Carnot

Name

Carnot

Legal name

Carnot Ltd

Website

https://carnotengines.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

High-Efficiency Clean-Tech Engines

NAICS

Motor Vehicle Gasoline Engine and Engine Parts Manufacturing (33631), Motor Vehicle Gasoline Engine and Engine Parts Manufacturing (336310)

SIC

Engines & Turbines (3510), Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories (3714)

akta.pro primary industry

Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Manufacturing (Gasoline/Diesel) (IMACAHAA)

Keywords

• High-efficiency engines
• Multi-fuel powertrains
• Ceramic engine technology
• Maritime auxiliary power
• Off-grid generator systems

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Engine / genset hardware sales: Future primary revenue stream from sale of high-efficiency, multi-fuel Carnot Engines and containerised genset systems. First commercial units targeted for 2027, with US production capacity planned at 25,000 engines/year within 5 years. Pre-revenue at present.
2. Strategic equity investment from corporate partners: Equity capital raised from strategic corporate partners (e.g., MOL, Petredec) who also become commercial collaborators and end-user customers, anchoring funding rounds alongside government grants and crowdfunding.
3. Government R&D grants and crowdfunding: Current non-dilutive funding via Innovate UK, Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, Energy Catalyst and similar grants (£4.6m+ in grants as of 2023), supplemented by equity crowdfunding rounds on Crowdcube and Seedrs.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Carnot Engines is developing and pre-commercialising a next-generation, high-efficiency, multi-fuel internal combustion engine — an opposed-piston architecture using high-temperature ceramic components — that targets 68–72% brake thermal efficiency (versus 25–35% for conventional engines) and operates on decarbonised fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, LPG, LNG, biofuels, biogas, HVO and diesel. The engine is sold (and co-developed) as bespoke engine and genset systems for maritime auxiliary power, off-grid power generation, mining, data centres, defence and heavy-duty vehicles, with first commercial units targeted for 2027. Carnot is pre-revenue, monetising today via government R&D grants, retail crowdfunding, and strategic corporate equity from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Petredec and Carisbrooke Shipping.

Product overview

Carnot Engines offers a single core technology — a next-generation opposed-piston, ceramic internal combustion engine (the "Carnot Engine") — deployed across a portfolio of fuel- and application-specific products. The offering is a unified core engine architecture that is modularised into named product variants and applications rather than a multi-module software platform: the Carnot Engine (the underlying opposed-piston/ceramic platform) is the foundation, with fuel-specific variants including the Hydrogen Carnot Engine, Ammonia Carnot Engine and LPG Carnot Engine, and application-specific products including the Carnot Maritime Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), the Carnot Off-grid Generator/Genset, and the Carnot Cold Ironing Solution for ports. All products share the same multi-fuel, high-efficiency (targeted 68–72% brake thermal efficiency) ceramic engine architecture targeting decarbonisation of maritime, heavy-duty vehicles and off-grid power sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carnot Engine (Opposed-Piston Ceramic Engine) The flagship next-generation internal combustion engine from Carnot Engines, using an opposed-piston (OP) architecture with high-temperature ceramic components. Targeted brake thermal efficiency is up to 70% (recorded 58.7% on hydrogen at SAE WCX 2026), double a conventional engine, with true multi-fuel operation (LPG, LNG, ammonia, hydrogen, methanol, biogas, HVO, diesel) and near-zero heat losses via a high-temperature scavenging system.
• Hydrogen Carnot Engine A hydrogen-fuelled variant of the Carnot opposed-piston engine. First published test data presented at SAE WCX 2026 in Detroit (in collaboration with Brunel University London) recorded 58.7% efficiency on hydrogen, compared to ~30% for a traditional engine. Targeted at maritime auxiliary power, off-grid power, and heavy-duty vehicle use cases.
• Ammonia Carnot Engine Ammonia-fuelled variant of the Carnot engine, positioned as a practical, low-cost decarbonised auxiliary power solution for the maritime sector where auxiliary engines produce disproportionately high emissions. Backed by a £2.1m Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition grant from Innovate UK and a £500k CMDC2 grant for hydrogen/ammonia Auxiliary Power Unit development.
• LPG Carnot Engine LPG-fuelled variant of Carnot's opposed-piston engine developed in partnership with Petredec. A dedicated gaseous fuel test cell for LPG (alongside biogas and natural gas) is being built in the expanded Bletchley facility, with durability testing targeted for Q2 2026 and initial commercial demonstrators expected H2 2026.
• Carnot Maritime Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) A containerised 20-foot zero-emission auxiliary power unit built around a 200 kW Carnot Engine. Designed for vessels such as Carisbrooke Shipping's Kimberly C (6,805 DWT general cargo vessel) and the MOL fleet, running on hydrogen and ammonia blends. Targets annual savings of 1,740 tonnes CO2e, 470 tonnes PM2.5, 375 tonnes SO2 and 178 tonnes NOx per diesel-equivalent replacement.
• Carnot Off-grid Generator / Genset High-efficiency off-grid power unit built around the Carnot Engine. Targeted at decarbonising off-grid power for mining (e.g., Oz Minerals remote operations), Sub-Saharan African mini-grids, and Indonesian rice-straw bioenergy deployments. Designed to integrate with a wide variety of existing OEM designs and run on hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels or e-fuels.
• Carnot Cold Ironing Solution Novel port Cold Ironing solution being developed under a £3m grant led by Carnot, designed to decarbonise in-port emissions from vessels using diesel generators during port stays (globally ~35Mt CO2e/year, ~60% of total port emissions).

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% targeted brake thermal efficiency (vs 25–35% for conventional engines)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered minor - early-stage defense project activity., core - research and testing partner; hosted independent hydrogen carnot engine tests producing 58.7% efficiency, published at sae wcx 2026., flagship - corporate shareholder, board seat (philip harwood), dedicated gaseous fuel test cell at bletchley; covers lpg version of carnot engine for transport, maritime and power generation., core - industry coalition member., flagship - direct equity investor and co-developer of maritime apu for a fleet of 800+ vessels., minor - manufacturing technology partner for hydrogen apu grant project., minor - local implementation partner for indonesia biofuel generator project., minor - academic research partner., core - research partner on fuel blends and maritime apu., core - research partner quantifying emissions reductions for marine auxiliary power., minor - accelerator providing strategic introductions to mitsubishi corporation and nyk line., minor - corporate partner via sbc accelerator (potential long-term oem / engine production partnership)., minor - corporate partner via sbc accelerator (potential long-term shipping fleet partnership)., flagship - first vessel-deployed customer; also equity investor., core - maritime classification and safety partner., core - maritime systems integration partner., core - foundational r&d modelling platform; carnot was keynote at the wolfram technology conference 2022., minor - gesi / sub-saharan africa research partner., minor - ecosystem / regional economic-development partner (logo featured on carnot website partner page)., core - flagship mining customer., core - accelerator and ecosystem access; backed by bp, equinor and kpmg., minor - early-stage startup incubator (oxford university spin-out pathway). and minor - early-stage founder community / workspace partner..

• U.S. Air Forceminor - early-stage defense project activity.Others · 4 May 2026Early-stage project activity with the U.S. Air Force for defence and security applications, including extended-duration operations and reduced logistical fuel requirements for advanced systems.
• Brunel University Londoncore - research and testing partner; hosted independent hydrogen carnot engine tests producing 58.7% efficiency, published at sae wcx 2026.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Independent testing partner for Carnot's hydrogen engine programme; testing was carried out at Brunel University's hydrogen-approved test cells. Underpins Carnot's first peer-reviewed, independently generated engine performance data.
• Petredecflagship - corporate shareholder, board seat (philip harwood), dedicated gaseous fuel test cell at bletchley; covers lpg version of carnot engine for transport, maritime and power generation.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Strategic partnership and equity investment to develop an LPG-fuelled version of Carnot's opposed-piston engine for transport, maritime and power generation, including a dedicated gaseous fuel test cell at the expanded Bletchley facility. Petredec's Fleet Director, Philip Harwood, joined Carnot's Board. Targets durability testing in Q2 2026 and initial commercial demonstrators in H2 2026.
• Getting to Zero Coalitioncore - industry coalition member.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2025Industry coalition managed by the Global Maritime Forum, founded in 2019 by the World Economic Forum and Friends of the Ocean; Carnot joined as a member alongside other shipping companies, port operators, shipyards and engine manufacturers.
• Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)flagship - direct equity investor and co-developer of maritime apu for a fleet of 800+ vessels.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2024Co-development of a Maritime Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) optimised for the MOL fleet, aligned with MOL's Blue Action 2035 decarbonisation strategy; engine to use ammonia, methanol and LNG. MOL invested directly in Carnot, anchoring a wider fundraising round alongside £5.3m in UK Government grants. Funded new test site and field trials including the UK's first hydrogen APU sea-trial demonstrator.
• Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)minor - manufacturing technology partner for hydrogen apu grant project.Implementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 15 February 2023Consortium partner on the £2.3m Hydrogen Auxiliary Power Unit for Marine project (with Carisbrooke Shipping and Brunel University).
• Chakra Giri Energi Indonesiaminor - local implementation partner for indonesia biofuel generator project.Implementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 23 November 2022Local Indonesian implementer for the £1.5m Energy Catalyst 9 grant project converting rice straw biomass into biochar, biofuel and electricity via Carnot ceramic engine gensets.
• Aston University (Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute - EBRI)minor - academic research partner.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 23 November 2022Research support on fuel composition, emissions outputs and outcomes analysis for the Energy Catalyst 9 rice-straw bioenergy project.
• University of Southamptoncore - research partner on fuel blends and maritime apu.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2022Research partner on hydrogen/ammonia fuel blends and marinised powertrain development under the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 2 (CMDC2) £500k grant consortium (with Carisbrooke Shipping and University of Strathclyde).
• University of Strathclydecore - research partner quantifying emissions reductions for marine auxiliary power.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2022Research partner quantifying per-engine emissions reductions (1,740 tons CO2e/yr) under the CMDC2 £500k grant consortium.
• Startupbootcamp (SBC) Decarbonising Start-up Programminor - accelerator providing strategic introductions to mitsubishi corporation and nyk line.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2022Accepted onto Startupbootcamp's Decarbonising Start-up Program with Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK Line through SBC, offering pathways to long-term partnerships with high-performance engine production and shipping leaders.
• Mitsubishi Corporationminor - corporate partner via sbc accelerator (potential long-term oem / engine production partnership).Strategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2022Corporate partner in the Startupbootcamp Decarbonising Start-up Program alongside NYK Line; potential route to high-performance engine production collaboration.
• NYK Lineminor - corporate partner via sbc accelerator (potential long-term shipping fleet partnership).Strategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2022Corporate partner in the Startupbootcamp Decarbonising Start-up Program alongside Mitsubishi Corporation; potential route to shipping fleet adoption.
• Carisbrooke Shippingflagship - first vessel-deployed customer; also equity investor.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 9 August 2022Family-owned UK shipping operator partnered to co-develop a containerised 200 kW zero-emission hydrogen/ammonia APU for the Kimberly C, a 6,805 DWT general cargo vessel, with Concept Green Solutions and universities of Southampton and Strathclyde; supports DNV-led IACS type-approval pathway.
• DNVcore - maritime classification and safety partner.Implementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 9 August 2022Classification society partner developing safety concept for low flashpoint plant, fuel storage and onboard operation on the Kimberly C with Concept Green Solutions; supporting the path to IACS type approval for Carnot's maritime APU.
• Concept Green Solutionscore - maritime systems integration partner.Implementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 9 August 2022Co-developer with Carisbrooke Shipping and DNV of the containerised zero-emission APU onboard the Kimberly C; handles vessel integration aspects.
• Wolfram Research (Mathematica)core - foundational r&d modelling platform; carnot was keynote at the wolfram technology conference 2022.Technology or Integration · 4 July 2022Wolfram Mathematica is the bedrock of Carnot's 1D-3D physics-based modelling and engine performance simulation pipeline; CEO Archie and Co-Founder Francis presented as keynote speakers at the Wolfram Technology Conference 2022.
• Mekelle University (Ethiopian Institute of Technology)minor - gesi / sub-saharan africa research partner.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2022Research partner on GESI (Gender, Environmental, Social Inclusion) issues for delivering low-cost reliable off-grid power in sub-Saharan Africa under an Energy Catalyst 7 grant.
• Freeport Eastminor - ecosystem / regional economic-development partner (logo featured on carnot website partner page).Strategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2022Freeport East listed as a partner on the Carnot Engines website partner page, indicating engagement with the East of England Freeport initiative.
• Oz Mineralscore - flagship mining customer.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partnership to develop zero-emission, off-grid hydrogen-fuelled generator sets to replace diesel generators at remote mine sites. Stated saving of over 17,400 tons of CO2 per engine demonstrated.
• Net Zero Technology Centre (OGTC) Tech X Acceleratorcore - accelerator and ecosystem access; backed by bp, equinor and kpmg.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2020Selected for the Tech X Clean Energy Accelerator; programme supports clean-energy startups with industry partners including BP, Equinor and KPMG. OGTC was originally established in October 2016 with £180m from the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
• Oxford University Innovation Incubatorminor - early-stage startup incubator (oxford university spin-out pathway).Strategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2020Carnot accepted onto the Oxford University Innovation Incubator, gaining access to university technology transfer, consulting services and an innovation ecosystem.
• Google for Startups Campusminor - early-stage founder community / workspace partner.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2020Accepted into the Startup Cafe programme at Google for Startups Campus London, providing access to mentors, programming, flexible workspace and partners Seedcamp and Code First: Girls.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Peers

• Dearman:

Direct peers

• Achates Power: US-based developer of opposed-piston internal combustion engines targeting heavy-duty commercial vehicles; the most direct architectural competitor to Carnot's core opposed-piston technology and applies a similar performance/uplift thesis versus conventional engines.

Broad incumbents

• Wärtsilä: Finland-based global leader in marine engines and energy solutions for shipping and off-grid power; competes with Carnot in the same maritime APU and off-grid genset markets but as an established incumbent with a much broader portfolio.
• MAN Energy Solutions: Germany-headquartered manufacturer of large two-stroke marine engines and turbomachinery; a dominant incumbent in maritime propulsion that Carnot's APU and ammonia/hydrogen programs are positioned against.
• Cummins: US-headquartered global leader in heavy-duty diesel engines, with an active hydrogen ICE program via Cummins Accelera; directly competes with Carnot's heavy-duty vehicle and off-grid genset ambitions and overlaps on key personnel histories (Ian Thatcher formerly of Cummins).

Emerging players

• JCB: UK-based heavy equipment OEM that has publicly demonstrated a hydrogen combustion engine; comparable to Carnot as a non-incumbent pursuing hydrogen ICE technology for heavy-duty applications, though focused on construction equipment rather than marine/off-grid.

Others

• MAHLE Powertrain: UK-based engine development services arm of MAHLE, working on advanced ICE and hydrogen powertrains; comparable as a UK engine R&D partner/supplier ecosystem player (Ian Thatcher formerly of MAHLE Powertrain), overlapping with Carnot's development needs and customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/enginescarnot
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7zdkaRa8Rc9t6GOetyedFQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carnot-engines-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carnot