2H2O2 H2+O2
Turning electrolysis into combustion enhancement.
Harnessing the powers of hydrogen to improve your engine's performance.
Learn more about the tech →—
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Harnessing the powers of hydrogen to improve your engine's performance.
Learn more about the tech →
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HydroSAVE uses onboard electrolysis to produce pure hydrogen on demand and feeds it directly into the engine's air intake. The hydrogen acts as a combustion catalyst — improving combustion efficiency, enabling near-complete fuel burn, and cleaning up the exhaust without any modification to the engine itself.
Advanced electrolysis cells break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is dried, regulated, and fed into the engine's turbo air intake via a dedicated gas line. There is no onboard hydrogen storage — the system produces hydrogen only when the engine needs it, eliminating the risks associated with pressurized hydrogen tanks.
Inside the cylinder, hydrogen acts as a radical amplifier. Its extremely low ignition energy rapidly produces highly reactive radicals (H•, O•, OH•) that accelerate the oxidation of heavy fuel hydrocarbons. The result is faster flame propagation, more complete combustion near top dead centre, and significantly less unburned fuel in the exhaust.
HFO combustion is normally incomplete in many micro-zones inside the cylinder. The fuel is heavy, viscous, slow to atomize and evaporate, with large hydrocarbon chains, aromatics, asphaltenes, sulfur compounds, and residual carbon. Hydrogen specifically targets these weaknesses.
The hydrogen energy fraction is intentionally small — typical operation uses concentrations of roughly 170–1700 ppm in intake air, often less than 1% of total fuel energy. The efficiency gain comes from combustion optimization, not from hydrogen's calorific contribution.
The system is standardized in modules per 500 kW of engine output — 6 litres of hydrogen per minute per 500 kW. A 1 MW engine uses 12 L/min; a 9 MW operational load uses 108 L/min. A complete installation includes hydrogen generators, electronic control units, reserve and collector tanks, gas dryers, and an automatic wireless hydrogen detector cut-off system.
The installation footprint is compact and can sit inside or outside the engine room. The system is fully independent of main engine systems — no software integration, no control overrides, no interference with engine management. It installs as a retrofit without engine downtime.
Hydrogen is produced on demand from distilled water using KOH as electrolyte — never stored. A hydrogen detector sits above the generators; if trace hydrogen is detected, an automatic power cut-off ceases production immediately. A pressure relief valve protects against overpressure; a flow control valve regulates volume into the intake; a dryer/purifier ensures hydrogen quality before it reaches the engine.
Residual hydrogen is rapidly consumed after shutdown. Polyester-reinforced PVC hoses (rated 275–350 psi, FDA Specification CFR21 170–199) carry the gas and electrolyte. Systems are housed in robust, corrosion-resistant enclosures.
The system has been installed on dozens of commercial vessels and power-generating diesel engines.
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Fuel remains one of the highest OPEX contributors in vessel operations. HydroSAVE delivers measurable fuel and emissions savings as a low-CAPEX retrofit, with payback typically achieved in under 18 months and no disruption to existing engine operation.
The system is particularly effective on pre-2018 vessels, where combustion efficiency has typically deteriorated. Every percentage point of saving translates to immediate cost reduction — relevant especially where owners operate their own vessels and bear fuel cost directly, or where charterers are increasingly fuel-conscious.
Simulation based on real operational data from a vessel with a MAN 6S80MC-C7 main engine (22,700 kW MCR, derated to 17,769 kW) and three auxiliary 5DK-20 generators. The vessel operates at ~9 MW continuous, ~85% of the year, on a 90% HFO / 10% VLSFO fuel mix.
Annual fuel consumption across main and auxiliary engines: ~14,800 mt. Total fuel cost: USD 11.24m. At a conservative 3.7% saving, the technology delivers ~548 mt of fuel and ~1,700 mt of CO₂ reduction annually. Carbon offset savings are not included in this payback calculation — they become increasingly valuable as IMO net-zero frameworks tighten.
System configuration for this case: 18 hydrogen generators (2 per operational MW), cabling and electrical board, TracPipe pipelines and manifolds, and the wireless hydrogen detector cut-off system.
The system is modular, compact, and adds no hydrogen storage onboard. Once validated on a first vessel, it replicates straightforwardly across a fleet. It is a practical first step toward decarbonisation that delivers financial benefit immediately — through reduced OPEX — while building the foundation for compliance with future emissions frameworks.
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Hydrogen enrichment isn't about replacing fuel — it's about making existing fuel burn better. In marine HFO engines especially, hydrogen acts as a combustion catalyst that targets the inherent weaknesses of heavy fuel combustion.
The improvement from hydrogen enrichment is not because hydrogen adds a large amount of energy. The hydrogen energy fraction is usually very small — typical systems operate with hydrogen concentrations of roughly 170–1700 ppm in intake air, often representing less than 1% of total fuel energy.
The main effect is that hydrogen changes the combustion chemistry and flame dynamics of the heavy fuel oil combustion process. The efficiency gain comes from combustion optimization rather than from hydrogen's calorific value.
Hydrogen has extremely low ignition energy. Once ignition starts, it rapidly produces highly reactive radicals — H•, O•, OH• — that accelerate the oxidation of HFO hydrocarbons. The OH radical is particularly important: it oxidizes soot precursors and partially burned hydrocarbons.
Inside diesel/HFO combustion, oxidation proceeds through chain reactions. Large hydrocarbons from HFO normally decompose slowly. Hydrogen accelerates the radical pool formation, which in turn drives reactions like CO + OH• → CO₂ + H• and CxHy + OH• → CO₂ + H₂O. The result is less unburned fuel, lower CO, lower soot, lower HC emissions, and improved thermal efficiency.
HFO combustion is intrinsically less complete than MGO or MDO. The fuel is heavy, viscous, slow to atomize and evaporate, with large hydrocarbon chains, aromatics, asphaltenes, sulfur compounds, and residual carbon species. Many micro-zones inside the cylinder burn incompletely.
Hydrogen gives larger relative benefits in HFO than in lighter fuels because it specifically targets these weaknesses:
Hydrogen flame speed is much higher than diesel or HFO vapor combustion. Typical laminar flame speeds: hydrogen-air at ~2–3 m/s, diesel vapor-air at ~0.3–0.4 m/s — roughly ten times faster.
Hydrogen accelerates flame propagation across the cylinder, producing earlier heat release, more complete combustion near top dead centre, improved peak pressure timing, reduced late burning, and less energy wasted into the exhaust. It also stabilizes combustion in locally lean regions — particularly important in large-bore marine engines, at low load, and in slow-combustion zones near cylinder walls.
Under conventional HFO operation without hydrogen, increasing the excess air ratio (λ) beyond the engine's optimum usually causes slower combustion, reduced flame stability, and higher SFOC. Excess air leads to incomplete combustion zones.
With hydrogen present, this changes. Hydrogen compensates for the leaner mixture through rapid radical generation, improved ignition stability, faster flame development, and enhanced oxidation kinetics. The engine can run at slightly higher λ while still maintaining fast and stable combustion. Additional air improves oxidation completeness; hydrogen prevents the deterioration usually associated with leaner operation.
The combined effect: lower incomplete-combustion losses, improved thermal efficiency, reduced soot, and lower SFOC. The benefit of increased λ is not from excess air alone, but from the synergistic interaction between hydrogen-enhanced chemistry and optimized air conditions.
Measured impact of hydrogen enrichment (12 L/min per MW) on a 30 MW marine engine:
Hydrogen improves HFO fuel efficiency mainly by acting as a radical-generation combustion catalyst that accelerates oxidation of heavy hydrocarbons, soot precursors, and partially burned fuel — making combustion faster, cleaner, and more thermodynamically complete.