Start-Up Aims for Free-Range Wind Farms via Sailing Vessels

British startup DRIFT Energy has closed a seed funding round for making green energy at sea using hi-tech sailing vessels.

Led by Octopus Ventures, one of the largest and most active venture capital investors in the UK and Europe, and with support from Blue Action Accelerator, the company has secured £4.65 million ($6 million), enabling it to realise its ambition to start vessel production next year.

DRIFT Energy aims to deploy a fleet of high-performance sailing vessels that harness deep ocean wind to produce green hydrogen at sea and deliver it globally.

DRIFT has developed a unique vessel routing algorithm that enables the yacht to find and stay in optimum weather conditions, returning to port when its hydrogen tank is full.

It can take 13 years to locate, plan, design and commission an offshore wind farm, says DRIFT. An equivalent flotilla of DRIFT vessels could be built in a tenth of the time. With less planning, surveys and no sub-sea infrastructure, DRIFT can be far quicker to commission.

DRIFT Energy has also recently been awarded funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, as part of its Investor Partnership Programme.