WIREDGOV

£8 million has been invested across three pioneering programmes designed to reduce the UK’s shipping emissions.

The latest UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme winners have been announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) in partnership with Innovate UK.

Each programme was set with its own unique challenge, with the overarching objective of reducing the maritime industry’s emissions.

Innovative solutions

Across all three programmes, 32 winners will collectively receive up to £8 million to test innovative solutions, from artificial intelligence maritime traffic planning and autonomous vessels to establishing green shipping routes between the Netherlands and Ireland.

The funded projects

Smart Shipping Accelerating Fund

A programme focused on the decarbonisation of the maritime industry using digital solutions. With 30 winners having successfully won grants for their proposed projects, the programme will run from 1 November 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Winners include the following projects.

Project Sunflower

This is a groundbreaking initiative, looking to create autonomous solutions for Terminal Tractors at ports, a significant contributor to greenhouse gases in the shipping supply chain.

Project BlueWater

A project that will explore how multi-use drones can improve smart shipping, port efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and boost air quality.

EcoRoutePlanner

This project is looking to bring advanced digital tools for smart route planning and operational efficiency for crew transfer vessels responsible for servicing off-shore wind farms.

CMDC5 International Green Corridors Fund: UK-Netherlands feasibility studies

Green North Sea Shipping Corridor

The winning project looks to establish a Green Shipping Corridor (GSC) between Port of Tyne (UK) and IJmuiden (Netherlands) by decarbonising the route that is currently served by ageing vessels, and transitioning to methanol-fuelled RoRo and RoPax vessels.

This will also include testing the operational feasibility of these vessels and the landside infrastructure to support its rollout.

CMDC5 International Green Corridors Fund: UK-Ireland feasibility studies

This fund was tasked within finding a solution to the shipping route between Dublin and Holyhead, which is both the shortest and busiest route in the Irish sea.

Greening the Irish Sea: The Central Corridor

The winning project will be using the fund to validate and test methanol against other fuel alternatives, while also exploring methanol bunkering and production at each end of the corridor.

Greener technologies and processes

James Lovett, Maritime Lead at Innovate UK, comments:

Like so many transport industries, transitioning to green technologies has historically been a challenge for the maritime sector. With extremely busy shipping channels and routes reliant on old technologies, integrating sustainable solutions whilst maintaining current levels of activity is a difficult process.

UK SHORE’s funding programmes have all been commissioned with the objective of reducing the UK maritime industry’s carbon emissions. Each of the 32 announced winners present their own innovative projects, looking to accelerate the rollout of greener technologies and processes throughout the industry.

We’re excited to see how these projects unfold over the coming months.