Key Features
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £121 million across the three strands of this competition for innovative clean maritime technologies. This funding is from the Department for Transport.
Programme: Innovate UK
Award: Share of up to £121 million
Opens: 11th Mar 2026
Closes: 15th Jul 2026
Innovate UK are investing up to £121 million from the Department for Transport for the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Deployment trails competition.
The aim of this competition is to fund real world demonstrations of innovative clean maritime technologies in an operational setting. Proposals must test, deploy and develop innovative clean maritime technologies for on-vessel or maritime infrastructure.
Projects can focus on one or more of the following specific themes:
Please see full competition details for breakdown of specific themes.
When applying for funding, your project must have total eligible costs between £3 million and £15 million, with a duration of up to 2 years and 9 months. Projects must start by 1 April 2027 and end by 31 December 2029. Funding organisations must carry out project work in the UK and exploit project results from or in the UK. Projects must also start on the first day of the month – even if the first day falls on a non‑working day.
Lead: To lead a collaborative project organisations must be a business of any size registered in the UK and collaborate with other UK registered organisations. Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone.
Project team: To collaborate with the lead, organisations must be either a business of any size, academic institution, charity, not for-profit, public sector or a research and technology organisation.
Non-funded partners: Projects can include organisations who do not claim any funding for work on the project. Costs need to be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.
Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed in this competition, and they can be from anywhere in the UK. Overseas subcontractors can be used but you must state why UK subcontractors could not be used.
Number of applications: Businesses can only lead on one application across all three strands of this competition. If leading an application, the business can be included as a collaborator or be a subcontractor in 2 further applications across all 3 strands. If not leading any application, business can collaborate or be a subcontractor in any number of applications across this competition and the ZEVI 2 competition.
Previous applications: Previously submitted applications can be used in this competition.
Grant Exclusions
The following projects cannot be funded:
Innovate UK are offering up to £121 million to fund innovation projects. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
If your organisations work on the project is commercial or economic, funding requests must not exceed the below limits.
The balance between your total eligible project costs and the amount of grant awarded must be funded by the organisation receiving the grant.
For industrial research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:
For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:
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