A hydrogen-producing yacht worth £4.6 million will sail into the oceans from a UK startup

By Marek Grzybowski

Autonomous yachts will be used to produce green hydrogen using a towed electrolyser that draws seawater. The British startup will receive £4.65 million in seed funding from the government for its innovative concept of renewable hydrogen production. DRIFT Energy plans to take its yachts to the open ocean. According to the designers, the yacht will traverse the sea using strong winds. It will be equipped with a set of modern aerodynamic sails. The yacht will tow an underwater turbine to power an electrolyser that draws seawater.
The project involves building a flotilla of yachts, each of which will follow a route developed according to a special algorithm. The idea is to optimally use hydrometeorological conditions. The yacht will return to port to unload hydrogen when the tanks storing it are filled.
The British government is not the only sponsor of the venture. The seed funding round was led by venture capital investor Octopus Ventures. The startup also received support from the Blue Action Accelerator, an investment platform that focuses on financing solutions for the blue economy.
DRIFT said it will use the funds to strengthen its ship design program, support team development and enable the onboarding of new partners as the company plans to lay its first keel in 2025.
DRIFT Energy, in a statement, said it is “committed to accelerating the transition to clean energy worldwide by bringing into service a fleet of high-performance sailing vessels. The yachts will harness strong wind to produce green hydrogen at sea and deliver it around the world.”

Left to right: Neal Pawson, Ben Medland and Mike Mackay of DRIFT Energy

The company has already produced green hydrogen from a demonstrator sailing yacht on its lift foils. Its ambition is to build a class of MVY (most precious yacht) superyachts. The 58m MVY will have a rated power of 1-2MW, producing 150,000kg of hydrogen per year, DRIFT says. The yachts are expected to operate as custom-built shadow vessels to provide net-zero emissions and fuel independence to other vessels. They are also expected to operate as part of a flotilla generating green hydrogen for bunkering at sea or in port.