Industry and academia launch new maritime innovation center

Lloyd’s Register (LR), in collaboration with COSCO Shipping Group, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the University of Southampton, has launched a new center for developing and testing zero-carbon and intelligent-ship technologies.

Named the International Maritime Future Technologies Innovation Centre, this virtual center aims to advance research and development in low- and zero-carbon maritime technologies, intelligent ship systems, and digital innovation.

According to the partners, the Centre will serve as a global platform for collaboration between industry and academia, supporting the sector’s transition towards a smarter and more sustainable future by focusing on translating research into practical, scalable solutions for deployment across global fleets.

Led by COSCO Shipping Group, the innovation center will draw on each partner’s specialist strengths in technical standards, alternative fuels, vessel performance, intelligent navigation, and digital modelling.

Using COSCO Shipping’s operational data and fleet network, it seeks to test and validate new technologies that can deliver practical, real-world decarbonization solutions.

The founding partners have also established a Technical Committee to oversee research direction, ensure the continuity of innovation, and align the Centre’s work with the maritime industry’s evolving technical and regulatory needs.

Prior to the center’s establishment, LR worked alongside the Shanghai Shipping and Science Research Institute, a branch of COSCO Shipping Group, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University to develop a techno-economic model for fleet energy transition.

Nick Brown, LR’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “This partnership is about turning ambition into action. Together with our partners, we are investing in the ideas, data and technologies that will help the maritime industry meet the challenges of the energy transition head-on and drive change that benefits both business and society.”

Professor Fraser Sturt, Director of Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) at the University of Southampton, added: “It is exciting for the University of Southampton to be a partner in this Global Centre. We have worked alongside LR for many years and this is a great opportunity to work with other leading organisations in the maritime sector.

“The challenges the maritime industry faces in decarbonisation are global and can only be tackled through global collaboration. We look forward to building on our research with other leading ship operators through this new partnership to really impact the shipping industry.”