UK company Drift Energy and Commenda Capital Partners have established an exclusive capital and project framework for a 50-vessel programme combining Drift Energy’s proprietary vessel technology, designed to produce green hydrogen at sea, with Commenda’s maritime finance and project execution capability, targeting more than US$ 500m of project-level investment.
The partnership aims to deploy some 50 of Drift’s proprietary wind-powered hydrogen production vessels. Under the framework, Drift will lead vessel technology, intellectual property, hydrogen production systems, routing software, project origination and offtake development. Commenda will lead capital structuring, investor engagement, debt and equity processes, SPV establishment and project execution.
Ben Medland, CEO Drift Energy, said: “Securing this financing framework with Commenda Capital is an important step in proving that Drift’s model is not only visionary, but bankable and scalable. It positions us to lead the deployment of the world’s first energy-harvesting vessels and to show how clean energy can be produced offshore and delivered directly to end users.”
The agreement builds on Drift’s 2026 Approval in Principle from RINA, the first awarded for an energy-harvesting ship, supporting progression from vessel design and proof of concept toward commercial deployment.
Ulrik Uhrenfeldt Andersen, CEO and Managing Partner, Commenda Capital, added: “Drift has identified a real problem and developed a serious answer. Turning that into commercial deployment requires more than technology. It requires structuring this new asset class in a way that maritime capital can underwrite and own. This is an innovative concept, but these are ships. They carry maritime risk and need to be financed accordingly. Commenda’s role is to bring the shipping and capital markets depth required to make this asset class financeable at scale.”
The agreement positions Drift to accelerate the deployment of its vessels as a new class of mobile offshore green hydrogen infrastructure, delivering clean energy directly to ports, islands and coastal users. For Commenda Capital, it marks a significant mandate for an independent maritime investment company focused on conventional shipping and new maritime asset classes.
Image: Rendering of Drift Energy’s net-positive, energy harvesting ships (source: Drift Energy)
