Multi-million boost for north-east green shipping projects
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Four Aberdeen based projects are part of a an £80m overall boost for coastal communities and green shipping announced as the Government backs innovative companies with R&D funding to boost clean tech and create jobs.
The announcement comes at the start of London International Shipping Week, focussing on clean maritime and artificial intelligence to grow the UK’s maritime economy
Under the competition, organisations could apply to one of three strands.
Strand one saw applicants focus on battery electric vessels and the necessary charging infrastructure, strand two specifically looked at shore side power and how it can power vessels at berth and lastly strand three covers vessels powered by alternative fuels and how to best store that fuel.
Across all three strands there were 10 winning projects, with four in Aberdeen and one in Orkney backed by a total of 52 organisations across the UK.
This funding is being delivered through the £206m allocated by Government to UK SHORE, a programme within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the domestic maritime sector. All ten projects will receive funding to deliver and operate real-world, clean maritime technologies by March 2025.
Whether it’s Artemis Technologies who are demonstrating inter-island electric ferries, helping boost regional connectivity and economic opportunity, or Tidal Transit Ltd who are electrifying a crew transfer vessel for offshore wind farms and enabling greener sustainable energy, today’s winners have a crucial role to play in cleaning up the sector’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Today’s winners are at the cutting edge of the nation’s maritime industry – a crucial part of this Government’s plan to grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the UK.”
Maritime Minister Baroness Vere said: “The maritime sector’s drive towards a cleaner future goes hand in hand with the Government’s plan to grow the economy and create new, well-paid jobs all over the UK.
“As a seafaring nation, it is in our national character to push nautical limits, and this funding will help to ensure the UK maintains its position at the leading edge of maritime innovation. I look forward to seeing all the industry has to offer over the course of London International Shipping Week.”
Sarah Treseder, CEO of UK Chamber of Shipping said: “The number of applications meant hard decisions had to be made but shows the strong desire to reduce emissions across the sector and the successful projects will be a crucial element in the journey to net zero.
“Published today, our Value of Shipping report shows that 650,000 jobs are dependent on shipping with every job in shipping supporting 10 more in the wider economy. This welcome funding is a chance to build on this strong foundation and help shipping deliver further jobs, innovation and economic growth in all parts of the UK.”
The multi-million-pound Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) fund, launched in February, is designed to take tech from the factory to the sea by supporting projects which have a long-term impact in reducing carbon emissions.
Successful projects must show they could use this money to work with major UK ports and operators to launch a zero-emission vessel by 2025 at the latest.
Project descriptions of winning bids -
Strand 1 – Battery electric vessels and charging infrastructure
Zero Emission Network Of Workboats (ZENOW)
Lead partner: H.Taylor and Son (Brockley) Limited (RS Sailing)
Funding allocated: £4m
Demonstration location: 10 locations along the south coast including Falmouth, Fowey, Plymouth, Salcombe and Yarmouth
Description: This project will develop and operate a large network of 20 electric workboats. The objective of the project is to prove that battery electric workboats can be operated effectively, efficiently, and safely. Estimated CO2 emissions savings from the three year project will be 1000 tonnes (the equivalent of 113,000 miles of driving of an average HGV), scaled worldwide this could save millions of tonnes per year.
Electric Orkney
Lead partner: Artemis Technologies Limited
Funding allocated: £15.5m
Demonstration location: Orkney
Project description: This project will help decarbonise inter-island transport through the commissioning of two Artemis 100% electric foiling vessels, and associated charging infrastructure. The three-year demonstration will see the introduction of one 12 passenger vessel, operating a year round service in the inner island network, and another passenger vessel, for 50 passengers plus cargo, operating a daily service up to five times around the whole island network.
Retrofit 20m Mercurio CTV - 100% Electric
Lead partner: Tidal Transit
Funding allocated: £6.4m
Demonstration location: Aberdeen
Project description: The project comprises the full retrofit of an existing offshore wind crew transfer vessels (CTV) with both onshore and offshore charging infrastructure. The finished product will not only be 100% zero emissions but also will have increased manoeuvrability whilst being close to silent for passengers and passersby.
eSOV: Electric SOV with Methanol Range Extender
Lead partner: Bibby Marine Services Ltd.
Funding allocated: £20m
Demonstration location: Aberdeen
Project description: This project will deliver the first ultra-low emission Service Operation Vessel (SOV) in the world, along with the associated shore charging facilities. The 90m vessel will service windfarms and is an 'electric first' design with methanol enabled range extender.
Zero-emission Electric Freight Vessel & Charging Infrastructure Lead partner: Collins River Enterprises Ltd (Thames Clipper)
Funding allocated: £9.2m
Demonstration location: Thames
Project description: This project will build a 40-metre, 100% electric, fast freight catamaran. The 3-year demonstrator project will deliver up to 54,000 parcels a day along a 14.6 nautical mile route from Dartford to Tower Bridge Quay in central London, with fast charging infrastructure being built at each end of the route.
Strand 2 – Shore power technologies
Port of Aberdeen: Shore Power in Operation
Lead partner: Aberdeen Harbour Board
Funding allocated: £3.3m
Demonstration location: Aberdeen
Project description: This project is an at-scale demonstration project for a landside and vessel-side shore power system in Port of Aberdeen's (PoA) North Harbour, partnered with multiple vessel teams, engineering teams and academia.
The project has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 62,000 tonnes of
CO2e over project lifetime (20 years).
Falmouth, Atlantic & Peninsula clean shore power future
Lead partner: A&P Falmouth Ltd.
Funding allocated: £6.3m
Demonstration location: Falmouth
Project description: An industrial research project to design, build and test a new clean energy shore side power solution suitable for multiple users at the Port of Falmouth. The aim is to provide the UK's first multi-vessel, flexible shore power connections on the Atlantic Peninsula, suitable for cruise liners and other commercial vessels from across the maritime sector.
Sustainable Energy and Air Quality Improvement for Coastal Harbours to Achieve Net-zero with Grid Enhancements
Lead partner: Portsmouth International Port
Funding allocated: £19.9m
Demonstration location: Portsmouth
Project description: SEACHANGE will build and operate a new shore power system across three berths at Portsmouth International Port. This pioneering multi-user, multi-frequency, multi-berth system allows new hybrid/LNG vessels from Brittany Ferries and visiting cruise ships to plug in and switch off their engines. The system incorporates innovative energy storage solutions, digital twin ecosystem and sensors, surfacing and securely sharing metrics around air quality, emissions reduction and shore power utilisation. The project aims to avoid over 20,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions per year, by 2027.
Strand 3 – Alternative fuel vessels and bunkering/storage infrastructure
High horsepower methanol vessel retrofit
Lead partner: Ocean Infinity Innovations Ltd.
Funding allocated: £4.4m
Demonstration location: Aberdeen
Project description: This project will deliver a high horsepower methanol capable internal combustion engine designed and built in the UK. The engine will be proven in use by retrofitting an offshore service vessel capable of operation on low carbon methanol. This project is initially targeting a reduction in CO2 emissions of 50% for offshore operations by an OI A78 offshore vessel alongside NOx, SOx and PM at levels considerably below that developed with conventional fuel.
ZEPHR - Zero Emissions Ports Hydrogen Refilling Survey Vessel
Lead partner: Sea-Kit International Ltd.
Funding allocated: £4.2m
Demonstration location: Thames
Project description: This project partners local green hydrogen production and storage, a hydrogen fuelled uncrewed surface vessel, and the vessel operator. Primarily targeting port operators and other similar use cases, this solution transfers readily accessible green electricity to green hydrogen to provide the vessel with longer operational ranges than batteries alone. The survey vessel will operate in the Thames estuary and increase the hydrographic data available for all users of the Thames, leading to port efficiency improvements, cost reductions, increased safety and reduced pollution.
