GMI doubles hydrogen-electric bulker order, adding 10 more PowerCell fuel cell systems

PowerCell Group has secured a follow-up order worth SEK 27 million (about $2.69 million) from GMI Group for fuel cell systems and engineering services on two additional hydrogen-electric bulk carriers. The order doubles the collaboration from two to four vessels and marks a step beyond single-ship pilots toward what both companies describe as a repeatable fleet deployment.

What was ordered

The new order covers 10 Marine System 225 units providing more than 2 MW of power, with deliveries scheduled for 2027-2028. Across all four ships, PowerCell will supply a total of 24 Marine System 225 units, representing 5.4 MW of installed fuel cell power. The first order came in September 2025.

The two additional bulk carriers will each have a deadweight capacity of 3,000 tonnes and will be built by Chowgule Shipyard, with five Marine System 225 units installed per vessel. The first two vessels are larger, at 85 meters long with a deadweight capacity of 4,000 tonnes, and are planned for launch in 2027.

How the vessels work

GMI Group is developing the ships to run on compressed renewable hydrogen, which generates electricity onboard through the fuel cells rather than through combustion. That electrical power drives the propulsion system. The concept sits within the Green Shipping Program and has received support from Norway’s Enova fund and the NOx Fund.

The first two vessels are positioned by PowerCell to become the world’s first hydrogen-electric bulk carriers, a claim worth reading with the usual care given to first-of-kind maritime projects. Launch timing and sea trials will determine how quickly that label holds in practice.

Why the repeat order matters

Richard Berkling, CEO of PowerCell Group, framed the expansion in terms of platform economics rather than novelty. “Scaling from two vessels to four demonstrates the value of our business model,” he said. “We combine an industrialised fuel cell platform with application engineering and control capability that can be applied repeatedly across a fleet.”

The practical benefit is that engineering, certification, and integration experience from the first two ships carries over directly to the new deliveries. For a technology segment that still leans heavily on custom, one-off integration work, reusing the same core platform across a class of ships is the mechanism that reduces both cost and schedule risk.

Torstein Holsvik, CEO of GMI Group, pointed to that continuity as the reason for expanding the order. “The decision to add two vessels reflects our confidence in the solution and in the cooperation established through the first project,” he said. “Using the same core technology and delivery structure gives us a strong basis for developing a new generation of bulk carriers powered by renewable hydrogen.”

Integration and certification

PowerCell will supply the fuel cell systems and engineering support within its scope, while eCap Marine, a German ship integrator specializing in green propulsion, will manage vessel-level integration and certification of the hydrogen and propulsion systems. That split of responsibilities mirrors a growing pattern in hydrogen shipping, where the fuel cell maker stays focused on the stack and system while a separate integrator handles the vessel-level engineering.

Honest caveat

The order is real money but modest by maritime capital standards: SEK 27 million buys systems and engineering services, not a full ship program. The meaningful test will be whether the first two vessels hit their 2027 launch dates and then demonstrate reliable operation at sea. Hydrogen bunkering infrastructure for short-sea bulk trades remains thin, and compressed hydrogen storage at the volumes these ships require is still an operating-cost question rather than a settled answer. Repeating a design across four hulls is the right way to build confidence; it does not yet prove the economics work at fleet scale.