Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Alternative Fuels

Key Features

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £150 million. The funding will be to develop, deploy and operate innovative clean maritime solutions for three years in a real world environment. This funding is from the Department for Transport.

Programme:     Innovate UK

Award:     Share of up to £150 million

Opens: 26th Mar 2026

Closes: 16th Sep 2026

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Grant Funding

Innovate UK are working with the Department for Transport to invest up to £150 million in innovation projects that will develop, deploy and operate innovative clean maritime solutions for three years in a reel world environment.

Grant Scope

The aim of this competition is to fund UK business led development and build of innovative clean maritime technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Projects can focus on one or more of the following specific themes:

  • Priority theme – projects involving multiple vessels for multiple end users
  • Central theme – projects focusing on alternative fuel, new build or retrofit vessels, onboard fuel cell and combustion technology

Eligibility Criteria

When applying for funding, your project must have eligible costs of between £6 million and £60 million with grant funding claims made by 31st December 2029. Projects must start by 1st April 2027 and have a maximum total project grant funding request of no more than £30 million, of which no more that £20 million can be allocated to a single participant.

Lead: To lead a collaborative project, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size. Collaborate with a UK registered ship owner, manufacturer or operator or be a UK registered infrastructure owner or operator.

Project: To collaborate with the lead, organisations must be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, charity, not for-profit, public-sector organisation or research and technology organisation.

Non-funded partners: Projects can include organisations that do not claim any funding for work on the project with costs covered from their own resources. This can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out work from within their home country as long as results are exploited outside the UK.

Subcontractors: Subcontractors are allowed in this competition and can be from anywhere in the UK. If overseas subcontractors have been used, you must state why contactors from the UK could not be used.

Number of applications: Businesses can only lead on one application across all three strands of this competition. Businesses can also lead on one application across all three strands of Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7. If leading an application, a business can also be included as a collaborator or subcontractor in two further applications across all three strands of this competition and the CMDC7. If a business is not leading any applications, it can collaborate or be a subcontractor in any number of applications across all three strands of this competition and the CMDC7 competition.

Previous applications: Previously submitted applications can be used in this competition.

Grant Exclusions

The following projects cannot be funded:

  • Projects focusing on increasing the combustion efficiency or improving the design of conventional fossil fuel powertrains
  • Projects including funded costs for fossil fuels and fossil fuel powertrains unless the powertrain can use alternative fuels
  • Projects focusing on battery electric vessels that are not 100% battery electric
  • Projects focusing on shore power systems that are not novel, innovative or commercially viable
  • Projects focusing on marine conservation and ecology
  • Projects on removing non-GHG and indirect GHGs from the combustion products of conventional fossil fuels and synthetic fossil fuels
  • Projects focussing on non-methanol biofuels
  • Projects focussing on Personal Watercraft
  • Projects focussing on the use and production of synthetic fuels
  • Projects focussing on submarine and submersible vessels
  • Projects focussing on military applications
  • Projects covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions
  • Projects that duplicate existing innovation

Grant Funding

Innovate UK are offering up to £150 million to fund innovation projects. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, funding requests must not exceed the below limits.

For industrial research projects, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

For experimental development projects which are nearer to market, you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation
  • up to 25% if you are a large organisation

Capital costs

Applications can include the purchase of capital equipment as an eligible project cost for large scale demonstration projects. Investments must be relevant to the project. The maximum intervention rate for these purchases is up to 80% grant for the duration of the project, up until 31st December 2029 for all organisations.

Eligible project capital cost must be the purchase, construction or upgrade of research resources that perform economic activities.

For further information on capital costs, please see full competition brief.

Research participation

Research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 5% of the total eligible project costs. Consortiums containing more than one research organisation that is undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 5% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

  • 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation
  • 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you are a Je-S registered institution such as an academic

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

  1. Research organisations using the Je-S system must submit their costs through the Je-S system which calculates the 80% FEC figure.
  2. On IFS, only the 80% FEC output should be entered at 100% funding.
  3. Applicants do not need to show the remaining 20% on the finance table.

For further information on this competition, please see full details.

Full competition details

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