-day sea trial in early 2025.

The engine is intended to partially provide electrical power to the vessel, with hopes of validating the decarbonising potential of the hydrogen engine could have in the maritime industry.

It is hoped the technology could be used to power tugboats, ferries, cargo vessels, tankers, and container ships in the future.

“Over the last two years, Carisbrooke have been championing our efforts in bringing a double efficiency fuel agnostic engine technology capable of halving emissions using traditional fuels or reducing marine emissions to zero using next generation fuels such as hydrogen, while maximising range,” said Archie Watts-Farmer, Founder of Carnot.

H2 View understands French testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) company Bureau Veritas and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency are being engaged as the vessel’s regulatory authorities to ensure a path to regulatory compliance.

Carisbrooke and Carnot hope the project will be among the first to achieve Approval in Principle (AiP) for a hydrogen power generation system on board a UK-flagged vessel.