Project partner Aurelia Technologies presented MARPOWER at a high-level European Innovation Council (EIC) event on industrial decarbonisation and circularity, held in Madrid on 28–29 April 2026.
Organised under the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme, the event brought together 18 EIC-backed start-ups and SMEs from nine countries with All4Zero, Spain’s multi-sector industrial innovation hub. The activity gathered around 80 participants, including representatives from major industrial corporations, innovation experts, and decision-makers, creating a focused environment to foster collaboration between technology developers and industry.
Tony Hynes, Executive Vice President International Sales at Aurelia Technologies, represented the company and introduced the MARPOWER project as part of Aurelia Technologies’ presentation, highlighting its contribution to advancing sustainable maritime transport through innovative, fuel-flexible energy conversion technologies.
While presenting Aurelia Technologies’ ongoing projects, Tony Hynes highlighted MARPOWER’s focus on developing a high-efficiency maritime energy conversion system capable of operating with a range of sustainable and low-carbon fuels, including hydrogen. Coordinated by LUT University, the project combines advanced gas turbine technology, waste heat recovery, and system integration approaches to support the decarbonisation of the maritime sector through improved efficiency and reduced emissions.
“Events like this are essential to connect innovative technologies with industrial partners and accelerate the deployment of solutions for maritime decarbonisation”, said Tony Hynes.
Within the project, Aurelia Technologies contributes its expertise in gas turbine engineering, supporting the definition of technical requirements, system architecture, and integration aspects of the energy conversion system. The company also contributes to early-stage design activities and ensures alignment between system components, supporting the development of a fuel-flexible solution tailored to future maritime applications.
Connecting innovation with industry to accelerate maritime decarbonisation
The event featured pitching sessions followed by structured one-to-one meetings with industrial partners, enabling direct discussions on technology integration, scalability, and deployment in real operational environments. This format allowed participating companies to move beyond initial visibility and engage in pathways towards pilot projects, co-development initiatives, and potential commercial agreements.
The initiative reflects the growing importance of structured collaboration between deep-tech innovators and heavy industry to translate decarbonisation targets into deployable solutions. In this context, MARPOWER’s participation aligns with one of the key challenges addressed: the deployment of low-carbon solutions for maritime transport and port infrastructure.
Participation in this initiative strengthens MARPOWER’s visibility within Europe’s innovation ecosystem and facilitates engagement with key industrial stakeholders. The interaction with companies from sectors such as energy, aviation, infrastructure, and heavy industry provides opportunities to accelerate the uptake of the project’s results and explore future deployment scenarios.
MARPOWER is supported by a strong and well-balanced European consortium bringing together industrial partners, technology developers, research organisations, and universities. The consortium includes LUT University (coordinator), Aurelia Technologies, Alfa Laval, Politecnico di Milano, RINA Consulting, RINA Services the University of Vigo,, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Zabala Innovation, combining expertise across the full value chain to advance the decarbonisation of maritime transport.