DRIFT Energy has entered into an exclusive strategic framework with Commenda Capital Partners to support the commercial deployment of at least 50 DRIFT vessels.
The programme targets more than $500 million in project-level investment, expected to be financed through project-specific vehicles.
The framework brings together DRIFT’s proprietary wind-powered hydrogen production vessels, intellectual property and customer development activities with Commenda’s expertise in maritime finance, capital structuring and project execution.
Under the agreement, Commenda has been appointed as DRIFT’s exclusive capital and project partner for the agreed programme scope.
DRIFT will continue to lead vessel technology, intellectual property, hydrogen production systems, routing software, project origination and hydrogen offtake development.
Commenda will lead capital structuring, investor engagement, debt and equity financing processes, the establishment of project-specific vehicles and project execution.
Ben Medland, CEO of 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 follows DRIFT’s Approval in Principle from RINA in 2026, the first awarded for an energy-harvesting ship. The approval marked an important step in the company’s progression from vessel design and proof of concept towards commercial deployment.
Ulrik Uhrenfeldt Andersen, CEO and Managing Partner of Commenda Capital Partners, said:
“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 framework is intended to accelerate the deployment of DRIFT vessels as a new class of mobile offshore green hydrogen infrastructure, producing clean energy at sea and delivering it directly to ports, islands and coastal users.
For Commenda Capital Partners, the agreement represents a significant mandate within its work as an independent maritime investment company focused on both conventional shipping and emerging maritime asset classes.
Render of a flotilla of DRIFT Energy’s net-positive, energy harvesting ships