Coastal communities across the UK will benefit from a £30 million funding injection to decarbonize shipping and revitalise local economies, Maritime Minister Mike Kane announced during a visit to Clydeport in Glasgow. The funding, awarded through the sixth round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC6), will support businesses developing ammonia, hydrogen, methanol, solar, and electric technologies for the maritime sector
Investment in green fuels not only supports the decarbonisation of shipping, helping cement the UK as a clean energy superpower, it also revitalises coastal communities by growing local economies and boosting jobs and skills.
CMDC has provided over £136 million funding to date to 142 organisations, as part of the wider UK SHORE funding – the government’s flagship programme dedicated to decarbonising maritime – for over 300 organisations, including 250 SMEs. Successful projects include the installation of electric chargepoint networks across ports, including at Aberdeen, the demonstration of an electric crew transfer vessel at Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm, and the demonstration of a green hydrogen shore power system at the port of Leith.
Maritime Minister Mike Kane said: “It’s so exciting to see investment in green fuels and technologies spurring on skills, innovation and manufacturing across the UK, delivering on our Plan for Change missions to kickstart economic growth and become a clean energy superpower.
We’ve charted a course to net zero shipping by 2050 and this £30 million will be crucial in supporting the green fuels and technologies of the future, so we can clean up sea travel and trade.”
During his visit to Clydeport, the minister will meet with workers from the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, which is looking to help Smart Green Shipping scale up the manufacturing of the FastRig windsail going forward. Built nearby in Glasgow, the FastRig is a high-tech wing sail which can be installed onto vessels, reducing fuel use and emissions by up to 40% per annum. The project received £3.3 million from the third round of the CMDC and has now been successfully deployed at sea.
Chris Courtney, CEO, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland said: “Clean maritime is a vital part of a wider mission to decarbonise transport. Advanced manufacturing is critical to enable companies to scale up novel solutions that deliver emissions reductions and allow the creation of new jobs in these industries of the future.
We’ve spent the past 2 years working on the CMDC-funded MariLight projects, led by Glasgow-based Malin Marine Consultants, part of the Malin Group, supported by industry partners, where we demonstrated how advanced manufacturing can cut lead times, lower carbon, and enable localised production in shipbuilding. It’s great to see continued momentum through the programme, and we look forward to supporting Smart Green Shipping’s journey as it scales.”
Diane Gilpin, Smart Green Shipping (SGS), CEO said: “CMDC3 support enabled SGS, a Scottish based business, to demonstrate the safety and robustness of FastRig, our Clyde built wingsails, and to build out our digital decision-making platform, FastReach, which underpins our unique wind-as-a-service proposition.
Over the last 3 years SGS has invested £7.6 million in R&D, 60% of that in Scotland. We’ve drawn upon engineering design skills in adjacent sectors like renewables and oil and gas, and digital expertise created in Scotland’s vibrant tech community. We are also working alongside the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland to design circular manufacturing solutions to reduce embedded emissions and minimise use of precious materials while creating good green jobs as part of a sustainable just transition.”
The minister will meet with Peel Ports and local workers at Clydeport’s King George V Docks. Delivering £3 million of investment to support the growing demand for handling huge wind turbine components for the renewable energy sector, Clydeport is keeping Glasgow’s shipbuilding heritage and manufacturing expertise alive, equipping it to meet the modern-day needs of the sector.
Jim McSporran, Port Director at Peel Ports Clydeport, said: “We’re proud to welcome the Maritime Minister to Peel Ports Clydeport today and showcase how our facilities continue to create opportunities for investment, jobs and skills that will benefit the people and businesses of Scotland.
Our recent £3 million investment in road infrastructure at King George V Dock to accommodate growing demand for handling wind turbine components, and our ongoing transformative work at Hunterston PARC in Ayrshire to support the renewables sector, demonstrate our commitment to decarbonising supply chains and enabling the transition to a greener economy.
It’s fantastic to see government and industry working together to back innovation and today’s visit reinforces how Glasgow’s maritime legacy is helping to drive the UK’s clean energy future.”
Mike Biddle, Executive Director, Net Zero at Innovate UK, said: “Congratulations to the awarded projects from Round 6 of the Clean Maritime Demonstrator Competition – a great opportunity for UK innovators to take part in a world-renowned maritime transport R&D grant funding programme. Innovate UK looks forward to working with partners to support these projects focused on the ever-more prevalent issue of decarbonisation with emphasis on a range of physical, digital, system and skills-based innovation.”
Building on its commitment to clean up shipping and deliver on the UK’s climate ambitions, UK SHORE is also delivering £3.85 million to the Clean Maritime Research Hub. Formed from a consortium of 13 universities across the UK, dedicated to conducting scientific research in clean maritime, the funding will enable the hub to continue its important research, and support the installation of a liquid hydrogen facility at Durham University. The centre will develop the maritime sector’s understanding of the potential impact of liquid hydrogen – which is emission free – in the clean maritime transition.
