London’s Brunel University is teaming up with startup Genuine H2 to pilot a system that splits seawater into hydrogen onboard ships.

The concept is to feed seawater through electrolyzers, extract pure hydrogen, store it on ship, then use it as a clean-burning fuel. Brunel’s project intends to store hydrogen safely, and run the system continuously during voyages. 

The whole process is circular. As well as clean fuel, it produces pure water that can be reused or safely poured back into the sea.

Brunel is already deep in hydrogen engine R&D. The university is leading a multimillion-pound programme to design net-zero hydrogen engines for ships, aircraft, trucks and more.

There are big technical hurdles — energy efficiency, reliability, corrosion, storage safety, and regulatory approval, to name a few. Nevertheless, testing has just begun on land, with the demonstrator running until March 2026.