Following the Clydebank Declaration for Green Shipping Corridors at COP26, a £1.5-million International Green Corridor Fund has been launched, in collaboration with international partners, including Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, to make end-to-end green shipping a reality.

Announced during the London International Shipping Week, the pot will part-fund feasibility studies, with further match-funding from international partners and the industry, to explore how to bring to life the UK government’s commitment to decarbonise its international shipping lanes, an official release said.

The corridors will act as a testing ground to encourage the development of vessel technology, shoreside infrastructure and regulations to better push the industry towards decarbonisation—creating new jobs and opportunities for the sector to thrive, both economically and environmentally, it said.

“With 95 per cent of the UK’s trade happening by sea, the maritime sector is vital to our country’s economic output but it’s also one of the biggest contributors to the UK’s emissions. That’s why it’s so important that we focus on how decarbonising maritime can help grow the economy,” Harper said.

This work will go hand in hand with the new Clean Maritime Research Hub, which will put the United Kingdom in a leading position in maritime decarbonisation, creating jobs across UK academia and producing research that not only supports green economic growth but enables businesses across the UK maritime sector to get a head start in using clean technologies.

The hub, will further bridge the gap between academia, industry and think tanks, bringing together the brightest minds and facilitating solutions to some of the toughest net zero challenges that face the sector.

Formed by a consortium of 13 UK universities and over 70 wider partners led by Durham University, the hub is backed by £7.4 million of funding from the Department for Transport and UK Research and Innovation.

On top of that, the hub will receive £1.85 million funding from the universities and will leverage a minimum of £9.7 million cash or in-kind private contributions with more expected over the lifetime of the programme until March 2027, the release said.

Alongside this, a second research hub, the Net Zero Transport for a Resilient Future Research hub, has launched, looking specifically at developing affordable low-carbon transport infrastructure like charging stations or alternative fuelling.

Earlier this week, £80 million of funding was allocated to winners of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) scheme, which will see on vessel and shore side clean maritime technology demonstrated in conjunction for the first time as part of UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emission (UK SHORE) funding.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)