Carisbrooke Shipping to Trial a Hydrogen Engine

Carisbrooke Shipping Ltd have partnered with CARNOT whose consortium has been awarded £2.3 million to develop a zero-emission 50kW hydrogen auxiliary engine demonstrator under Innovate UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.

Following design, simulations and testing, the single-fuel hydrogen 50kW engine will be integrated into a containerized system and mounted on the deck of one of Carisbrooke Shipping's cargo vessels, Karen C, for a 40-day sea trial in early 2025 to partially supply electrical power to the vessel.

The core goal is to validate the decarbonizing impact that high efficiency, zero-emission engines can have in the maritime industry and build on work from the previously successful CMDC 1 & 2 grants, Carisbrooke said.

In the future, this technology could be used to power tugs, ferries, cargo vessels, tankers and containerships.

Bureau Veritas and The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are also being engaged as the vessel’s regulatory authorities to ensure a safe path to regulatory compliance. This will be among the first projects to achieve approval in principle (AIP) for a hydrogen power generation technology on board a U.K.-flagged vessel.

Archie Watts-Farmer, CARNOT founder, said, “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 maximizing range. They have supported our grant application processes and been the voice of the customer, helping us to 3 Clean Maritime grant awards the first of which, a feasibility study, was completed successfully with their help in 2022. They have gone over and above to provide us with information and support relating to operations, regulations and business case development and we would not have been successful without their involvement.”