Scientists have secured more than £1m in funding to turn seawater into fuel to power ships, ferries and fishing boats. Researchers at Brunel University of London and Genuine H2 will split seawater into hydrogen, store it safely on-board ships and boats and burn it to power engines emitting only steam.

Led by Brunel’s Centre for Powertrain and Fuels and start-up Genuine H2, the project is Britain’s first all-in-one hydrogen maritime demonstrator. It splits hydrogen directly from seawater, then stores it safely at room temperature and pressure, without pressurised tanks or super-cold systems needed normally.

“Water will be turned into power,” said Professor Xinyan Wang, Brunel University of London. “We take seawater, split it using renewable electricity to make hydrogen gas, store it onboard as a molecular solid, then burn it in an engine instead of diesel, with no CO₂.”

Backed by £1.44m from the Department for Transport’s UK SHORE initiative and Innovate UK, the project is part of a £30m push to decarbonise British shipping and sea travel. The goal is to take diesel out of ferries, trawlers and workboats where batteries are impractical.

The result is a new hydrogen engine system built on two clever innovations. There are electrodes that can split hydrogen straight out of seawater, cutting out the need for costly desalination. And a thinner-than-paper ‘nano film’ that locks the hydrogen away safely in an unpressurised solid form at room temperature, without freezing it at minus 250°C in heavy giant pressurised tanks.