Bibby Marine, has been awarded government funding under the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 2 (CMDC 2) to continue its research into the decarbonisation of its vessels.
As part of the CMDC 2, the Department for Transport allocated over £14m to 31 projects supported by 121 organisations from across the UK to deliver feasibility studies and collaborative research and development projects in clean maritime solutions.
The funding will allow the project, “Service Operation Vessel Offshore Charging System,” to continue its research into the use of electrical batteries to power vessels, and how they are charged both on and offshore.
Bibby Marine CEO, Nigel Quinn said: “Bibby Marine has been operating for over 200 years and we have a long history of innovation in the maritime sector. This programme is the next step in the vital, back breaking technical groundwork we need to undertake, to lead us to towards a brighter zero carbon future.
“Climate change is one of the biggest threats we have ever faced, and the shipping industry, whilst efficient versus other modes of transportation, still has a huge task to decarbonise. However, the good news is that clean, and cleaner, fuel pathways are key enablers to making this happen – with the funds from the CMDC, we have the perfect platform to springboard into tomorrow’s future today.
He added: “We are excited to continue the work we have begun with our partners, and we hope that our research can enable us to bring our vision of an electrically powered SOV, coupled with the ability to charge offshore, into reality – paving the way for decarbonisation of this type of vessel, ensuring a clean vessel that serves a clean industry.”
About CMDC 2
“Service Operation Vessel Offshore Charging System” is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) which was launched in May 2022, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of the CMDC2, the Department allocated over £12m to 31 projects supported by 121 organisations from across the UK to deliver feasibility studies and collaborative R&D projects in clean maritime solutions.
The CMDC2 is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emission’s (UK SHORE) flagship multi-year CMDC programme. In March 2022, the Department announced the biggest government investment ever in our UK commercial maritime sector, allocating £206m to UK SHORE, a new division within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions throughout 2022-2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.