Clean energy innovator secures £5m investment

Bath-based startup DRIFT Energy, which develops clean energy-generating yachts, has secured £5m from Octopus Ventures and Blue Action Accelerator.

Money from the funding round will launch a fleet of high-performance sailing vessels that harness deep ocean wind to produce green hydrogen at sea.

DRIFT Energy produces high-performance sailing vessels which cruise around the world’s tradewinds harvesting energy from underwater turbines. This energy feeds an on-board Megawatt class electrolyser to produce and store Gigawatts of green hydrogen.

DRIFT claims to have developed a unique vessel routing algorithm that enables the yacht to find and stay in optimum weather conditions, returning to port at the precise moment that its hydrogen tank is full. 

Ben Medland, DRIFT founder and chief executive, said: "Alongside the support from Blue Action Accelerator, this funding enables us to drive with momentum into the next phase of our mission."

Mat Munro, an investor at Octopus Ventures, said: "We're incredibly excited about DRIFT and the team's potential to lead the way in developing a truly innovative source of renewable energy."