Powering GoodBuoy, A Hydrogen PoC at Sea

When the engineering team behind the GoodBuoy set out to build a maritime platform capable of surviving months at sea, the key challenge became immediately clear: traditional power solutions simply couldn’t deliver the required endurance or reliability. Batteries alone discharged too quickly, and recharging was a big challenge, solar conditions were unpredictable, and diesel generators were out of the question due to noise, emissions, and maintenance needs. To validate a new approach, the team approached FCT Sweden and integrated our XplorerKIT fuel cell system as the core of their Power Module, a crucial step toward proving that hydrogen could unlock long-duration offshore autonomy.

The PoC centered around demonstrating that a compact hydrogen fuel cell could deliver stable energy output between 300 W and 3 kW, seamlessly interacting with lithium batteries and solar inputs aboard the buoy. The XplorerKIT was configured to run in hybrid mode: fuel cells provided the continuous baseline power, while batteries absorbed peak loads from communication systems, ISR payloads, sonars, and environmental sensors.

The concept analysis show that 36 kg of onboard hydrogen could sustain multi-month operation, up to six months at sea, drastically reducing maintenance cycles and enabling deployments in remote or hostile waters where human intervention is difficult or dangerous.

From a technical standpoint, the PoC became a proof of what modular hydrogen systems can achieve in real-world marine environments. The XplorerKIT’s lightweight footprint and highly stable voltage output allowed it to integrate cleanly into GoodBuoy’s multi-modal communication suite — including 5G, radio, Starlink, and underwater data channels, without electrical noise or power interruptions. It also showed that fuel cells can deliver one of the most lasting power sources for offshore sensing platforms. In the end, the PoC validated not just the buoy, but the broader idea that hydrogen fuel cells are ready to unlock the next generation of autonomous maritime systems.