British clean tech startup Drift Energy has secured £4.65m worth of seed capital from Octopus Ventures to develop sailing vessels that will create green hydrogen at sea using deep ocean wind.
The funding will come from the venture capital arm of Octopus Investments, along with support from climate tech investment programme Blue Action Accelerator.
Drift Energy’s ‘hi-tech’ sailing vessels will harness ocean wind energy using underwater turbines to feed an on-board megawatt (MW) class electrolyser which will produce and store gigawatts (GW) of green hydrogen. This green hydrogen will be then transported to ports for storage and/or use. Artificial intelligence (AI) routing algorithms will be used to ensure vessel safety.
Drift Energy is aiming to begin vessel production next year.
Drift Energy ‘s founder and chief executive Ben Medland said: “Octopus Ventures is a prolific and experienced investor in the field of Deep Tech, and we are thrilled to announce their investment in Drift."
“Alongside the support from Blue Action Accelerator, this funding enables us to drive with momentum into the next phase of our mission. We will work closely with Octopus and our advisory teams to bring our vision of ‘Oceans of Energy’ to life with that all-important first net positive ship.”
The company also recently secured funding from Innovate UK, as part of its Investor Partnership Programme, to catalyse the research and development (R&D) process of developing the design of the first vessel.
Octopus Ventures’ investor Mat Munro said: “We’re incredibly excited about Drift and the team’s potential to lead the way in developing a truly innovative source of renewable energy. We can’t wait for the day its first vessel sets out on its maiden voyage.”
Green hydrogen
According to a 2023 McKinsey report, nearly all hydrogen presently produced and consumed globally is grey hydrogen, which is mainly derived from fossil fuel-based steam reforming.
While all hydrogen produces no greenhouse gas emissions at the point of use, grey hydrogen is emissions-intensive in its production.
The production of green hydrogen, on the other hand, includes electrolysis processes powered by renewables, which makes it less carbon intensive. However, the high costs of electrolysers and the difficulty of transporting hydrogen currently pose significant barriers to the scaling of green hydrogen.
Nevertheless, the report highlights that the demand for grey hydrogen is projected to reduce as the demand for clean hydrogen could account for up to 73% to 100% of total hydrogen demand by 2050. This makes innovations in the industry considerably important to mitigate the current challenges to green hydrogen and meet the rising industry demand.
Blue Action Accelerator’s co-founder George Northcott said: “DRIFT is the ultimate example of that – creating a new class of mobile renewable energy from the world’s seas and delivering it to where it is needed – from island nation communities to power-hungry ports.
“We are thrilled to be supporting them as they build their first vessels and bring a vision to life.”
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