UK Unveils Floating Power Hubs to Decarbonise Ports

Picture a power station gliding down the Thames, humming with zero-emission tech. That’s exactly what ELIRE Infra and its consortium are out to prove, armed with a £1 million grant from the UK government. This bold feasibility study could rewrite the playbook on how ports tap into sustainable energy and kick off a new chapter in hydrogen infrastructure.

Why Ports Need an Energy Makeover

Every day, ports lean on diesel generators and shore power, pumping out CO₂ and choking local air. With the UK locked into a 2050 net zero goal, maritime hubs can’t be running the same old playbook. That’s where the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, run by Innovate UK and steered by UK SHORE, comes in—spotlighting pilot tech that slashes emissions, and fast.

Inside the Floating Hubs

These aren’t your grandad’s generators. Each floating hydrogen power hub is a modular, off-grid microgrid that combines:

• Hydrogen fuel cells—the heart of the system, converting stored hydrogen into clean electricity.
• Solar panels—harnessing sunshine to ease the load and boost resilience.
• Biofuel microturbines—standing by for peak demand or dull, cloudy days.
• Low-pressure nanoporous hydrogen storage modules by Rux Energy UK, keeping everything compact, safe, and ready to roll.

Plus, the team will map out on-site hydrogen production and hydrogen storage strategies to ensure each hub works as a self-sufficient node in wider hydrogen infrastructure.

Then there’s the control side of things: Schneider Electric and Ricardo UK are cooking up a sleek, grid-integrated AC/DC architecture that balances power flows on the fly. Meanwhile, the team at the University of Strathclyde is running naval-architecture and hydrodynamics tests, making sure each platform stays rock-steady in choppy waters. The result? Up to 5 MW of renewable power beamed straight to the quay—no diesel reefers or shore cables required.

From Feasibility to Reality

This feasibility phase kicked off in March 2025, focusing on trials around Greenwich in the Thames Estuary. Sealand Projects is choreographing the logistics—shipping, installing, commissioning—while Triton Anchor Europe engineers the mooring so these hubs don’t budge. By March 2026, the consortium expects to hand over:

• Full system designs and costed equipment breakdowns
• Clear regulatory pathways aligned with evolving hydrogen safety standards
• Structural assessments validated for real-world conditions

If all goes to plan, a full-scale hub could be floating off the UK coast as early as 2028—the nation’s first of its kind.

A Blueprint with Global Ambitions

This isn’t just a one-off trial. The goal is a plug-and-play blueprint for ports from Aberdeen to Ayrshire—and even overseas. Beyond slashing diesel use, these hubs deliver:

• Massive carbon cuts—potentially saving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO₂ over a decade (final figures still pending)
• Cleaner air for dockside communities
• Fresh jobs in engineering, fabrication, and operations—keeping UK skills razor-sharp

Of course, hurdles remain: maritime hydrogen regulations can get thorny, investors need reassurance, and global competition in clean maritime tech is fierce. But for a country with a storied shipping pedigree, sticking with diesel just won’t cut it.

As ELIRE and its partners chart this course, they’re not just tinkering—they’re staking a claim on the future of sustainable energy at sea. If these floating hydrogen power hubs prove their mettle, UK ports could flip overnight from smokestack icons to beacons of zero-emission innovation.

About the Company
ELIRE Infra is a UK-based clean infrastructure provider specializing in next-generation energy solutions. As the lead partner on the Hydrogen Floating Power Hub Feasibility Programme, ELIRE Infra brings expertise in project coordination, technology integration, and marine deployment, backed by its parent ELIRE Group’s aerospace pedigree and investment firepower.