The UK Government has launched a new bidding process for a series of studies aiming to determine the necessary infrastructure, cost and measures necessary for the implementation of decarbonised international shipping routes.
Launched by Maritime Minister, Lord Davies, the 1.5 billion GBP pot hopes to fund the country’s net zero commitments, create new jobs and grow the country’s economy.
The initiative kickstarts the fifth round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC5), which will evaluate the feasibility of decarbonising existing shipping routes without the incursion of further costs to taxpayers.
The funding for the grants comes from the wider £206 million UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme, which was introduced in March 2022.
Maritime Minister, Lord Davies, said:By investing in zero emission routes to and from the UK, we are not only creating a greener sector, but are also laying the groundwork for long-term sustainability, creating jobs and bolstering economic growth.
This is a major milestone in UK’s pledge to keep our waters clean – with this funding aiming to support the creation of international zero emission routes by the mid-2020s.
If successful, the Government aims to introduce zero emission shipping corridors between the UK, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and the Netherlands. The UK-Ireland bidding will begin on 15 April 2024, with the subsequent UK-Netherlands competition opening for bids on 3 June 2024. Both countries will provide match funding of £430,000. The competitions, as well as procurements for the process, will be handled by Innovate UK.
