H2SITE secures USD 3.89 Million (EUR 3.4M) from Norway's Enova to develop a 700 kW onboard ammonia cracking system for maritime hydrogen power, advancing green shipping decarbon
H2SITE has received USD 3.89 million (EUR 3.4 million) from Enova, the Norwegian government's climate and energy transition agency, to build and validate a commercial-scale system that converts ammonia into power aboard working vessels.
The project, called HydraNord Power, represents the Bilbao-based hydrogen technology company's most ambitious step yet toward deploying its membrane reactor technology across global commercial shipping fleets.
The HydraNord Power system is engineered to produce up to one tonne of hydrogen per day directly onboard a ship, supplying maritime fuel cells that deliver 700 kW of net electrical power. H2SITE describes this output level as representative of actual auxiliary power requirements aboard commercial vessels, positioning it as a commercially relevant threshold rather than a laboratory benchmark.
Chief executive Andrés Galnares framed the significance of that figure directly. "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," he 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 has previously deployed smaller ammonia-to-hydrogen units in maritime environments, some of which are already operational. HydraNord Power is explicitly designed to move the technology beyond those earlier efforts and establish a pathway toward replicable commercial deployment.
Central to the system is H2SITE's proprietary membrane reactor, which combines ammonia cracking and hydrogen separation into a single integrated process. The reactor produces fuel-cell-grade hydrogen while simultaneously preventing ammonia contamination from reaching the fuel cells, a technical challenge that has historically complicated efforts to use ammonia directly as a maritime fuel.
The system's overall architecture is described as compact and modular. It is designed to be compatible with both fuel-cell-only configurations and hybrid power setups, and can be applied to newbuild vessels as well as retrofit projects.
Deploying multiple modules in parallel allows operators to address larger power requirements, giving the design a path toward multi-megawatt installations using the same standardised building block. H2SITE states that this approach creates a repeatable route from initial commercial deployments to broader fleet adoption across different vessel classes and power levels.
H2SITE leads the HydraNord Power project alongside seven partner organisations, each assigned to a distinct role. Equinor and Höegh Autoliners contribute expertise on vessel requirements, while Breeze Ship Design is responsible for system design work. Alltec handles fuel cell integration, and the Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre provides testing capabilities.
Maritime CleanTech takes on project coordination responsibilities. The composition of the consortium is intended to ensure the technology is developed against real maritime operating needs. Enova, which administers the Climate and Energy Fund on behalf of the Norwegian government, is a primary instrument for advancing Norway's climate and energy transition, and its financial backing marks a significant milestone in H2SITE's commercialisation efforts.
The completed system will be installed and tested at Energy House in Stord, Norway, under conditions described as representative of commercial maritime operations. System development and integration work are scheduled for 2027, with commissioning targeted for early 2028.
In terms of target applications, HydraNord Power is initially aimed at auxiliary and hybrid power use across three maritime segments: deep-sea shipping, offshore operations, and other energy-intensive maritime uses. The modular design is intended to allow the validated technology to be extended to a broader range of vessel classes following successful testing at the Stord facility.
H2SITE describes itself as an industrial technology company and infrastructure partner focused on hydrogen production, separation, and ammonia cracking at scale. Its membrane reactor technology underpins all three of its product areas, and the company positions its offerings as designed for industrial-scale deployment supporting decentralised hydrogen generation and logistics.
The Enova award follows other recent financing activity. H2SITE completed a second closing of its Series B funding round, which brought in the EIC Fund alongside a private investor and increased total Series B funding to more than USD 48.05 million. Earlier participants in the round include BEV, Suma Capital, Hy24, Crane, Enagás Emprende, Calderion, and CRPV. The company has also entered a separate strategic agreement with Petronor to deploy its hydrogen separation technology at that refinery operator's facilities.
Ammonia has drawn growing attention in the shipping sector as a zero-carbon fuel carrier, given its high hydrogen content and the existence of established global production and transport infrastructure. Onboard cracking technology, however, has until recently lacked the commercial maturity needed to operate at power output levels relevant to working vessels.
HydraNord Power is designed to address that gap, specifically targeting deep-sea and offshore segments where battery-electric solutions are considered technically or economically impractical due to energy density and range constraints.
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