To lead a collaborative project in any strand 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, a UK registered:

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

You must ensure that no one partner accounts for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.

A business (or port) 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 or be a subcontractor in two further applications across all three strands of this competition and the Zero Emissions Vessel Infrastructure (ZEVI) 2 competition.

If a business is not leading any application, it can collaborate or be a subcontractor in any number of applications across this competition and the ZEVI 2 competition. Other eligible organisations can collaborate on any number of applications.

If you are involved in more than one application, you must clearly state how all projects can be resourced and delivered if successful. You may be asked for further evidence of your resources at interview, if invited.

For the deployment trials strand, your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £3 million and £15 million
• last up to 2 years and 9 months
• start by 1 April 2027
• end by 31 December 2029

For the pre-deployment trials strand, your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £750,000 and £6 million
• last up to 12 months
• start by 1 April 2027
• end by 31 March 2028

For the feasibility studies strand, your project must:

• have total eligible costs between £100,000 and £1 million
• last up to 12 months
• start by 1 April 2027
• end by 31 March 2028

Any funded organisation (in all 3 strands) needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

The percentage of costs than can be covered depends on your business size and readiness stage.

For this competition, maritime is defined as the activity of commercial and pleasure vessels and supporting infrastructure, used in the transportation of people and goods by water, or to perform activities at offshore installations at sea and in inland waterways.

Deployment is defined as demonstrating your technology in a real world environment. For example, operating a sea-going vessel at sea or operating infrastructure in a port or offshore, connected to a vessel on the water if applicable.

Well-to-wake emissions are defined as the sum of well-to-tank and tank-to-wake emissions. Tank-to-wake emissions are the emissions that are generated by operating maritime vessels. Well-to-tank emissions are the emissions from the production and distribution of the fuels and other energy sources that are used by maritime vessels. For more details see:

• Box 1 in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy Analytical Annex, and
• the IMO framework on life cycle GHG intensity of marine fuels

The difference between low carbon fuels and zero and near zero GHG emission fuels is described in Box 3 of the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy. Since the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy was published, the International Maritime Organisation has approved amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships that include a definition of zero and near zero GHG emission fuels.

For the purposes of this competition, zero and near zero GHG emission fuels are defined as fuels with a GHG Fuel Intensity (GFI) of no more than 19.0 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (gCO2eq) per megajoule (MJ). GFI must be calculated on a well-to-wake basis.

Types of vessel

Technologies for all sizes and categories of maritime vessel subject to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are in scope, including pleasure, commercial fishing and aquaculture vessels. Solutions can be suitable for one target size of vessel or multiple.

For a project involving a new hull, the vessel must be a United Kingdom Ship.

For a project involving testing technology on an existing vessel, the vessel is expected to be a United Kingdom Ship, otherwise you must provide justification for not using a United Kingdom Ship in your application.

United Kingdom Ship is defined in 85(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

Regulation

Vessels must comply with relevant regulations when undertaking voyages and where appropriate, be certificated subject to vessel type. These vessels cannot proceed to sea without relevant seagoing certification.

For a project involving a new hull, the vessel must be built to Classification Society or Certifying Authority rules. The vessel must remain under that Classification Society or Certifying Authority for the full trial period.

For a project involving testing technology on an existing vessel, if that vessel is a United Kingdom Ship, it must be under Classification Society or Certifying Authority Rules. If that vessel is not a United Kingdom Ship then it must follow the rules of its flag State and is expected to be under Classification Society or Certifying Authority rules.

Projects involving a vessel must engage with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) during the project. The MCA may also contact successful projects shortly after you are notified to discuss the details of your project. Failure to engage with the MCA when requested could result in your project being suspended or funding withdrawn.

Types of infrastructure

Any physical structures or systems necessary to enable clean maritime operations onshore or offshore are in scope. This includes infrastructure for freight, passenger, pleasure and commercial vessels, located at, for example ports, harbours or wind farms.

The aim of the Feasibility strand is to fund feasibility studies of innovative clean maritime technologies and skills. Your project must undertake a primarily desk based technical and economic feasibility study. Your study must be associated with the development and future real world demonstration of innovative technologies for on-vessel use, maritime infrastructure use, skills or a combination of each.

Your Feasibility project must not plan to test technologies in the water as part of this project. A feasibility study is defined as primarily desk based research. Feasibility studies may include data collection from existing technology deployments but must not have substantial costs towards developing and testing technology.

Your project must:

• deliver a meaningful feasibility study before March 2028
• underpin a future deployment by December 2029, delivering a meaningful technology, route to market, or supply chain innovation
• demonstrate how the project can support a significant reduction in the well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector, including where relevant, addressing air pollution risks or other environmental impacts from decarbonisation solutions
• 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
• demonstrate significant market potential through a clear strategy for commercialising the technology and the products, demonstrating the potential for significant value to the UK
• bring together a team with the necessary expertise and experience to successfully deliver the project objectives

Throughout, and at the end of your project, you must:

• produce a clear, detailed and costed plan for how your technology will be demonstrated in an operational setting in or between ports or on vessels, including your technical approach, objectives and business case
• detail the resources needed to carry out a future deployment trial, including funding requirements, timescales for delivery, planning permissions, implications for current and future regulation, new partners and information for a clear business case
• quantify the potential reduction of well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions, the potential impacts on other emissions and positive economic impacts in the future
• develop evidence on expected commercial applications and exploitation, and potential market segments
• explain your understanding of any barriers to market adoption
• detail the barriers to adoption that the future demonstration will overcome and the innovation that will be delivered
• share your findings with the Department for Transport (DfT), Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA), Innovate UK and any third party contractors appointed by them
• produce a clear plan for disseminating the results of your project and knowledge sharing to government, industry and academia
• provide the evidence required to support the DfT’s evaluation of the scheme

For these deliverables, Innovate UK will issue further guidance to successful projects on the requirements for engaging with and providing the evidence required to support the DfT’s evaluation of the scheme. Failure to engage with the evaluation when requested could result in your project being suspended or funding withdrawn.

If your proposal focuses on clean maritime training and skills, you must focus on the vocational or technical training infrastructure requirements to train the workforce in relation to clean maritime design, manufacturing, maintenance or operations.

If your proposal focuses on a green shipping corridor, you must focus on underpinning a vessel navigating between both ends of the corridor in a real world operational setting. At least one end of the corridor must be in the UK. To qualify as a corridor, at least one vessel with zero or near zero greenhouse gas emissions on a well-to-wake basis must be transiting the route.

Before starting your application, you should read the full scope on the competition page.

The aim of the Pre-deployment trials strand is to fund pre-deployment testing of innovative clean maritime technologies. Your proposal must design, develop and test but not deploy innovative clean maritime technologies for on-vessel or maritime infrastructure use, or both.

If your project addresses on-vessel technologies, you must only involve land-based testing such as a factory or dry dock. Your project must not plan to test technologies in the water as part of this project.

Your project must:

• deliver a meaningful pre-deployment trial before March 2028
• underpin a future deployment by December 2029, delivering a meaningful technology, route to market, or supply chain innovation
• demonstrate how the project can support a significant reduction in the well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector, including where relevant, addressing air pollution risks or other environmental impacts from decarbonisation solutions
• 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
• demonstrate significant market potential through a clear strategy for commercialising the technology and the products, demonstrating the potential for significant value to the UK
• bring together a team with the necessary expertise and experience to successfully deliver the project objectives

Throughout, and at the end of your project, you must:

• produce a clear, detailed and costed plan for how your technology will be demonstrated in an operational setting in or between ports or on vessels, including your technical approach, objectives and business case
• detail the resources needed to carry out a future deployment trial, including funding requirements, timescales for delivery, planning permissions, implications for current and future regulation, new partners and information for a clear business case
• quantify the potential reduction of well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions, the potential impacts on other emissions and positive economic impacts in the future
• develop evidence on expected commercial applications and exploitation, and potential market segments
• explain your understanding of any barriers to market adoption
• detail the barriers to adoption that the future demonstration will overcome and the innovation that will be delivered
• share your findings with the Department for Transport (DfT), Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA), Innovate UK and any third party contractors appointed by them
• produce a clear plan for disseminating the results of your project and knowledge sharing to government, industry and academia
• provide the evidence required to support the DfT’s evaluation of the scheme

For these deliverables, Innovate UK will issue further guidance to successful projects on the requirements for engaging with and providing the evidence required to support the DfT’s evaluation of the scheme. Failure to engage with the evaluation when requested could result in your project being suspended or funding withdrawn.

Before starting your application, you should read the full scope on the competition page.

Your project must:

• deliver a meaningful deployment trial in real world conditions for at least six weeks before December 2029
• demonstrate how the project can support a significant reduction in the well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector, including where relevant, addressing air pollution risks or other environmental impacts from decarbonisation solutions
• 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
• demonstrate significant market potential through a clear strategy for commercialising the technology and the products, demonstrating the potential for significant value to the UK
• bring together a team with the necessary expertise and experience to successfully deliver the project objectives

Throughout, and at the end of your project, you must:

• produce a clear, detailed and costed plan to fully scale and enter the solution into UK and global markets over the following three years after project completion, including your technical approach, objectives and business case
• detail the resources needed to fully scale the solution, including funding requirements, timescales for delivery, planning permissions, implications for current and future regulation, new partners and information for a clear business case
• quantify the potential reduction of well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions, the potential impacts on other emissions and positive economic impacts in the future
• develop evidence on expected commercial applications and exploitation, and potential market segments
• explain your understanding of any barriers to market adoption
• detail the barriers to adoption that the future demonstration will overcome and the innovation that will be delivered
• share your findings with the Department for Transport (DfT), Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA), Innovate UK and any third party contractors appointed by them
• produce a clear plan for disseminating the results of your project and knowledge sharing to government, industry and academia
• provide the evidence required to support the DfT’s evaluation of the scheme

For these deliverables, Innovate UK will issue further guidance to successful projects on the requirements for engaging with and providing the evidence required to support the DfT’s evaluation of the scheme. Failure to engage with the evaluation when requested could result in your project being suspended or funding withdrawn.

Before you start your application, you should read the full scope on the competition page.

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

Priority themes

• fishing vessels and inland waterways vessels
• projects that combine the below Vessel or Infrastructure technology themes with Smart Shipping technology themes
• zero and near zero GHG emission fuel systems, such as ammonia or hydrogen
• retrofitting clean maritime technology to existing vessels

The priority themes are of particular interest in this competition but we also welcome applications that address any of the following themes.

Vessel technology themes

• vessel propulsion and auxiliary engines, for example: batteries, fuel cells, and internal combustion engines using low, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission 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, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission energy storage and management
• physical connections to shoreside power or alternative fuel bunkering, including fuelling lines, battery storage and on or near site renewable energy generation
• enabling technologies such as motors, drives, sensor and power electronics
• technologies for addressing air pollution and other contaminant risks from vessels using low, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission alternative fuels, covering both novel air pollution risks such as from ammonia (NH3) slip and adverse impacts on conventional air pollutant emissions such as particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)
• technologies for addressing nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions from vessels using low, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission alternative fuels
• type approval of novel on-vessel equipment
• onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS)
• energy efficiency technologies, including those that enhance the vessel range or lower alternative fuel usage to enable the fuel’s viability

Examples of energy efficiency technologies include ship hull efficiency, onboard waste heat recovery, propeller and rudder flow conditioning devices, air lubrication systems and energy efficient auxiliary systems.

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 themes

• shoreside storage and bunkering of low, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission fuel
• charging infrastructure and management for electric vessels
• novel 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 fuel bunkering, including fuelling lines, battery storage and onsite renewables
• shoreside renewable energy generation at the port to supply vessels
• low, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission fuel production at ports to supply vessels, such as hydrogen, methanol, ammonia
• zero greenhouse gas emission infrastructure, including stationary assets for freight handling and port operations within a port or harbour site
• amendments to offshore infrastructure such as wind farms, required to support the use of zero, near zero or low greenhouse gas emission vessels
• reception and storage of carbon from onboard carbon capture and storage

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. In addition, shore power projects must consider:

• the energy source, its cost, sustainability, resilience, capacity, connection requirements and timeline
• users, pricing and likely utilisation during any demonstration period
• how to maintain operation and grow utilisation beyond any demonstration period

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.

Smart shipping, digital and autonomous maritime technologies themes:

Your smart shipping, digital and autonomy project must demonstrate how it contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and can focus on one or more of the following maritime themes:

• maintenance and inspection within the maritime 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: including innovative use of telecommunications systems such as future networks, hybrid network systems and satellite networks
• Position Navigation and Timing (PNT), including innovative use of telecommunications systems such as future networks, hybrid network systems and satellite networks; including innovative PNT devices and solutions, for example, 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

General themes

• nuclear technology and corridors
• green shipping corridors
• clean maritime training and skills initiatives
• novel clean maritime concepts that do not readily fit into the above themes

We are not funding projects that are:

• focusing only on increasing the efficiency of current conventional fossil fuels and fossil fuel powertrains of maritime vessels
• focusing on marine conservation and ecology
• focusing on removing non-GHG and indirect GHGs from the combustion products of conventional fossil fuels and synthetic fossil fuels
• focusing on Personal Watercraft (PWC)
• focusing on the use and production of synthetic fuels, note: this exclusion does not apply to the use of low, zero or near zero greenhouse gas emission methanol, ammonia and hydrogen fuels
• focusing on submarines and submersible vessels
• focusing on military applications
• covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions
• a duplicate of existing innovation
• focusing on non-methanol biofuels, except for projects that utilise biofuels as a pilot fuel or secondary fuel on vessels predominantly powered by methanol, ammonia or hydrogen

Innovate UK Business Connect will hold a webinar briefing for prospective applicants, covering all three strands of the competition, on Thursday 19 March, 2-4pm: click here to register for a place. A recording and slides will be available afterwards.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Transport team.

Innovate UK and DfT will be holding a series of regional consortia building events while this competition is open. If you are looking for partners in a region and would like to attend one of these events, please contact support@iuk.ukri.org.