Maritime hydrogen fuel cell specialist Zero Emission Industries (ZEI) has announced the first close of its Series A funding round. The round is led by Chevron New Energies with additional investment from Crowley.

ZEI is the designer and developer of the first-of-its-kind maritime hydrogen and fuel cell system used in the Sea Change, the world’s first gaseous hydrogen fuel cell powered passenger ferry, as well as the vessel’s unique fueling system that allows it to be fueled directly from a hydrogen truck

The new funds are expected to enable ZEI to roll out its next generation fully integrated marine power system and scale quickly to meet the demand within the maritime industry for zero emission propulsion solutions.

“We believe hydrogen is the best path to energy security and decarbonization of the maritime industry. Chevron and Crowley bring a wealth of global experience and an ability to scale deployment across the marine market. We’re excited to leverage this partnership with our industry-leading technology to achieve exponential growth of the marine hydrogen market,” said ZEI CEO Dr. Joseph Pratt.

ZEI is led by Pratt, who has built a team of hydrogen and marine experts with deep industry knowledge and expertise in the design, development, and deployment of hydrogen fuel cell power systems and other critical hydrogen technology. ZEI produces marine-specific turn-key fuel cell power and hydrogen storage systems that deliver superior performance.

“Our intelligent, connected, reliable power systems are the only ones on the market built from the ground-up specifically to meet the rigorous demands of the marine community. Designed to be as easy to install and operate as a marine diesel engine, we are working to build solutions that truly enable the maritime industry to decarbonize without negatively impacting their operations,” said ZEI Executive VP John Motlow.

ZEI says that the investments from Chevron and Crowley create an integrated value chain from hydrogen production to power systems to vessels. It adds that the collaboration will drive value for end users and partners alike through simplified and cost effective fueling and power solutions made specifically for maritime.

“As the maritime industry focuses on lower carbon opportunities, hydrogen is well-suited to address these, and we are excited to collaborate with ZEI to advance this potential,” said Austin Knight, vice president of hydrogen for Chevron New Energies. “Chevron believes in the value of partnering to develop hydrogen solutions that have the potential to scale and support a lower carbon world, and this is a step in that direction.”

Chevron New Energies launched in 2021 to focus on establishing lower carbon businesses in CCUS, hydrogen, renewable fuels and products, offsets, and other emerging areas.

“Investing in and developing innovative, clean energy solutions such as hydrogen is critical to reaching the maritime industry’s decarbonization goals. Crowley can only reach net-zero emissions with collaboration that produces new ideas by partners and stakeholders,” said Tom Crowley, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Working with Chevron and ZEI is an opportunity to help lead the shipping and logistics industry – and the communities we serve – to reach a more sustainable future.”

Source: https://www.marinelog.com/news/zei-gets-backing-from-chevron-new-energies-and-crowley/