BRAMBUS Feasibility

d25e2e75-c2e7-4af5-adbd-7bd8df53a8ca

Closed

Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£866,455

Aug. 31, 2021

March 31, 2022

Achieving Net Zero is contingent not only on decarbonising the UK's roads, rails and air space, but also the inland and costal waterways. The maritime sector contributes to 940 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equating to roughly 2.5% of global greenhouse gasses.

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, that might otherwise not be practical, but also remove the reliance on a charging base. However, they require cost reduction, systemisation and work on regulatory issues to penetrate these large markets.

This project brings together a strong, UK based commercial consortium to develop a fuel cell system for mass maritime decarbonisation. The consortium will be led by Bramble Energy, a fuel cell manufacturer developing a highly innovative fuel cell technology based on printed circuit boards (PCBs), spun out from UCL and Imperial College. Bramble's disruptive fuel cell technology is capable of rapid scale-up to gigawatt volumes, using existing UK manufacturing and supply chain.

Bramble Energy will partner with Barrus, the UK's leading marine engine supplier. Barrus will provide the vital technical, commercial and legislative requirements of the marine market, as well as the direct route to market exploitation.

The BRAMBUS feasibility project will develop a detailed design and business case for Bramble Energy's highly innovative PCBFC(tm) (printed circuit board fuel cell) to deliver a marinised hybrid (fuel cell and battery) combined heat and power (CHP) system. The project will advance the technology readiness level from 2-3 to 5, resulting in a commercially viable, fully integrated and packaged design that will be able to operate in a recreational inland waterway vessel.

The UK is globally recognised as a maritime nation, with a shipbuilding industry that exports around the world. There is an opportunity to strengthen the UK's global position by developing zero-emission solutions that will decarbonise the UK's waterways and which can be exported, increasing the capability of the UK's shipbuilding, fuel cell and hydrogen supply chain.