Blaze Energy has raised $6.5 million in seed funding to accelerate deployment of its Flex-Fuel Reformer System, a technology designed to allow existing maritime engines to operate using multiple alternative fuels. Propeller Ventures and Catalyzer Ventures led the financing.
Safar Partners, SOSV, Desai Ventures and Cartography Capital also participated.
Blaze plans to use the funding for a commercial-vessel pilot with Lomar Shipping, marine-engine testing and expansion of its U.S. and Norway operations.
The company’s technology is aimed at addressing uncertainty around the future fuel mix for global shipping.
More than 80% of global trade by volume moves by sea, while vessels can remain in service for decades.
Shipowners are consequently making investment decisions before the industry has reached a consensus around which lower-emission fuels will become dominant.
Blaze’s Flex-Fuel Reformer System is designed to allow shipowners to use different fuels without replacing existing engine platforms.
The system converts fuels including ammonia, methanol and liquefied natural gas into a hydrogen-rich mixture aboard the vessel.
That mixture can then support hydrogen-assisted combustion in conventional engines.
Blaze said extracting hydrogen from slower-burning alternative fuels helps match combustion characteristics associated with diesel.
Its compact architecture combines proprietary heating technology and a high-performance catalyst.
The system can be used for both retrofits and new-build vessels.
Blaze estimates that retrofitting with its technology can enable adoption of new fuels at approximately 20 times lower cost than replacing ships while also providing fuel savings and emissions reductions.
The company estimates the maritime opportunity at approximately $120 billion, with potential additional applications across transportation, heavy equipment, mining and industrial heat.
Blaze plans to complete land-based marine-engine testing in Norway before installing its Reformer System aboard a commercial Lomar Shipping vessel in 2027.
The project is expected to support development of a new-build version targeted for 2028.
KEY QUOTES:
“Blaze has developed a customer-centric technology focused on saving money and relieving fuel insecurity. We’ve watched an unprecedented shift in maritime fuel procurement and bunkering driven by prices, geopolitics and regulation. As uncertainty rises, and prices continue to swing, Blaze will be there as the preeminent cost-affordable solution for shipowners.”
Steven Fox, Partner at Propeller Ventures
“Maritime shipping used to be about moving cargo safely, on-time, and economically. Now operators need to be experts in fuel markets, energy shifts, and geopolitics just to keep vessels running. Blaze exists to cut through that uncertainty, giving shipowners fuel flexibility through their existing assets, so they can stay resilient no matter what is thrown at them.”
Rok Sitar, CEO and Co-Founder of Blaze Energy
“Blaze Energy’s Reformer System offers shipowners a practical, cost-effective pathway to meet increasingly stringent emissions requirements while preserving the value of their existing vessels and infrastructure. With global shipping responsible for roughly 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, Blaze provides an elegant solution to a difficult challenge: materially reducing emissions without requiring shipowners to replace or fundamentally redesign their fleets.”
Kristina Johnson, Partner at Catalyzer Ventures
