Green energy project to be trialled with boat powered by hydrogen
Latent Drive, a developer of technologies to produce ‘green hydrogen’, has been awarded a £630,000 grant to fund a trial – known as HydroPort – to fuel a harbour patrol boat produced directly from seawater and renewable energy.
The trials will be led by Latent Drive, supported by Dorset Council and hosted by Portland Port, in collaboration with Logan Energy, SALINE Business Services and the University of Exeter’s Centre for Future Clean Mobility.
They will assess the market potential for Latent Drive’s SeaStack technology in decarbonising ports – especially as operators respond to government targets and public demand for evermore offshore renewables.
SeaStack is the world’s first commercial direct seawater-to-hydrogen electrolyser stack, optimised for installation offshore. It has a wide operating range to capture more wind energy at low cost, and is designed to produce green hydrogen direct from seawater for less than $2/kg. SeaStack is designed for use on harbour walls, offshore wind turbines, and floating platforms to make best use of energy supplies and refuelling sites.
The Dorset coast has huge potential to become a leading renewables super cluster, with a growing pipeline of planned projects. This includes the PortWind agreement with IKEA-backed renewables developer, Source Galileo, for up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity – enough to power around 3 million UK homes.
The area also offers significant hydrogen storage capacity in underground salt caverns, on a sufficient scale for refuelling trans-atlantic shipping. To reach net zero by 2050 it is estimated that 60 million tonnes of green hydrogen will be required annually for marine fuels.
Frazer Ely, CEO and founder of Latent Drive, said: “Huge thanks to our own team, and the wider HydroPort consortium, for beating tough competition to win this substantial grant from Innovate UK. We are grateful for this ongoing government support which will help to demonstrate how our SeaStack electrolyser can revolutionise clean hydrogen production, location and economics – without expensive desalination or rare metals – in a global market projected to be worth $642 billion by 2030.”
This latest funding follows a range of previous government-backed grants totalling £1.1m, including a share of £500,000 from the Net Zero Technology Centre in October 2024. Latent Drive has also just launched a £2.25m investment round, including a £250,000 Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme allowance.
Darren Gee, programme manager at the Net Zero Technology Centre, said: “Electrolyser technology is an exciting sector right now, and the technological breakthroughs of today will pave the way for the green energy solutions of tomorrow. Together with key industry partners, we have identified Latent Drive’s SeaStack as a groundbreaking technology in this space – scalable and with the potential to significantly push the boundaries of hydrogen production.”
