UK Government Allocates £77m for Sustainable Marine Technology
As part of its ongoing support for sustainable marine technology initiatives, the UK government has allocated £77 million (c. €86.6 million) in its latest round of investment in projects related to marine leisure or commercial shipping.
To win funding, projects must identify how they could use the money to launch a zero-emission vessel by 2025 at the latest. Examples of such technology include battery electric vessels, shoreside electrical power, ships running on low carbon fuels, and wind-assisted ferries.
Mark Harper, UK transport secretary, commented, “This multi-million-pound investment will help the latest tech ideas become reality and ensure UK waters will play host to green cargo ships, ferries and cruises in the next few years.”
The Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition, launched on 6th February, will be overseen by Innovate UK, the national innovation agency.
The government is also calling on universities across the UK to collaborate to establish a new Clean Maritime Research Hub, with £7.4 million (c. €8.3 million) of funding from the government and additional funding from academia and industry.
The ZEVI fund and Clean Maritime Research Hub are part of the UK SHORE programme, launched in March 2022 with £206 million (c. €231 million) in funding. UK SHORE aims to tackle shipping emissions and advance the UK towards a sustainable shipping future. According to Transport & Environment (T&E) analysis, UK commercial shipping activity was responsible for 22 million tonnes of CO2 in 2021, the equivalent to a third of all the UK’s cars.
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Source: IBI News
