Marine methanol-to-hydrogen system set for installation on large yacht

Maritime renewable energy company e1 Marine and fuel cell manufacturer PowerCell’s plan to integrate their respective methanol-to-hydrogen reforming and fuel cell technologies onboard a large yacht.

PowerCell’s M2Power 250 system will be fitted onboard the vessel, fuelled by hydrogen produced via e1’s integrated M30 methanol-to-hydrogen reformer, comprising a methanol-to-power solution designed to replace traditional marine diesel gensets.

This comes as part of a wider SEK 43m ($4.7m) order for the platform from an unnamed European shipyard announced in late 2025. The number of systems that could be installed under the deal remains unspecified.

It also follows an earlier for SEK 150m ($14.8m) of the systems in March of the same year.

e1’s reformer mixes methanol with water, heats it, and converts it into a hydrogen-rich gas using a catalytic reactor. A membrane then separates pure hydrogen for use in the fuel cells, while the remaining gas is reused to power the process cyclically.

The firm claims the composite system can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions compared with diesel-fuelled systems by 10-27% when grey methanol is used, and by up to 85% with green methanol. A methanol source has not been confirmed for the yacht’s operations.

Dave Lee, Executive Director of e1 Marine, said the project represents an important step as larger yacht builders seek practical ways to cut emissions onboard vessels while maintaining reliability.

Methanol-to-hydrogen represents a potentially retrofit-friendly route to cleaner onboard power, combining the handling advantage of liquid fuels with the environmental and operational benefits of hydrogen fuel cells.

However, potential drawbacks remain. Overall emissions depend on the methanol source, and costs remain high.