Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 6

(The below applies to all three strands of the competition.)

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business of any size
• collaborate with other UK registered organisations

Trust ports and Municipal ports will be treated as businesses.

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

A business can only lead on one application across all three strands of this competition.

If leading an application, a business can also be included as a collaborator in two further applications across all three strands of this competition.

If a business (or other organisation) is not leading any application, it can collaborate on any number of applications.

Your project must:

• have total costs of between:
  • £100,000 and £2 million for strand 1 (pre-deployment trials)
  • £75,000 and £1 million for strand 2 (feasibility studies)
  • £75,000 and £2 million for strand 3 (Smart Shipping)
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• last up to seven months
• start by 1 September 2025
• end by 31 March 2026

We encourage new projects and consortia that have not been part of previous rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC). You are not required to have been successful in previous rounds of the CMDCs to apply with an eligible project to Round 6.

The aim of Strand 1 is to fund pre-deployment testing of clean maritime technologies, without a focus on Smart Shipping. Your proposal must design, develop and test novel clean maritime technologies focused for on-vessel technologies, infrastructure technologies or both.

Projects that aim to undertake a technical and economic feasibility study, without a focus on Smart Shipping technologies, must apply into Strand 2 of this competition. Projects that focus on Smart Shipping (pre-deployment trials or feasibility studies) must apply into Strand 3 of this competition. If you are in any doubt about which strand to apply into, you must check by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. If you apply into the wrong strand, you will be ineligible and your application will not be assessed.

If your pre-deployment trial project is focused on on-vessel technologies, you must only involve factory or dry dock testing. Your project must not plan to test technologies in the water as part of this project.

You must plan for the real world demonstration or deployment developed in your project to be operational in water by the end of 2027.

Your project must:

• demonstrate a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions or air pollutants from the maritime transport sector
• underpin a future demonstration by delivering a meaningful technology, skills initiative (strand 2 only), route to market, or supply chain innovation
• achieve market potential through a clear strategy for commercialising the technology and the products, demonstrating the potential for significant value to the UK
• include at least one representative end user such as a vessel operator, port or harbour authority: the end user must show clear commitment to the project
• bring together a team with the necessary expertise and experience to successfully deliver the project objectives

Projects must detail their plan for compliance with regulation and how they will work with relevant regulatory bodies for novel technologies.

Technologies for all sizes and categories of maritime vessel subject to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are in scope. Solutions can be suitable for one target size of vessel or multiple. Pleasure, commercial, fishing and aquaculture vessels are in scope. Where your project intends to utilise a vessel, the vessel is expected to be a United Kingdom Ship, otherwise you must provide justification for use of a non-United Kingdom Ship in your application. United Kingdom Ship is defined in 85(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

All ports and harbours are in scope, including infrastructure for freight, passenger, pleasure and commercial vessels. Offshore infrastructure is also in scope, such as wind farms.

The aim of Strand 3 is to fund detailed feasibility studies and pre-deployment projects focused on using digital technologies to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality in the maritime transport sector.

Your project must conduct either a technical and economic feasibility study or a pre-deployment project based on Smart Shipping technologies. Smart Shipping areas covered by this competition are listed below.

You must plan for the real world demonstration or deployment developed in your project to be operational in water by the end of 2028.

Your project must:

• illustrate emissions reduction by proving a significant greenhouse gas reduction or significant air quality improvement for the maritime transport sector
• underpin a future demonstration by delivering a meaningful technology, route to market, skills initiative or supply chain innovation
• achieve market potential through a clear strategy for commercialising the technology and the products, demonstrating the potential for significant value to the UK
• include at least one representative end user such as a vessel operator, port or harbour authority: the end user must show clear commitment to the project
• bring together a team with the necessary expertise and experience to successfully deliver the project objectives

Projects must detail their plan for compliance with regulation and how they will work with relevant regulatory bodies for novel technologies.

Technologies for all sizes and categories of maritime vessel subject to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are in scope. Solutions can be suitable for one target size of vessel or multiple. Pleasure, commercial, fishing and aquaculture vessels are in scope. Where your project intends to utilise a vessel, the vessel is expected to be a United Kingdom Ship, otherwise you must provide justification for use of a non-United Kingdom Ship in your application. United Kingdom Ship is defined in 85(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

All ports and harbours are in scope, including infrastructure for freight, passenger, pleasure and commercial vessels. Offshore infrastructure is also in scope, such as wind farms.

For strands 1 and 2, your project can focus on one or more of the following:

Prioritised themes:

• international ferries
• vessels greater than 24 metres in length
• ammonia solutions

Other themes:

• Domestic and international green shipping corridors (strand 2 only)
• Clean maritime training and skills initiatives (strand 2 only)

Vessel low and zero emission technologies:

• retrofit readiness to accommodate future clean maritime technologies
• vessel propulsion and auxiliary engines, for example: batteries, fuel cells, and internal combustion engines using low or zero carbon alternative fuels such as hydrogen, methanol, ammonia or multi-fuel combinations
• wind propulsion, including soft-sail, fixed-sail, rotor, kite and turbine technologies, targeting a range of ship types from small vessels to large cargo carriers, both as primary and auxiliary propulsion
• low carbon energy storage and management
• physical connections to shoreside power or alternative fuels, including fuelling lines
• enabling technologies such as motors, drives, sensor and power electronics
• energy efficiency technologies, where they significantly enhance the vessel range or lower alternative fuel usage to enable the fuel’s viability
• type approval of novel on-vessel equipment

Projects developing battery electric solutions for vessels less than 24 metres need to show clearly how their project is novel and how it addresses limitations with existing electric vessel solutions. Applications for battery electric solutions that are not novel or innovative will not be sent for assessment.

Battery electric applicants are encouraged to contact support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes to check whether your application is in scope.

Infrastructure technologies including offshore solutions:

• shoreside storage and bunkering of low and zero carbon fuel
• charging infrastructure and management for electric vessels
• shore power solutions, such as enabling docked vessels to turn off their conventional power supply for ancillary systems
• physical connections to shoreside power or alternative fuels, including fuelling lines
• shoreside renewable energy generation at the port to supply vessels
• low carbon fuel production, such as hydrogen, methanol, ammonia
• zero emission infrastructure, including stationary assets for freight handling and port operations within a port or harbour site
• zero emission offshore infrastructure for wind, oil and gas farms that support zero or low emission vessels

Projects focused on shore power technology need to show clearly how their project is novel and how it addresses limitations with existing shore power solutions.

Applications for shore power solutions that are not novel or innovative will not be sent for assessment.

Shore power applicants are encouraged to contact support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes to check whether your application is in scope.

Your project can focus on one or more of the following maritime transport themes:

• maintenance and inspection within the maritime transport sector
• improvements in port operations
• vessel design optimisation
• Smart Shipping safety and skills
• vessel operations optimisation
• vessel route-planning and scheduling for efficiency
• interaction with other transport modes, maritime being the clear focus
• assurance systems including establishing processes, measurements, systems and risk based approaches to assure the safety and operational competence of Smart Shipping systems

In addition, one or more of the following Smart Shipping areas must be a core part of the proposed work:

• data: including using data captured in a novel way or as part of an innovative approach, solution or product
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): including the use of AI either as new AI development, or as a novel application of existing AI
• automated systems: including the development of automated solutions, both hardware and software
• connectivity and Position Navigation and Timing (PNT): including innovative use of telecommunications systems such as future networks, hybrid network systems and satellite networks. Innovative PNT devices and solutions, including quantum technology.
• Quantum Computing (QC): including using QC to improve existing solutions, products or to develop a new QC approach or solution
• sensing or monitoring solutions: including the use of innovative devices and systems to provide sensing capability or the ability to monitor a system or vessel, this includes quantum technologies
• digital twins: including creating digital models of real world systems or objects enabling bi-directional feedback

An in-person briefing was held in London on Monday 27 January. Slides will be available soon.

If you are in any doubt about which strand to apply into, you must check by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes.

If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Transport team.