Barrus has partnered with Bramble Energy on a public sector funded project

Posted on:13/05/2022

Bramble Energy receives government funding to tackle maritime decarbonisation

First-ever project to address 940 million tonnes of CO2 contributed by the marine sector each year

Bramble Energy - a hydrogen fuel cell technology startup - has secured just under £1million (£994,050) in government funding from BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. The money will be used to further develop their hydrogen fuel cell technology, to replace diesel engines in boats, potentially saving 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.  The unique fuel cell will be the basis for a fully compliant demonstrator vessel, crucial for the rapid adoption of hydrogen within inland waterways.

The funding will be used by Bramble Energy and partners to bring together a strong, UK based commercial consortium to develop an affordable fuel cell system for mass maritime decarbonisation. The consortium will be led by Bramble Energy and Barrus has been chosen as a partner in the ‘HyTime' project. Barrus will deliver the vital technical, commercial and legislative requirements of the marine market and provide the direct route to market exploitation.

The “HyTime” project will be a first in the marine sector and supports wider ambition for Bramble Energy to develop Printed Circuit Board Fuel Cell (PCBFC) systems for other maritime applications.

Chief Operating Officer, Vidal Bharath at Bramble Energy, comments: “Achieving net-zero is contingent not only for decarbonising the UK’s roads, rails and air space, but also the inland and coastal waterways too. Fuel cells are one of the most promising technologies for decarbonising the maritime sector as they provide not only a range extender to pure battery systems, but also remove the reliance on a charging base. 

“This project provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our decarbonising technology in a real-world, challenging environment across an industry where we are gaining momentum. To add to the excitement, we are honoured to be partnering with a worldwide leading custom-engine builder, Barrus.”

Managing Director, Robert Muir at Barrus, adds: “For over 100 years, Barrus has been championing innovations within the marine industry, including developing electric and diesel-electric hybrid power plants for the inland waterways market. We are incredibly proud to be the first to create a medium-sized range zero-emissions, commercially viable solution for inland waterways vessels and to advance the knowledge of safe integration and hydrogen fuel cells' operation in marine environments. We are delighted to partner with Bramble Energy to decarbonise our inland waterways in this game-changing project.”

The UK is globally recognised as a maritime nation, with a shipbuilding industry that exports around the world. The maritime sector contributes to 940 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equating to approximately 2.5% of global greenhouse gases (GHG). The Clean Maritime Plan requires new vessels to be zero-emission capable from 2025.

The goals for the “HyTime” project are:

• Assess the market and business case for affordable hydrogen and the infrastructure required at mariners to supply hydrogen to the vessels.
• Demonstrate a marinised fuel cell stack and system: With acceptable durability and robust full system operation ( i.e. autonomous thermal control, fault tolerance module switching).
• Successfully test an integrated hybrid system on water: Datalogging equipment will measure power output, energy consumption under normal operating conditions.

“Hydrogen fuel cells offer a practical zero-emissions power solution to the maritime sector. Our ambition with this project is that we can demonstrate how the industry can overcome two of the limitations stopping hydrogen from becoming a mainstream solution - capital cost and the supply and storage of it,” concludes Bharath.

About Bramble Energy

Bramble Energy is powering a Net Zero world - today - and is proving to be a real game-changer in solving key challenges in the production of hydrogen fuel cells including lead times, up-front investment, manufacturing cost and scalability.

Founded in 2016 by Dr Tom Mason, in the research labs at Imperial College of London and University College of London, Bramble Energy through revolutionary fuel cell design and manufacturing techniques, has developed the unique printed circuit board (PCB) fuel cell – the PCBFC™. A patent-protected fuel cell that can be manufactured in almost all printed circuit board (PCB) factories worldwide.

After raising significant capital in 2020 and again in February 2022, Bramble Energy has rapidly grown from a team of just three to 40 and is fast becoming the leading hydrogen fuel cell provider for a cleaner and more sustainable world.

Home for Bramble Energy is a state-of-the-art facility in Gatwick, UK, where they have launched their portable power product range and are developing their high-power density, liquid-cooled fuel cell systems under the same scalable low-cost technology platform.

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