Swedish fuel cell maker PowerCell Group has booked a SEK 27 million (US$2.9 million) follow-up order to supply hydrogen fuel cell systems and engineering services for two additional bulk carriers under development by Norway's GMI Group AS — doubling the project fleet from two vessels to four.

The contract, which follows an initial order placed in September 2025, covers 10 Marine System 225 units delivering more than 2 MW of combined power. Deliveries are scheduled for 2027 and 2028.

Each of the two additional vessels will carry 3,000 tonnes deadweight and will be built at Chowgule Shipyard. The first pair — 85 metres long, 4,000 DWT each — is slated for launch in 2027, and PowerCell expects them to become the world's first hydrogen-electric bulk carriers.

What does the deal cover?

Across the four-vessel fleet, PowerCell will now supply a total of 24 Marine System 225 units, representing 5.4 MW of installed fuel cell power. Each of the two newest vessels receives five units.

The division of labour is specific:

• PowerCell supplies the fuel cell systems and engineering support.
• eCap Marine manages vessel-level integration and certification of the hydrogen and propulsion systems.
• GMI Group develops the vessels, which generate electricity onboard from compressed renewable hydrogen.

The shared fuel cell platform across all four ships lets the partners reuse engineering and certification work from the initial pair on the new builds — the practical reason a four-vessel commitment costs less per ship than two standalone projects.

Who is paying for it?

The vessel concept has drawn support from Norway's Enova fund and the NOx Fund, and it forms part of the Norwegian Green Shipping Program. That state backing matters: at US$2.9 million for fuel cell systems alone on two 3,000 DWT vessels, the economics of hydrogen-electric short-sea shipping still depend on subsidy, not commercial parity with diesel.

"Scaling from two vessels to four demonstrates the value of our business model," said Richard Berkling, CEO of PowerCell Group. The claim is fair as far as it goes — but the order value itself, roughly $1.45 million per vessel in fuel cell hardware and engineering, shows how early this market remains.

Why it matters for short-sea operators

For carriers and shipbuilders watching decarbonisation deadlines tighten, the GMI project is a working test of whether hydrogen fuel cells can power commercial dry bulk tonnage. The vessels are small — 3,000 to 4,000 DWT against the 60,000-plus DWT of typical ocean-going bulkers — and compressed hydrogen limits range, which confines the concept to short-sea trades for now.

Still, the order marks PowerCell's shift from one-off vessel projects toward fleet-scale supply, a signal that marine fuel cell demand is consolidating around repeatable platforms rather than bespoke installations. Chowgule Shipyard's involvement also extends the supply chain beyond Northern Europe, where most hydrogen vessel projects to date have been built.

What could still slip?

The new vessels remain under development, and deliveries of the additional systems are planned for 2027–2028. No delivery penalties, certification timeline or hydrogen bunkering arrangement appear in the announcement — the three variables that most often delay hydrogen ship projects.

The first pair's 2027 launch will be the real test: if those vessels enter service on schedule, the four-ship fleet's 5.4 MW of installed fuel cell capacity becomes a benchmark for hydrogen propulsion in commercial shipping; if not, the 2028 deliveries for vessels three and four look equally fragile.