Explore how H2SITE's €3.4M Enova-backed HydraNord Power project is advancing 700 kW onboard ammonia cracking for maritime green hydrogen applications.
H2SITE has received EUR 3.4 million from Norway's Enova to build and validate what it describes as a commercially representative ammonia-to-power system for the maritime sector, moving the Bilbao-based company decisively beyond the smaller proof-of-concept units it has previously operated at sea. The project, called HydraNord Power, is designed to produce up to one tonne of hydrogen per day onboard vessels and feed maritime fuel cells delivering 700 kW of net electrical power.
H2SITE says that output level corresponds to genuine auxiliary power requirements on commercial ships, making the system distinct from earlier limited demonstrations. The Enova grant, equivalent to NOK 39.1 million and administered through Norway's Climate and Energy Fund, provides both the capital and independent validation to push the technology toward repeatable fleet deployment.
The technical foundation of HydraNord Power is H2SITE's proprietary membrane reactor, which combines ammonia cracking and hydrogen separation within a single integrated process. The reactor delivers fuel-cell-grade hydrogen while simultaneously preventing ammonia contamination of downstream fuel cells, a problem that has historically complicated ammonia-based power generation in maritime settings. H2SITE has designed the overall system to be compact and modular, making it compatible with both newly constructed vessels and retrofit applications.
The company states that individual modules can be operated in parallel to serve larger power demands, positioning the 700 kW configuration as a standardised building block for future multi-megawatt installations. The same core technology is therefore intended to address a wide range of vessel classes and operational profiles, from initial commercial deployments to larger fleet-wide rollouts. Chief Executive Andrés Galnares described the 700 kW output level as central to the project's commercial logic.
"At 700 kW net, we are addressing a real onboard power requirement with a standardised system that can be replicated across vessels and scaled into larger installations," Galnares said. "Enova's support allows us to demonstrate this under representative operating conditions and opens a significant market opportunity in maritime segments where direct electrification is not viable."
H2SITE leads a six-partner consortium assembled to ensure the technology is developed against real maritime operating requirements rather than purely theoretical engineering parameters. The partners are Equinor, Höegh Autoliners, Breeze Ship Design, Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre, Alltec and Maritime CleanTech. Each partner covers a distinct area of expertise. Höegh Autoliners, a vehicle carrier operator active in deep-sea shipping, contributes operational knowledge of commercial vessel requirements.
Equinor brings experience across energy systems and offshore operations. Breeze Ship Design and Alltec handle naval architecture and system integration responsibilities, while the Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre and Maritime CleanTech provide testing infrastructure and project coordination. The structure of the consortium reflects H2SITE's stated intention to ground the HydraNord Power development in the realities of commercial shipping rather than treating it as an isolated technical exercise.
Once development and integration work is completed during 2027, the full HydraNord Power system will be installed at Energy House in Stord, Norway, a facility configured to replicate conditions representative of commercial maritime operations. Commissioning is planned for early 2028. Testing at Energy House is intended to validate system performance under realistic conditions ahead of any commercial deployment, reducing the technical and operational risk that prospective vessel owners and operators would otherwise need to absorb when adopting the technology.
H2SITE has targeted deep-sea shipping, offshore operations and other energy-intensive maritime sectors as the initial commercial focus for the HydraNord Power system. The company's reasoning is that these segments face fundamental constraints around energy density and voyage distance that make direct electrification impractical, leaving ammonia-based power generation as a viable decarbonisation pathway. The modular scaling strategy means that a proven 700 kW deployment is explicitly intended to serve as the template for larger installations.
Multiple units combined in parallel can address multi-megawatt requirements on larger vessels, and H2SITE has framed this as creating a repeatable route from first commercial installations through to broad adoption across international shipping fleets. Enova, which manages the Climate and Energy Fund on behalf of the Norwegian government, focuses its funding activity on early-stage and scaling energy technology projects aligned with Norway's climate transition objectives. For H2SITE, the agency's backing is characterised as a milestone in the commercialisation of its onboard ammonia cracking platform.
H2SITE is headquartered in Bilbao and maintains a Norwegian presence in Bergen. The company previously completed a Series B funding round that raised more than €42 million in total. Investors in that round included EIC Fund, BEV, Suma Capital, Hy24, Crane, Enagás Emprende, Calderion and CRPV. HydraNord Power represents the company's most ambitious maritime project to date in terms of power output and commercial intent, building directly on the smaller ammonia-to-hydrogen units H2SITE has already operated aboard vessels.
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