By
Alex Smith |
Baleària is preparing to install Europe’s first autonomous e-methanol power-generation container on the electric ferry Cap de Barbaria.
The unit, an eNomad system manufactured by Catalan energy-technology firm Methanol Reformer, is expected to be delivered in the coming weeks. Its installation will turn the vessel into a test platform for hydrogen production at sea, making Cap de Barbaria the first ferry in Europe to use methanol as an onboard energy vector for generating hydrogen.
In service on the Ibiza–Formentera route since 2023, Cap de Barbaria was designed to accommodate a hydrogen system capable of supplying a portion of its electrical demand. The eNomad package combines hydrogen production – via reforming e-methanol – with modular, compact equipment suited to port and maritime environments. Deployment on the ferry will allow the system to be assessed under real operating conditions.
Hydrogen produced onboard will feed a fuel cell to generate auxiliary electricity. This power will support battery charging and reduce reliance on conventional generators, lowering fuel consumption and emissions. Baleària will also use the installation to trial different combinations of batteries and fuel cells in the ship’s electric propulsion system.
The pilot will allow Baleària to evaluate methanol’s viability as a flexible, storable fuel that can support in-situ hydrogen production without extensive shoreside infrastructure. The trials will examine hydrogen’s contribution to overall consumption, its impact on emissions, and the potential scalability of the technology to other vessels and routes.
“This compact equipment enables us to operate a small-scale green-hydrogen laboratory in a real-world setting and on a route as sensitive and iconic as Ibiza–Formentera,” said Javier Cervera, corporate director of institutional relations and energy transition at Baleària. “We are once again testing the technologies that will support tomorrow’s zero-emission navigation.”
Javier Torres, CEO of Methanol Reformer, added: “We are proud to collaborate with Baleària on a project that demonstrates how technological innovation can reshape maritime mobility and support a more sustainable energy model.”
Cap de Barbaria became Spain’s first electric passenger and cargo ferry to achieve zero emissions during port approaches and stays when it entered service in 2023, reducing CO₂ output by 33 per cent compared with the previous vessel on the route. As part of the BUCEMTO project, funded through Next Generation EU programmes, Baleària is pursuing multiple pathways to accelerate maritime decarbonisation, including natural gas, biofuels, electricity, hydrogen and methanol. The company currently operates 11 dual-fuel LNG vessels – three of which run on bioLNG – and is developing fully electric, zero-emission fast-ferry projects, including a proposed green corridor between Tarifa and Tangier.