UK Launches Next Clean Maritime Competition with $37M in Funding
The UK government has begun the sixth round of its Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition promising to provide a total of nearly $37 million to advance decarbonization in the industry. The program is designed to support clean maritime technologies including electric, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, wind power, and more.
“CMDC round 6 is a great opportunity for UK innovators to take part in a world-renowned maritime transport R&D grant funding program,” said Mike Biddle, executive director of Net Zero at Innovate UK, a non-departmental agency that works as part of the UK Research & Innovation organization. “The competition focuses on the ever-more prevalent issue of decarbonization within the industry and we’re looking forward to seeing participation from across the maritime transport sector and beyond, focusing on physical, digital, system, and skills-based innovation.”
The program encourages innovators to form partnerships drawing from different sectors including the operating maritime companies to demonstrate unique new approaches and technologies. They promote the program as demonstrating the power of collaboration between leading British companies and it supports the efforts turning innovative ideas into real solutions. As part of the program, companies develop working demonstrations of their technologies.
With the sixth round of funding, the UK government highlights it has invested a total of £159 million ($195 million) to accelerate green maritime projects and support new jobs. The next round was announced today, January 16, and will officially open on January 24. Applications are due by April 16, 2025. Previous rounds have provided funding to over 300 organizations.
“I’m proud to see this funding boost growth and create jobs throughout the UK, as well as ushering in an era of zero-emission shipping,” said Maritime Minister Mike Kane.
Among the projects they are highlighting from prior rounds are the installation of Britain’s first electric chargepoint networks across the ports in the South West, the largest retrofit of a hydrogen research vessel in Wales, and the installation of a carbon capture system on a vessel.
The Maritime Minister also visited Hull in England yesterday, January 15, to see the construction of the first AirWing from GT Wings which received a £225,000 (US$275,000) grant from the Department for Transport. In collaboration with the University of Bath and Carisbrooke Shipping, they are currently building the AirWing which will be demonstrated during the first quarter of 2025. The foil is made of composite materials and has a smaller footprint while expected to produce up to a 30 percent fuel savings without impacting cargo operations.
The first installation of the AirWing will take place on a Carisbrooke Shipping 407-foot (124-meter) general cargo vessel.