World-first hydrogen-powered 'gas station' for ships passes key trials

Retrofitting a port berth with shore power can take anywhere from three to seven years of permitting, construction, and grid upgrades. Now, a UK company has developed a floating hydrogen-powered platform and can make that wait disappear without having to move a single brick.

The Hydrogen Power Hub, a modular floating platform developed by a UK-led consortium headed by Elire Maritime, has cleared six months of engineering trials, removing the last technical barriers before commercial deployment. The system can dispatch up to 5 MW of continuous clean power directly to a docked vessel while it sits at berth – no grid connection, no port construction required.

The platform is built from three hexagonal modules that together cover around 1,200 sq m (12,917 sq ft). At full capacity, it can supply 91 MWh of energy per week, enough to serve mid-size cruise ships. The core of the system is a set of 1.3-MW modular hydrogen fuel cells – essentially electrochemical devices that convert hydrogen gas into electricity through a chemical reaction, with water as the only byproduct.

Those fuel cells run continuously, consuming between 7,500 and 8,000 kg (16,535 and 17,637 lb) of hydrogen per week, slowly charging a 45-MWh onboard battery bank. When a ship pulls up, that stored energy can be discharged rapidly like a giant power bank. An onboard solar array generates up to 146 kW of additional power, giving the platform some autonomy between hydrogen resupply visits, which happen roughly twice a week by support vessel.

Docked ships are some of the dirtiest neighbors a port city has. Their diesel auxiliary engines keep running, burning fuel and pushing exhaust over the surrounding city just to keep the onboard systems alive. The Hydrogen Power Hub cuts port emissions by 77% compared to those conventional diesel generators, saving an estimated 47 tonnes of CO2 per ship per week and eliminating the particulate pollution that drifts over surrounding cities.

One of the more novel technical bets is the hydrogen storage system developed by Rux Energy UK, which uses nanoporous materials – materials riddled with microscopic pores that trap hydrogen molecules – to store the gas compactly and at low pressure. That's a meaningful safety and logistics advantage over high-pressure tank alternatives.

The University of Strathclyde stress-tested the designs in wave tanks to verify structural integrity and inter-module connectivity under storm conditions. Schneider Electric and Ricardo plc independently verified that the electrical architecture can operate fully off-grid and that hydrogen integration meets safety standards. Engineers found no technical barriers to full construction.

Its main downside is price. According to Elire, hydrogen-generated electricity from this platform is estimated at £0.25–0.50 per kWh (around US$0.33 to $0.67), compared to £0.15–0.25 (~$0.20 to $0.33) for grid power or diesel – roughly two to three times more expensive. But the platform's proponents argue that speed and flexibility change the equation. It can be assembled, deployed, and relocated as shipping routes shift, avoiding the risk of expensive fixed infrastructure becoming stranded.

"Ports are under increasing pressure to decarbonize while facing major infrastructure constraints," said Luke Jenkinson, founder and CEO of Elire Maritime. "We have validated a practical, scalable, and deployable system capable of delivering clean power directly where it is needed most."

The consortium, funded through the UKRI Clean Maritime Demonstrator Competition Round 6, has entered early stage engagement with ports in London, Singapore, Hamburg, Brisbane, and Riga – ports already under regulatory pressure to cut emissions but unable to pause operations for years of construction.

Source: Elire Maritime