The voyage to net zero in maritime transport is underway as the UK commits £12 million for the research into zero emission technologies. This funding will kickstart decarbonisation innovation in the maritime sector and tackle shipping emissions.
Cargo ships and ferries have always been the biggest obstacle in removing our dependency on fossil fuels. These massive vehicles inherently need powerful and reliable power sources in order to operate smoothly. Fortunately their size also offers huge increases in efficiency, able to carry large loads very economically.
But this has always been where electrically powered vehicles have failed. As the mass of the vehicle goes up, the range decreases unless the size of on-board batteries are increased exponentially to match.
This funding aims to put the UK at the forefront of clean maritime innovation and support the creation of thousands of new jobs in this burgeoning sector.
UK SHORE
A new unit UK SHORE, which was announced as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy published in March 2022, and has been created as part of the CMDC (Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition). UK SHORE will be working with industry and logistics companies to explore the necessary transformative actions to help the maritime industry meet the same Net Zero targets as other sectors.
COP26 Pledges
The announcement this week comes on the back of pledges made by the UK Government at last year’s COP26 event. The Clydebank Declaration, agreed to at COP26, aims to create green shipping corridors to and from the UK and this is part of what the next round of CMDC funding will be aiming to deliver.
As part of UK SHORE’s 3 year commitment there will be several more rounds of CMDC along with other interventions to accelerate the change to new key technologies.
How Oceanside can help you to reduce your carbon footprint
When arranging shipments, emissions can always be factored in to any decision that helps to reduce the impact your business has. We’re the specialists and can work with you to get best option both for your business and the environment.
Get in touch with us either through our contact form or call us on +44 (0)2380 860585.