e1 Marine to deliver hydrogen fuel cells

Ardmore Shipping has announced that it has formed and invested in a new joint venture with Element 1 Corp. (E1) and Maritime Partners, LLC to bring E1’s unique methanol-to-hydrogen technology to the marine sector.

The three parties will establish an equal share partnership to form e1 Marine. The new company will have a worldwide remit for the marketing, development, licensing and sale of E1’s hydrogen generation systems for the marine industry, including shipping, refrigerated containers, offshore energy, renewable energy, passenger and leisure, and certain port infrastructure and related applications.

“We are excited about the market opportunity for E1’s methanol-to-hydrogen technology. We believe it is safer and cheaper than other alternatives for onboard hydrogen delivery and, when using standard methanol, is operationally cost competitive with diesel engines even today, while emitting zero particulates, zero NOx, zero SOx, and 30-50% less carbon than a diesel engine of the same power rating,” says Anthony Gurnee, Ardmore’s CEO. “The E1 system is carbon-neutral when run on renewable methanol, should prove to be very cost competitive with other alternatives, and if desired can be built or retrofitted to run on ammonia.”

“Whereas fuel cell technology has matured substantially over recent decades, the supply of hydrogen as feedstock to fuel cells has lagged considerably, resulting in significant logistic and economic challenges to the wide-scale deployment of fuel cells,” says Dr. Dave Edlund, CEO of Element 1 Corp. “E1’s methanol-to-hydrogen technology offers a broad solution to this challenge. Importantly, Ardmore and Maritime Partners provide unique access to existing markets in international shipping and inland waterways.”