Startup For 10: DRIFT Energy

Thank you to the team at DRIFT Energy for providing us with this Startup For 10 feature as part of Tech For Good and People Month.

In your own words – what do you do?

Power a cleaner, energy secure future – is the nutshell answer. The more detailed version is that we are creating a new class of renewable energy that is truly planet scale.

How we do this is by tapping into the gigantic energy goldmine that is the ocean, using one of the oldest technologies – the humble sailboat! We are the answer to the question – what if a ship could make energy? Well, you would have DRIFT and our unique net positive ships.

DRIFT’s energy harvesting ships harness deep ocean wind to produce green energy at sea and deliver it globally. They do this using an AI-enabled vessel routing algorithm that enables them to find and stay in optimum, weather conditions. In a nutshell, our ships don’t wait for the wind, they follow the wind.

With the ocean covering 70% of the globe, I believe that this is a planet-scale solution to the myriad of challenges faced by global communities grappling with the clean energy transition. We are viable in more places and can produce more power, more of the time. 

I often describe DRIFT as the most capital-efficient, clean tech startup in the world. We offer a new class of mobile, renewable energy that is independent of power grids and quick to deploy.  We sail around the constraints of traditional energy pathways. 

Having said that, I absolutely see our technology as an ‘and’ solution, creating a faster, viable option that complements existing renewable energy sources such as static offshore wind and solar.

What’s the most exciting thing about what you’re doing?

The amazing goodwill we receive when people ‘get it’. There is nothing quite like seeing others fall in love with the engineering and business opportunities of DRIFT. Whether that be potential customers who love the flexibility and deployability of our solution, or investors who can see through all the tech to a simple narrative that ‘we have found a new way to make money with ships’.

Various partners, accelerators, policy makers, government agencies and maritime stakeholders have also been leaning in. I think of DRIFT as an ‘and’ company, in that we welcome collaboration and perspectives to harden the solutions we provide.

Although on a technology level I would say that it is easy to get excited about a big ship, I think the most exciting thing is the bit of DRIFT that you can’t see – the GOLDILOCKS routing software which we have developed to find the optimum weather. That is groundbreaking within the industry and is totally unique – a critical part of what puts us ahead of the competition.

What are you most proud of so far?

I have to say the fact that we have had over 1000 people apply for ten jobs, with no recruitment agencies and no promotion budget! That is the attractive power of DRIFT.

We have had applicants from all over the maritime, heavy industry, energy and financial sectors. Our award-winning team comes with experience at Airbus, BAE Systems, BMT, INEOS, BP , Shell, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Petronas, Fraser Nash, Babcock, Google, Accenture, McKinsey…

Together, we have won multiple awards; the COP 28 Le Zero Innovation Prize, the Startups 100 Sustainability Award 2025, the EntreConf Sustainability Prize, the Monaco Prize for Innovation in Renewable Hydrogen and Transportation – not to mention a very glamourous ‘Best Tech for Good’ SPARKie! We are also very proud to have been a runner-up in the KPMG Tech Innovator competition, and an Earthshot Nominee for 2025.

But one moment does hold a special moment in my heart, and that is when we first demonstrated the production of green hydrogen on a demonstrator yacht at SailGP in 2022. We did this in the historic port of Plymouth, a town very special to my family history. To create history of our own was a very special moment. The fact that our story was subsequently published in The Sunday Times was even better. Fancy that – your first press release straight into a middle page spread! That was an early proud moment.

What have you found most difficult about being a startup?

We have confronted the same challenges that all startups face. Namely, balancing huge ambitions with limited resources. Raising capital, recruiting talent, and onboarding customers, all while trying to develop a new technology and build a scalable positive business is hard!

It can feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube where the colours change with each move.

What made a real difference for the team at DRIFT is the sheer volume of goodwill that has come to us from public, industry, and government stakeholders. There is something about that DRIFT lightbulb moment – when you get it, you really get it.  

What would you do differently if you started now?

Honestly, I would’ve loved to have started earlier! It’s a difficult question, because every mistake we’ve made has ultimately brought us closer to the right answer. When you’re developing a world-first technology, mistakes aren’t setbacks, they’re part of the discovery process.

I’m incredibly proud of our team’s willingness to experiment and learn. I’d always rather see us try, test and learn from a mistake than play it safe and miss the chance to push the boundaries of what DRIFT can become. 

I guess if I had the wisdom I have gathered now, then I would go faster!  Faster to customers and getting them on the journey. Faster and with more focus on the Business Readiness Level, not just the Technology Readiness Level.

One lesson I wish were faster to manifest would be that you start a company thinking you must make it sound like the most exciting thing ever, to make it shiny and enthralling – dare I say ‘cool’.  But when you are dealing with deep tech heavy companies, your investors want to hear about de-risked, proven, scalable – dare I say lucratively ‘boring’ narrative.  As glitzy and exciting as DRIFT can be, we have just found a new way to make reliable returns with ships.

Where do you think you’ll be in 12 months?

Having secured international and regional offtake agreements and strong interest in asset finance, DRIFT is in a prime position to begin construction of the world’s first net-positive ship, a vessel that both decarbonises maritime operations and delivers clean fuels for island communities and British utilities.

Over the next year, we expect to finalise our detailed design and secure plan approval, while negotiating build contracts with selected shipyards. By this time next year, we aim to be preparing for sea trials, and within 18 months, I fully expect to be smashing a bottle of champagne against the hull of our first DRIFT ship.

What excites you most about the future of clean tech?

What really inspires me is that clean tech is no longer about compromise – it’s about performance and resilience. Technologies like hydrogen, when deployed intelligently, can enable energy independence, local generation and economic opportunity. The future of clean tech isn’t just about cutting carbon; it’s about building a stronger, fairer and more sustainable energy system – that’s what drives me forward every day.

What tools/people/services/organisations from the cluster have helped you most?

We have benefitted from the engagement, guidance and support of several prominent organisations across the region. 

DRIFT attended Hydrogen South West’s inaugural showcase event in Taunton, where there was a collaborative pull to bring sustainable solutions to the region. We are also speaking at Maritime UK South West’s October Growth Forum – West of England event.

Other organisations that DRIFT has interacted with, joined and/or been supported by include Bristol Port, Bath & Bristol Regional Capital (BBRC), the CBI, Invest Bristol & Bath, Net Zero Wales and SETSquared Bristol. 

We are also active members of ZESTAs (Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association), an international organization dedicated to advancing the interests and development of the zero-emissions ship technology industry.