Coastal communities across the UK will benefit from £30 million in funding to decarbonise shipping and power up local economies, supporting jobs and skills, according to GOV.UK's release.
The funding, awarded from the sixth round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), will be shared among successful companies to support the development of clean maritime fuels and technologies such as ammonia, hydrogen, methanol, solar and electric.
CMDC has provided over £136 million in funding to date to 142 organisations, as part of the wider UK SHORE programme, which to date has supported over 300 organisations, including 250 SMEs.
Notable 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.”
He added: “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 in Glasgow, the minister met with workers from the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, which is helping Smart Green Shipping scale up manufacturing of the FastRig windsail. Built 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 CMDC and has now been deployed at sea.
The UK SHORE programme is also delivering £3.85 million to the Clean Maritime Research Hub, a consortium of 13 UK universities, to support maritime research and the installation of a liquid hydrogen facility at Durham University.
Previous rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition have supported innovative zero‑emission corridors and port infrastructure. For example, in October 2024 CMDC round 5 funded up to £9 million in green shipping corridors between the UK and Europe, aiming to create zero‑emission routes such as the Port of Tyne to IJmuiden and Holyhead to Dublin, and accelerate technologies like electrification and hydrogen refuelling. CMDC round 6, launched in January 2025, similarly awarded funding to projects including wind propulsion systems such as GT Wings’ AirWing™, the largest retrofit to date, reducing vessel emissions by up to 30 % and positioning UK coastal ports as maritime innovation hubs.
Department for Transport (DfT) — a ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for transport policy across the UK, including maritime. It oversees major funding programmes such as CMDC and is jointly involved with Innovate UK in press releases and funding administration.
Innovate UK — the UK Government’s innovation agency and part of UK Research and Innovation. It manages grant funding competitions including CMDC, supports development of novel technologies, and is a key delivery partner in the UK SHORE programme.
Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) — a government‑funded competition run by DfT and Innovate UK under the UK SHORE programme, structured around multiple rounds (CMDC6 being the latest), supporting clean-fuel maritime technologies across a range of projects.
UK SHORE — the UK’s flagship maritime decarbonisation initiative, a strategic programme encompassing CMDC funding and research hubs, aimed at decarbonising the maritime sector across ports, fleets and coastal economies.
Clean Maritime Research Hub — a consortium of 13 UK universities funded via UK SHORE (£3.85 million) to conduct scientific research into maritime decarbonisation and support infrastructure such as a liquid hydrogen facility at Durham University.