With World Maritime Day being the focus of shipping today, the UK announced the third round of funding for its Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC).
The third round of the CMDC runs from April 2023 to March 2025 and the UK government has pledged £60m in funding. As the UK Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, stated:
This World Maritime Day we’re announcing funding to harness the best innovations the UK has to offer – proving that tackling climate change can go hand-in-hand with business innovation, job creation and supercharging economic growth
The aim of CMDC is to help shipping decarbonize, while UK companies will be able to bid for funding for development of early-stage clean maritime technologies.
The announcement also aligns with IMO’s World Maritime Day 2022 and celebrations for the day will focus on the theme of ‘New technologies for greener shipping’ and the research and development, demonstration and deployment of new technologies.
Commenting on the new round of funding, the UK Chamber of Shipping said:
Instilling confidence in the UK shipping industry to invest in new technologies and fuels is central to reaching net zero. Today’s announcement is a welcome step in achieving this and delivering solutions for the sector
However, it also added that “equally important though is the delivery of integrated infrastructure at ports and elsewhere. This will ensure that as new fuels are developed and become viable at scale shipping companies have the confidence they will be readily available.”