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View AllEcomar Propulsion: Game-changing zero emission marine engines
Ecomar Propulsion Ltd is a UK based engineering company working to reduce global emissions by creating innovative electric marine engines which aim to cut carbon emissions and millions of litres of fuel waste.
It researches, develops and produces high performance electric and hybrid marine engines which will be launched on the market in 2022. The two main products are inboard engines for commercial vessels, and outboard engines, with plans to develop more powerful hybrid systems for the shipping industry.
The company is partnered with Durapower, a Singapore-based battery manufacturer to provide commercially viable options for the rapid reduction of ship pollution, delivering operational cost benefits and reducing the environmental impacts of the global shipping industry.
KEY MILESTONES
2019
Company formed
2019
Joined SETsquared’s Scale-Up Programme and WMG Accelerator
2019
Bernhard Schulte & Ithaca Marine partnership established
2019
Joint Venture agreed with Singapore-based Durapower
2020
Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Funds secured for feasibility outboard electrification study
2020
Prototype outboard design and build (supported by Sussex Innovation, Manufacturing for Growth, Greenwich South EU Innovation)
2020
Collaboration established with Universities of Exeter and Strathclyde
2021
Eureka Global Stars Award funding secured alongside the University of Exeter
2021
New premises and staff
2021
Named Top 5 emerging maritime emission reduction solution (Startus Insights Independent Analysis)
“Our engines are totally clean; we remove the diesel and petrol polluting engines from the vessels, and we install electric powertrains driven by battery and hydrogen cells. This project concentrates mainly on the unique batteries, we normally deal with the 500-kilowatt marine market but for commercial organisations we needed a bigger system and began developing a one megawatt system”.
“SETsquared’s Scale Up Programme awarded us funding for a professional bid writer, and that gave us the edge we needed to secure the Eureka Global Stars Award. It takes huge investment to develop these systems, and without this funding, we would not have been able to develop the one-megawatt system with our partners in Singapore so quickly. We are extremely grateful to the support that we’ve received from SETsquared and the Scale Up programme”.
“It’s an important initiative, there is regulatory pressure on commercial owners from the UK Maritime Plan, and similarly by other National authorities to have clean operating boats in International ports and waterways. Our joint venture partnership with Singapore-based marine battery supplier, Durapower has enabled us to progress quickly to meet this customer need.”
“We were introduced by SETsquared to experts at the Centre for Future Clean Mobility at the University of Exeter. The academic lead Professor Chris Smith, and his team are such a friendly and professional team. This allows us to have that academic rigour to our product research and development – you need the finance, you need the commercial imperative, and subject matter experts, but it all has to be pulled together with an academic sense check, that’s what we get from our partners at the University of Exeter.”
“We hope to enter the market in 2022 with the Ecomar outboard engines and plan market entry in 2023 with the one megawatt ‘game changer’ system to fleet owners and then scale up commercially.”
Anthony Bennett, Senior Executive Director
Ecomar Propulsion
Updated June 2021
