UK pours additional £60 million into green maritime sector

The UK’s race to decarbonise the maritime sector has been given another boost, with £60 million in government funding for the development of green maritime technologies.

The funding comes from the third round of the government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC3), which focuses on developing a range of clean maritime technologies including hydrogen, ammonia, electric and wind power. It is part of the wider £206 million UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) scheme, announced in March 2022.

For the first time, the UK government is funding the development of new clean maritime technology across a 2-year period.

During the 2-year investment period, successful companies will be required to demonstrate that their projects will work in the real world, helping them to progress towards becoming an everyday reality.

The Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, visited Artemis Technologies in Belfast on 14 February to see some of the technology.

Using technologies adapted from the worlds of high-performance yacht racing, motorsports and aerospace, the company is developing vessels that effectively ‘fly’ above the water surface. The vessels produce zero emissions when foiling and offer energy savings of up to 90% resulting in significantly lower operating and maintenance costs.

“Our maritime sector imports 95% of goods into the UK and contributes £116 billion to our economy – more than both aviation and rail combined. With growing the economy one of the government’s top priorities, we must continue our efforts to ensure the UK remains a pioneer in cutting-edge clean maritime solutions,” Transport Secretary Mark Harper said.

“The funding we’re awarding today will help to do just that, bringing emission-free concepts to life and fuelling innovation.”

Another project led by AceOn Battery Solar Technology Ltd will develop hydrogen-powered vessels to transfer crew to wind farms off the northeast coast of England from the Port of Blyth.

WingTek are also receiving CMDC3 funding to develop and demonstrate 2 full-sized prototypes of wind-assisted ships with high tech sails, which will reduce the amount of fuel used by the vessels as well as the emissions they produce.

The CMDC is one of the many initiatives from UK SHORE to fund green technology. Last week the government launched the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition to support projects in the latter stages of development, and the Clean Maritime Research Hub – aimed at the early science and research behind green technology.