Bilateral research collaborations for new green shipping routes—and the technology and system developments underpinning them—are being financially backed by the UK government.

The bidding process for the £1.5 million funding pot for establishing zero-emissions shipping routes to and from the UK has been kickstarted today, 5 April 2024, as part of the fifth round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC5).

The latest competition round will support feasibility studies focused on accelerating the development of “green corridors.” These studies will map out infrastructure required along the routes to enable vessels to access green fuels and power charging systems, as well as look at further regulations required to push the industry towards decarbonisation.

If successful, the competition round could bring about zero-emission shipping routes connecting the UK to the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and Ireland.

For the bilateral research, Ireland and the Netherlands will provide match-funding for organisations in their countries. Denmark and Norway meanwhile will provide other contributions through access to information and facilitation of collaboration.

The competitions and procurements will be managed by delivery partner Innovate UK.

Mike Biddle, executive director of Innovate UK, said: “These bilateral research collaborations are an important step to make green shipping corridors a reality.

“The required technology and system developments cannot happen in isolation, which is why I’m pleased to see pioneering cooperation between the UK and our maritime neighbours.”

Recommended reading

• UK Gov Commits Further £34M to Maritime Decarbonising Tech
• Smart Green Shipping Gets £1.35m for Sustaininable Maritime Tech
• IDRIC Gets New Funding to Support UK Industrial Net Zero Transition

Rhett Hatcher, CEO of the UK Chamber of Shipping, also added: “Green corridors provide a meaningful contribution to decarbonising the shipping industry and this funding will help advance them from concept to reality.

“The UK Chamber of Shipping is committed to working with partners to activate green corridors as soon and as widely as possible.

“To be most impactful we need to look at the broadest range of fuels and technologies, including those that are available today and those that may become available in the future.

“Additionally, we must ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place along the corridor, port to port.”

CMDC5 follows CMDC4, where £33 million was awarded by the UK government to clean maritime tech projects.