IN Brief:
- ELIRE Maritime and consortium partners have validated a floating hydrogen power hub for port shore-power applications.
- The system can deliver 5MW of continuous output through 6.6kV and 11kV shore-power connections.
- The concept combines hydrogen storage, modular fuel cells, 45MWh of battery storage, and grid-forming AC/DC architecture.
ELIRE Maritime and its consortium partners have completed validation work on a floating hydrogen power hub designed to supply vessels at berth without relying on existing port grid infrastructure.
The UK-funded feasibility programme was delivered with partners including Schneider Electric, Ricardo, and the University of Strathclyde. The concept is aimed at ports where shore-power deployment is constrained by limited grid capacity, high infrastructure costs, lengthy permitting, or the need for major civil works.
The validated configuration combines three interconnected hexagonal floating platforms with a total footprint of around 1,200m². The system integrates hydrogen storage, modular fuel cells, approximately 45MWh of battery energy storage, onboard renewable generation, and grid-forming AC/DC electrical architecture.
Designed to provide 5MW of continuous power output through 6.6kV and 11kV shore-power connections, the hub can support medium-sized cruise vessels and other large maritime assets while they are berthed. Modular 1.3MW fuel cells operate continuously to charge the onboard batteries, which can then discharge rapidly when a vessel connects.
The design uses seven onboard hydrogen tanks and consumes around 7,500–8,000kg of hydrogen each week, with refuelling expected twice weekly. Solar panels contribute up to 146kW of renewable generation. The validated system is expected to supply around 91MWh of energy per week while supporting repeated vessel charging operations without major grid reinforcement, land reclamation, or large shore-side construction works.
During the six-month programme, consortium partners completed hydrodynamic, structural, electrical, and operational testing. The University of Strathclyde carried out wave tank testing to validate platform stability, structural integrity, and multi-platform interconnection under varying sea conditions. Triton Anchor completed mooring and anchoring studies, while Ricardo and Rux Energy validated the hydrogen-to-power system. Schneider Electric tested grid-forming inverter systems and battery energy storage arrangements for both 50Hz and 60Hz networks.
Port electrification remains one of the more difficult parts of maritime decarbonisation. Shore power can reduce emissions from vessels at berth by allowing auxiliary engines to be shut down, although many ports do not have enough local grid capacity to support large intermittent vessel loads. Conventional upgrades can involve new substations, cable routes, planning constraints, land availability issues, and long network reinforcement timelines.
A floating hub changes the delivery model by placing generation, storage, and power conversion on the water. The system becomes modular energy infrastructure rather than a conventional shore-side grid extension. It still requires hydrogen supply, marine permitting, safety management, and electrical integration, but it offers a separate route for ports where grid access is the limiting factor.
The emissions case depends on hydrogen production, transport, and storage assumptions. Ricardo’s feasibility-stage analysis indicated that the system could reduce emissions from vessels at berth by around 77% compared with onboard diesel generation, with an estimated reduction of about 47 tonnes of CO₂ per vessel per week. Avoided auxiliary diesel operation would also reduce NOx, SOx, and particulate emissions in port areas.
Its electrical architecture brings together technologies already maturing in grid and industrial power systems. Grid-forming inverters, medium-voltage shore connections, large batteries, and fuel-cell generation are all familiar in other parts of the energy sector. Combining them on a floating platform creates a more complex marine asset, but one that reflects the convergence of port electrification, maritime power, and distributed energy systems.
Offshore energy infrastructure is already moving in that direction. East Anglia Two’s cable protection work and the development of large offshore wind projects such as TotalEnergies’ 1.5GW Normandy plan show how offshore generation, grid connection, and marine electrical systems are becoming more tightly linked. Floating shore power extends that trend into port operations, where vessels, substations, batteries, and fuel infrastructure increasingly have to operate as one system.
The ELIRE concept now moves from feasibility validation toward deployment planning, commercial structure, hydrogen procurement, safety-case development, and port integration. Floating shore power will not remove the need for stronger port grids, but it could provide a practical alternative where conventional reinforcement is too slow, too expensive, or physically constrained.
