Maritime

As an island nation the UK has traditionally been a leading player in the global maritime industry.

The maritime industry is critical to the UK economy with approximately 95% of all imports and exports transported by sea, including 25% of the UK’s energy supply, and 48% of the country’s food supplies. Maritime business services directly contribute £2 billion gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy; this is expanded to £5 billion GVA if the wider impacts of the sector are considered.

In addition to freight and goods movements the UK has a significant maritime tourism and leisure industry which was valued at £3.12 billion in 2017. The UK has a thriving and growing cruise sector with 1.96 million cruises sold in the UK in 2017, half of which started at a British port.

The UK is also a world leader in maritime services such as insurance, regulation and certification with London being the global hub for all such services.

 

Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition

To celebrate the success of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, Innovate UK Business Connect, on behalf of the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, has collated a series of videos into an online showcase highlighting all the innovative projects winning a share of the £23m funding. These projects represent some of the best examples of UK organisations being world leaders in clean smart maritime technologies of the future which will springboard the UK maritime sector’s transition towards Net Zero.

Browse the videos here.

Related Opportunities

Transport Accelerator: Maritime 2025

Opens: 02/05/2025   Closes: 16/06/2025

Get support for ideas that could help with automating operations, integrating future fuels and improving safety in ports.

More Information

Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator 2025

Opens: 08/05/2025   Closes: 09/06/2025

A multi-faceted programme which will accelerate the adoption of commercially ready solutions into the Freight sector (all transport modes).

More Information

Horizon Europe 2025 work programme Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility

Opens: 03/05/2025   Closes: 17/02/2026

Topics available under Horizon Europe’s Cluster 5 programme for 2025/26, with up to €69m available for the largest single projects

More Information

Horizon Europe 2025 work programme Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Opens: 03/05/2025   Closes: 24/09/2025

Topics available under Horizon Europe’s Cluster 6 programme for 2025/26, with up to €130m available for the largest single projects

More Information

European Space Agency: Maritime Decarbonisation - Green Fuels

Opens: 21/03/2025   Closes: 16/05/2025

ESA seeks to develop new space-based services that support the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, with a focus on green fuels and green propulsion systems.

More Information

Horizon Europe 2025 EU Missions: Restore Our Oceans and Waters

Opens: 06/05/2025   Closes: 24/09/2025

Funding available through Horizon Europe to restore, protect and preserve the health of our ocean, seas and waters, with up to €15m for the largest projects.

More Information

Related Case Studies

Singapore’s Opportunities for Maritime Innovation

Singapore’s Opportunities for Maritime Innovation

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