Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Pre-deployment trials

Overview

Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £121 million through Round 7 of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The funding is provided by the Department for Transport and delivered under the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme.

This programme is designed to position the UK as a global leader in the design and manufacture of clean maritime technologies, while accelerating the fuels and systems required to decarbonise the sector and meet net zero ambitions.

Funding is available for projects focused on clean maritime technology and is structured across three distinct strands: deployment trials, pre-deployment trials and feasibility studies. Applicants must ensure projects are submitted to the correct strand, as applications cannot be transferred if deemed out of scope.

The deployment trials strand supports real-world demonstrations of innovative clean maritime technologies in operational settings. Projects must develop, test and deploy solutions for on-vessel use, maritime infrastructure, or both.

The pre-deployment trials (this strand) supports projects that design, develop and test innovative clean maritime technologies ahead of deployment. These projects must not undertake live deployment but should meaningfully advance readiness for operational use.

The feasibility strand supports primarily desk-based technical and economic studies. These projects must assess the viability of innovative clean maritime technologies or associated skills development, with a clear link to future real-world demonstration for vessels, infrastructure or both.

Scope

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

Where projects address on-vessel technologies, testing must be land-based only, for example in a factory or dry dock. Projects must not include in-water testing as part of this strand.

If applicants intend to deploy solutions in an operational environment, including on the water, they must apply to the Deployment trials strand. That strand is designed for projects that develop, test and deploy innovative clean maritime technologies.

If applicants intend to carry out a feasibility study only, with no substantial technology testing, they must apply to the Feasibility studies strand. That strand supports primarily desk-based technical and economic feasibility studies.

Definitions

For this competition, maritime refers to the activity of commercial and leisure vessels and supporting infrastructure used to transport people and goods by water, or to undertake operations at offshore installations at sea and on inland waterways.

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

A feasibility study is defined as primarily desk-based research. While it may include data collection from existing technology deployments, it must not involve substantial costs for developing or testing technology.

Well-to-wake emissions are defined as the combined total of well-to-tank and tank-to-wake emissions. Tank-to-wake emissions arise from operating maritime vessels. Well-to-tank emissions arise from the production and distribution of fuels and energy sources used by those vessels. Further detail is provided in Box 1 of the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy Analytical Annex and in the International Maritime Organisation framework on life cycle greenhouse gas intensity of marine fuels.

For the purposes of this competition, zero and near-zero greenhouse gas emission fuels are defined as fuels with a greenhouse gas fuel intensity of no more than 19.0 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule, calculated on a well-to-wake basis.

Project requirements

Projects must deliver a meaningful pre-deployment trial before March 2028 and underpin a future deployment by December 2029. This future deployment must deliver a meaningful technological, route-to-market or supply chain innovation.

Projects must demonstrate how they will support a significant reduction in well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector. Where relevant, they should also address air pollution risks or other environmental impacts associated with decarbonisation solutions.

Each project must include at least one representative end user, such as a vessel operator, port or harbour authority, with clear evidence of commitment.

Applications must demonstrate significant market potential through a credible commercialisation strategy and show the potential to deliver meaningful value to the UK. Project teams must bring together the expertise and experience required to deliver the stated objectives.

Throughout and at the end of the project, funded teams must produce a detailed and costed plan for demonstrating the technology in an operational setting, including the technical approach, objectives and supporting business case. They must set out the resources required for a future deployment trial, including funding, timescales, planning permissions, regulatory considerations, new partners and the information needed to support a clear business case.

Projects must quantify potential well-to-wake emissions reductions, impacts on other emissions and future economic benefits. They must develop evidence of commercial applications and target market segments, explain barriers to market adoption, and detail how future demonstrations will overcome those barriers.

Findings must be shared with the Department for Transport, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Innovate UK and any appointed third-party contractors. Projects must also produce a clear dissemination plan and provide the evidence required to support the Department for Transport’s evaluation of the scheme. Failure to engage with evaluation requirements may result in suspension or withdrawal of funding.

Successful projects will be required to engage with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK and appointed third parties as part of the evaluation process. Data shared may include application responses, project initiation and monitoring data, end-of-project reports and participation in primary data collection such as surveys and focus groups. All information will be treated as commercially sensitive.

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 may target a single vessel size or multiple categories.

For projects involving a new hull, the vessel must be a United Kingdom Ship as defined in section 85(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

For projects involving testing on an existing vessel, the vessel is expected to be a United Kingdom Ship. Where this is not the case, justification must be provided within the application.

Regulation

Vessels must comply with all relevant regulations and, where appropriate, hold certification aligned to vessel type. No vessel may proceed to sea without the relevant seagoing certification.

For projects involving a new hull, the vessel must be built in accordance with Classification Society or Certifying Authority rules and must remain under that authority for the full trial period.

For projects involving testing on an existing vessel, a United Kingdom Ship must remain under Classification Society or Certifying Authority rules. Where the vessel is not a United Kingdom Ship, it must comply with the rules of its flag state and is expected to be under Classification Society or Certifying Authority oversight.

Projects involving a vessel must engage with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency during delivery. The Agency may contact successful applicants shortly after award to discuss project details. Failure to engage when requested may result in suspension or withdrawal of funding.

Types of infrastructure

Eligible infrastructure includes physical structures and systems required to enable clean maritime operations onshore or offshore. This includes infrastructure supporting freight, passenger, leisure and commercial vessels at locations such as ports, harbours and offshore wind farms.

Value for the UK

Innovate UK strongly encourages applications from across the UK to support jobs and economic growth, including projects led by ports, vessel operators, manufacturers and supply chains. Applications from regions with existing clean maritime capability or renewable energy clusters, including hydrogen, are welcomed.

Projects must clearly demonstrate how intellectual property generated will be anchored in the UK and exploited for the benefit of the UK supply chain and wider economy.

Applications are welcomed from UK subsectors that are close to commercialisation in the energy and growth space, particularly where there are clear remaining barriers to overcome. This includes vessels and operations supporting the offshore wind sector.

Previous applications and projects

Continuation of feasibility studies and pre-deployment trial projects previously funded through earlier CMDC rounds is encouraged. However, applicants are not required to have been successful in a previous round to apply to Round 7.

Key themes and topics

Projects can focus on one or more of the defined themes within this competition.

Priority themes include fishing vessels and inland waterways vessels; projects that combine vessel or infrastructure technologies with smart shipping technologies; zero and near-zero greenhouse gas emission fuel systems such as ammonia or hydrogen; and retrofitting clean maritime technologies to existing vessels. While these areas are of particular interest, applications that address other eligible themes are also welcomed.

Vessel technology themes cover a broad range of innovations. These include propulsion and auxiliary engine technologies such as batteries, fuel cells and internal combustion engines using low, zero or near-zero greenhouse gas emission fuels including hydrogen, methanol, ammonia or multi-fuel combinations. Wind propulsion systems are in scope, including soft-sail, fixed-sail, rotor, kite and turbine technologies, whether used as primary or auxiliary propulsion across vessel types from small craft to large cargo carriers.

Energy storage and management solutions using low, zero or near-zero greenhouse gas emission systems are eligible, alongside technologies enabling physical connections to shoreside power or alternative fuel bunkering, such as fuelling lines, battery storage and on-site renewable energy generation. Enabling technologies, including motors, drives, sensors and power electronics, are also supported.

The competition includes technologies that address air pollution and contaminant risks associated with alternative fuels, including ammonia slip and impacts on particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. Solutions targeting nitrous oxide and methane emissions from vessels using low, zero or near-zero greenhouse gas fuels are in scope. Additional eligible areas include type approval of novel on-vessel equipment, onboard carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency technologies that enhance vessel range or reduce alternative fuel usage. Examples include hull efficiency improvements, waste heat recovery, propeller and rudder flow conditioning devices, air lubrication systems and more efficient auxiliary systems.

Projects developing battery electric solutions for vessels under 24 metres must clearly demonstrate novelty and explain how they address limitations in existing electric vessel solutions. Applications that do not demonstrate clear innovation will not be assessed. Applicants considering battery electric projects are encouraged to contact Innovate UK at least 10 working days before the deadline to confirm eligibility.

Infrastructure technologies, including offshore themes, are also in scope. These include shoreside storage and bunkering of low, zero or near-zero greenhouse gas fuels; charging infrastructure and energy management systems for electric vessels; and novel shore power solutions that allow vessels to switch off conventional onboard systems while docked.

Eligible projects may also include physical connections to shoreside power or alternative fuel bunkering, on-site renewable energy generation at ports, and port-based production of low, zero or near-zero greenhouse gas fuels such as hydrogen, methanol or ammonia. Zero-emission infrastructure for freight handling and port operations is supported, as are amendments to offshore infrastructure, such as wind farms, to enable low or zero-emission vessel use. Reception and storage facilities for carbon captured onboard vessels are also in scope.

Projects focused on shore power must clearly demonstrate novelty and explain how they address current limitations in existing shore power systems. Applications that do not demonstrate innovation will not be assessed. Shore power proposals must also consider the source of energy, cost, sustainability, resilience, grid capacity, connection requirements and implementation timelines. They must set out expected users, pricing structures, utilisation during demonstration and how operations will be sustained and scaled beyond the trial period. Applicants are encouraged to confirm eligibility with Innovate UK at least 10 working days before the deadline.

Smart shipping, digital and autonomous maritime technologies are eligible where they clearly contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Projects may focus on areas such as maintenance and inspection, port operations improvement, vessel design optimisation, safety and skills, operational optimisation, route planning and scheduling, and integration with other transport modes where maritime remains the primary focus. Assurance systems, including risk-based safety and operational competence frameworks for smart shipping, are also supported.

In addition, projects must include at least one core smart shipping capability. This may involve innovative use of data, either captured in a novel way or deployed as part of a new solution. Artificial intelligence can form part of the project, whether through new AI development or innovative application of existing AI. Automated hardware or software systems, advanced connectivity using future or hybrid networks and satellite systems, and innovative position, navigation and timing technologies are also eligible. This includes quantum-enabled solutions where relevant.

Quantum computing applications that improve existing maritime solutions or develop new approaches are in scope. Sensing and monitoring technologies, including advanced or quantum-enabled systems, are supported where they enhance system oversight or vessel performance. Digital twin technologies, enabling bi-directional feedback between physical assets and digital models, are also eligible.

The competition also welcomes novel clean maritime concepts that do not clearly fall within the defined themes but demonstrate strong alignment with the programme’s decarbonisation objectives.

Project duration

Projects must:

• last up to 12 months
• start by 1 April 2027
• end by 31 March 2028

Award value

Projects must have total eligible costs between £750,000 and £6 million

Funding rates

For industrial research projects, purposeful research that builds new knowledge and skills to improve or develop products, processes, or services—often through prototypes or system components that validate ideas in realistic settings, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Research organisations can share up to 30 of the total eligible project costs

Eligibility criteria

·      Projects must be collaborative and led by a UK registered business of any size

·      Projects must include at least one grant claiming SME

·      Collaborators can be a UK registered business of any size; an academic institution; a charity; a not for profit; a public sector organisation; or a research and technology organisation (RTO)

·      Subcontractors must be preferably UK-based with fully justified and appropriate costs

·     All funded project work must be carried out within the UK intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

·      Subsidy control and state aid rules apply