Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Feasibility studies
This grant funds desk-based feasibility studies for innovative clean maritime technologies that must underpin a future real-world deployment by 2029. Projects must include at least one end-user partner and demonstrate a clear path to reducing well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions.
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Competition Scope & Overview
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £121 million from the Department for Transport in this competition. This is subject to a sufficient number of high quality applications being received. This funding will be for projects to carry out deployment trials, pre-deployment trials and innovative feasibility studies, each of which forms a separate strand of this competition.
The Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) Round 7 is part of a suite of interventions launched by the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme.
The UK SHORE programme aims to:
transform the UK into a global leader in the design and manufacturing of clean maritime technology accelerate the fuels and technologies required to decarbonise the sector to meet net zero
Your proposal must focus on clean maritime technology.
This competition is split into three strands:
Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Deployment trials Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Pre-deployment trials Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Feasibility studies (this strand)
It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct strand for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.
The aim of the Deployment trials strand is to fund real world demonstrations of innovative clean maritime technologies in an operational setting. Your proposal must develop, test and deploy innovative clean maritime technologies for on-vessel or maritime infrastructure use, or both.
The aim of the Pre-deployment trials strand is to fund pre-deployment testing of innovative clean maritime technologies. Your proposal must design, develop and test, but not deploy innovative clean maritime technologies for on-vessel or maritime infrastructure use, or both.
The aim of the Feasibility strand is to fund feasibility studies of innovative clean maritime technologies and skills. Your project must undertake a primarily desk based technical and economic feasibility study. Your study must be associated with the development and future real world demonstration of innovative technologies for on-vessel use, maritime infrastructure use, skills or a combination of each.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.
We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.
We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Official Applicant Guidance Documents
UK Transport Vision 2050.pdf
This document is the "UK Transport Vision 2050" (Second Edition), which serves as a strategic framework outlining Innovate UK’s investment priorities and innovation pathways for the future of mobility. It provides critical context on the technological, digital, and infrastructure trends that will guide Innovate UK’s funding decisions through 2025 and beyond.
Download Official DocumentApplicant Briefing - CMDC7 Final.pdf
This document serves as the official applicant briefing slides for the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) Round 7. It provides essential guidance on competition scope, eligibility criteria, application requirements, and the support available from the UK Maritime Innovation Hub.
Download Official DocumentMaritime Decarbonisation Strategy Analytical Annex.pdf
This document is the Analytical Annex to the UK Government’s Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, providing the technical modelling, policy assumptions, and decarbonisation scenarios for the UK domestic maritime sector. It offers critical data on fuel types, emission factors, and policy pathways essential for applicants to align their proposals with government decarbonisation goals.
Download Official DocumentCMDC 7 Assessor Guidance for applicants Feasibility studies.pdf
This document is the official assessor guidance for the CMDC 7 Feasibility Studies competition. It details the specific criteria, scoring rubrics, and evidence requirements for each application question, providing essential insights for applicants to align their proposals with assessor expectations.
Download Official DocumentApplication Questions & Guidance Brief
Every question below carries specific word limits and guidance criteria.
Project summary
Official Guidance
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application. You must include: the project objectives; the project deliverables, including for pre-deployment and deployment trial projects, the nature, location and duration of the trial and why the demonstration you propose will validate the performance of your technology; how the project can support a significant reduction in the well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector, including, where relevant, by addressing air pollution risks or other environmental impacts from decarbonisation solutions; how the project relates to the maritime sector, what parts of the sector the project addresses, and how the project outputs will impact on them.
Public description
Official Guidance
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.
Scope
Official Guidance
Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Applicant location (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project. We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.
Animal testing (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing? You must select one option: Yes, No. We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.
Permits and licences (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project? We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date. You must select one option: Yes, No, In the process of being applied for, Not applicable.
International collaboration (not scored)
Official Guidance
Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement? You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers. If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.
Export licence (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance. You must select one option: Yes, No.
Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including: a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research; a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act; whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications; a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List. If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.
Project Theme (not scored)
Official Guidance
Which theme does your project align with? You must select one of the themes listed. You must write your answer exactly as stated in the bullet points. If your project aligns with more than one theme choose the theme under which the majority of the work will be delivered.
End user (not scored)
Official Guidance
Who will be the end users involved in your project? You must state each end user and how they are contributing to the project. You can submit an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Need or challenge
Official Guidance
What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation? Explain: the main motivation for the project; the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity; whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development; the problem that the outcomes of your project will solve; be specific about the needs of your target end users; how your project will provide a viable solution to these problems; any work you have already done to respond to this need; the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity. Explain how the project will enable the uptake of clean maritime technologies and how the project objectives overcome barriers to adoption of these technologies, including: how this project might support or enable the development of regulation; how the project will further the understanding of the current gaps in knowledge on the technical aspects of the technology; how the project will address the energy challenges associated with clean maritime adoption.
Approach and innovation
Official Guidance
What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be? Explain: the technical detail and approach of your proposed project; how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified; how you will improve on any similar innovation that you have identified; whether the innovation will focus on existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas, or a totally disruptive approach; the technically innovative elements of the project; the technology progress or skills development that will be achieved; how your project is tailored to maritime applications; how your approach has considered the regulatory landscape and challenges; how your project will engage with relevant regulatory authorities; the freedom you have to operate; how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings; how it will make you more competitive; the nature of the outputs you expect from the project. You can submit one appendix (up to two A4 pages).
Environmental impact
Official Guidance
What impact will this project have on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from maritime and how have you evidenced this? You must: explain the reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions from maritime that you forecast will directly result from this project; explain any reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions from maritime that is the result of business expansion or post project R&D and manufacturing activity; explain why your forecasts are realistic; explain your calculations and the assumptions you have made; explain and provide evidence to justify where the reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions from maritime is enabled through addressing associated air pollution risks or other environmental impacts; explain any other expected environmental impacts of the project. You can submit one appendix (up to two A4 pages).
Team and resources
Official Guidance
Who is in the project team and what are their roles? Explain: the end user in your team and how they are meaningfully contributing; the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team; the resources, equipment and facilities needed; the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors; any use of overseas subcontractors and justification; the current relationships between project partners; any roles you will need to recruit for. You can submit one appendix (up to two A4 pages).
Market awareness
Official Guidance
What does the market or markets you are targeting look like? Describe: the expected level of demand for your technology; the markets and sub sectors you will be targeting; the size of the target markets; the structure and dynamics of the target markets; the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models; the current UK position in targeting these markets; the size and main features of any other markets. If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain: what the market’s size might be; how your project will try to explore the market’s potential.
Outcomes and route to market
Official Guidance
How are you going to grow your business, capture market share and increase long term productivity as a result of the project? Explain: your current position in the markets and supply or value chains; your target customers or end users; why your target customers or end users will be incentivised to use or buy your product; your route to market; your market exploitation strategy; who the competitors are and how you will manage this challenge; the potential benefits from export of the technology or training; how you are going to profit from the innovation; how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth; how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project; your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified.
Jobs and investment
Official Guidance
What impact will this project have on jobs and investment in the UK? You must: describe the impacts on jobs and investment in the UK that you forecast will directly result from this project; clarify if the impacts are local, regional or national; cover both jobs created and jobs safeguarded; describe the nature of the skills associated with jobs created or safeguarded; cover any jobs and investment that are the result of business expansion or post project R&D and manufacturing activity; describe why your forecasts are realistic; describe your calculations and the assumptions you have made; for any safeguarded jobs, explain and provide evidence to show that these jobs would be lost without government funding. You must submit one appendix (up to two A4 pages).
Wider impacts
Official Guidance
What wider impacts might this project have outside the project team? Describe and, where possible, measure wider economic benefits from the project such as economic growth, productivity increases and import substitution. Describe and, where possible, provide estimates of: any expected impacts on UK government priorities; any expected regional impacts; the potential benefits to the UK from export of the technology or training; how you will anchor intellectual property (IP) generated by the project in the UK; how the project provides the UK with a competitive advantage. Describe any expected social impacts in the UK, either positive or negative, on, for example: quality of life, social inclusion or exclusion, education, public empowerment, health and safety, regulations, diversity.
Project management
Official Guidance
How will you manage your project effectively? Explain: the main work packages of your project; your approach to project management; the management reporting lines; your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones, including activities to secure all required resources, permits and licences. You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix (up to two A4 pages).
Risks
Official Guidance
What are the main risks for this project? Explain: the main risks and uncertainties of the project; how you will mitigate these risks; any project inputs that are critical to completion; any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and other requirements; the key limitations and uncertainties associated with any assumptions being made about the future commercial demand. You must submit a risk register as an appendix (up to two A4 pages).
Knowledge sharing and clean maritime market development
Official Guidance
How will this project enhance the UK’s position as a world leader in clean maritime technology through shared learning, dissemination and knowledge exchange? Describe: what processes you will adopt for ensuring that lessons are learned across the clean maritime sector; how you will ensure that your project takes account of other relevant work; what knowledge sharing arrangements you will put in place; what evidence and data will be collected; how you will transfer knowledge from any overseas subcontractors to the UK; the types of information you plan to share; how your project offers learning and development; the scalability and replicability of your project.
Added value
Official Guidance
How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? Explain: how public funding is essential; why your project would not go ahead to its proposed scope and timing without public funding; what advantages public funding would offer; the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved; why your project cannot be funded internally or through other private sources; what other routes of investment or means of support you have already engaged with; how any existing or potential investment or support will be used in conjunction with the grant funding; what your project would look like without public funding; how this project will reduce your need for public funding in the future; how this project would change the R&D activities of all the organisations involved.
Costs and value for money
Official Guidance
How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer? In terms of your project goals, explain: your total eligible project costs; the grant you are requesting and why this is the minimum grant required; how each partner will finance their contributions; how this project represents value for money; how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise; the balance of costs and grant across the project partners; any subcontractor costs; any overseas subcontracting and materials costs. You can submit one appendix (up to one A4 page).