Funding competition International Green Corridors Fund: UK – IE Feasibility Studies

UK registered organisations and Irish organisations can apply for a share of up to a combined total of £860,000 (EUR 1 million) for joint R&D projects focused on UK and IE Green Shipping Corridor routes.

Competition opens: Monday 15 April 2024
Competition closes: Thursday 30 May 2024 11:00am

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Description

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department for Transport (DFT) and the Marine Institute, Ireland (MI-IE).

The MI-IE is the State Agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation in Ireland. These agencies will invest a combined total of up to £860,000 (EUR 1 million) in innovation projects (UK £430,000 and IE 500,000 Euro).

This funding is from the UK Department for Transport and the Marine Institute, Ireland.

Your project will study Green Shipping Corridor routes between the UK and Ireland.

Innovate UK will fund UK partners to collaborate with Irish partners on feasibility study projects, over a six month period.

The aim of this competition is to fund innovative feasibility studies into routes that stimulate early adoption of promising long term solutions to reach zero emissions in shipping.

Your proposal must conduct a technical and economic feasibility study.

All participants, UK and IE, must be part of an application submitted to Innovate UK, which must include an attached appendix of the Irish partner’s budget allocations.

Irish partners must not enter project costs or a grant funding request in Innovate UK’s finance section of the application. The Irish project costs and grant funding request must be entered separately as an appendix to the costs and value for money question.

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.

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.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Your project’s combined UK and IE total costs must be between £50,000 (EUR 59,000) and £250,000 (EUR 300,000).

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Who can apply

Irish organisations

In addition to the relevant rules in this section, Irish organisations must follow Irish eligibility rules available on the Marine Institute’s website at Current Funding Opportunities | Marine Institute.

If your Irish organisation needs more information about eligibility and funding, you can contact Marine Funding email.

Your project

Your project must:

have combined UK and IE total costs between £50,000 (EUR 59,000) and £250,000 (EUR 300,000)
have no more than 65% of the total project costs allocated to UK organisations
have no more than 65% of the total project costs allocated to Irish organisations
start on 1 October 2024
end by 31 March 2025
last up to six months

Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your project start date will be reflected in your grant offer letter if you are successful.

The project work must be undertaken in the UK and Ireland.

UK organisations must only include eligible project costs in the finance section of your application.

All Irish organisations must only include eligible project costs in the Irish partner cost template uploaded as part of your application. Details for eligible project costs for Irish organisations can be found on the Marine Institute’s Current Funding Opportunities website.

Under current restrictions, this competition will not fund any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity as lead, partner or subcontractor. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source.

If your project’s total costs or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

To receive any grant funding, your project proposal must be selected as successful by both the UK and Irish funding bodies. If successful, UK participants will receive grant funding from Innovate UK and Irish participants will receive grant funding from the Marine Institute, Ireland. All participants must be part of an application submitted to Innovate UK.

All businesses in your consortium must be separate legal and non-linked entities. This is to ensure that projects encourage genuine international collaboration, not internal company research. Linked companies are considered a single entity under the parent company.

Roles and terminology

There must be a project lead and this can be either an eligible UK or Irish registered business of any size. The project lead is responsible for managing the entire project.

UK lead applicant

The lead applicant is the organisation that starts the application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS).

Irish organisations can be a project lead but cannot start an application on IFS.

They must be added as a partner to the UK lead applicant. This is for system functionality reasons.

To start an application on the Innovation Funding Service, your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.

UK trust ports and UK municipal ports will be treated as businesses.

Project team

All collaborations must include at least three eligible organisations.

Your collaboration must involve:

a UK registered port or harbour
an eligible Irish registered port or harbour
a UK or Irish registered business that is a vessel owner or operator with a vessel operating on a route between Ireland and the UK

Your project can also include other eligible grant claiming UK or Irish registered partners:

business of any size
academic institution
charity
not for profit
public sector organisation
research and technology organisation (RTO)

More information on the different types of UK organisation can be found in Innovate UK’s Funding rules.

More information on the different types of Irish organisation can be found on the Marine Institute’s Current Funding Opportunities website.

If your project’s collaboration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible. Your application will then not be sent for assessment.

All partner organisations must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead applicant to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs in the relevant place and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

All Irish organisation finances must be listed and uploaded as an appendix to the costs and value for money question using the Irish partner cost template form available. These finances will be checked separately for eligibility by the Marine Institute, Ireland.

If an Irish organisation requests grant funding in the finances section of the IFS application form, you will be made ineligible, and your application will not be sent for assessment.

Non-funded partners

Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK or non-Irish businesses. Their costs will count towards the total project costs.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and Ireland and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

Subcontractors to Irish organisations must not exceed 20% of the total Irish grant requested.

You can use subcontractors from other countries but must make the case in your application as to why you could not use suppliers from the UK or Ireland.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK and Irish contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.

Number of applications

A UK and Irish business of any size can lead on any number of applications and partner on any further number of applications.

Other UK organisations can collaborate on any number of applications.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You can use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

You can make a maximum of two submissions to Innovate UK with any given proposal. If Innovate UK judges that your proposal is not materially different from your previous proposal, it will be counted towards this maximum.

If your application goes through to assessment and is unsuccessful, you can reapply with the same proposal once more.

We will not award you funding if you have:

failed to exploit a previously funded project
an overdue independent accountant’s report
failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

UK organisations

For UK organisations this competition provides funding to enterprises using the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme.

The Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme can be viewed on the subsidy database here: SC10780.

This is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

Irish organisations

For Irish state aid or de minimus information, refer to the Marine Institute under De Minimis Regulations. Irish partners involved in successful proposals will need to sign a De Minimis Declaration as part of the Grant-Aid Agreement.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must always make sure that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to, or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

Funding

Innovate UK and the Marine Institute, Ireland will invest a combined total of up to £860,000 (EUR 1 million) to fund innovation projects in this competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

Each country will fund its eligible participants according to their national procedures and funding rules. Funding conditions and eligibility criteria may vary between UK and Ireland. However, the bilateral joint cooperation between the partners and its added value is an important aspect to be considered within the assessment of an application.

UK organisations

As a UK partner, if your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

For Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme Category 1 Feasibility studies, you could 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

Irish organisations could get funding for their eligible project costs of:

up to 75% if they are a small or medium enterprises (includes micro enterprises)
up to 50% if they are a Multi-National Corporation (includes large enterprises)

For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Research participation for UK organisations

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 30% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 30% you could get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

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

Irish Organisations

See the Marine Institute, Ireland Current Funding Opportunities website for more information on Irish eligibility and funding rules.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to fund innovative feasibility studies into routes that stimulate early adoption of promising long-term solutions to reach zero emissions in shipping.

Your joint Irish and UK project must conduct a technical and economic feasibility study associated with the development and real world demonstration of a Green Shipping Corridor route.

You must assess and develop a clear implementation plan for the real world establishment of the corridor. To qualify as a corridor, plan for at least one zero emission (well-to-wake) vessel to be transiting a route between the UK and Ireland.

Your project must:

underpin a future green shipping corridor demonstration by delivering meaningful technology, route to market and supply chain innovations
achieve market potential through a clear strategy for commercialising the technology and the products, demonstrating the potential for significant value to the UK and Ireland
illustrate potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction that could be achieved by the future green shipping corridor
bring together a team with the necessary expertise and experience to successfully deliver the project objectives, and include at least two ports or harbour authorities and one vessel owner or operator as detailed in eligibility

At the end of your project, you must:

produce a clear, detailed and costed plan for how your green corridor will be demonstrated in an operational setting in and between ports and on vessels, including your technical approach, objectives and business case
estimate the annual additional costs of delivering the corridor, considering various market participants, for example, ship owners, ports, fuel or infrastructure suppliers, with clear plans to meet costs, covering both private and public funding sources
estimate the direct and indirect environmental impacts from delivering the corridor, including impacts on greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions
estimate the scope for scaling up the number of zero-emission vessels and corresponding landside infrastructure, replicating the corridor elsewhere, and potential additional benefits to other routes and the wider fleet
investigate potential scalable zero emission energy source options for the corridor, estimate the quantity of energy required each year, with a clear plan for how this would be produced, imported, distributed, stored and bunkered, and the conditions to mobilise and meet demand
consider the design of the zero-emission vessels that would be used on the corridor, for example, newbuild or retrofit vessels, with a clear plan for how these vessels would be delivered
determine how the fuel will be safely and effectively supplied and bunkered, and stored on board vessels
include a clear plan for how the corridor would comply with all relevant regulations, for example, safety regulations
explain your understanding of any barriers to market adoption
detail the resources needed to carry out your real world demonstration, including funding requirements, timescales for delivery, planning permissions, implications of current and future regulation, new partners and information for a clear business case
develop a clear plan for disseminating learnings and data from the corridor across the industry
share your findings with the UK Department for Transport (DfT), Innovate UK, and the Marine Institute, Ireland

Successful projects will be required to engage with the Department for Transport (DfT), Innovate UK, and the Marine Institute, Ireland and any third party contractors appointed by them.

Regulation

Projects must detail their plan for compliance with regulation and how they will work with relevant regulatory bodies for novel technologies.

Types of vessel

Green shipping corridors for all sizes and categories of maritime vessel are in scope. Solutions can be suitable for one target size of vessel or multiple. Pleasure and commercial vessels are in scope.

Types of infrastructure

Green shipping corridors involving all types of ports and harbours are in scope, including infrastructure for freight, passenger, pleasure and commercial vessels.

Portfolio approach
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, routes, markets, technological maturities, themes, and locations. We call this a portfolio approach.

The Department for Transport (DfT), Innovate UK, and the Marine Institute, Ireland reserves the right to prioritise projects within specific themes where necessary.

Specific themes

Your project must focus on green shipping corridors between the UK and Ireland.

Research categories

We will fund feasibility projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that are:

feasibility studies for a domestic green corridor
focusing only on increasing the efficiency of current conventional fossil fuels and fossil fuel powertrains of maritime vessels
focusing on non-methanol biofuels
focusing on personal watercraft (PWC)
focusing on the use and production of synthetic fuels, note, this exclusion does not apply to methanol, ammonia and hydrogen fuels
focusing on the use of submarines and submersible vessels
covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions
a duplicate of an existing innovation

We cannot fund projects that are:

dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product

10 April 2024: Webinar briefing event: watch the recording
15 April 2024: Competition opens
30 May 2024 11:00am: Competition closes
18 July 2024: Applicants notified

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) before you start.

If an Irish organisation requests grant funding in the finances section of the IFS application form, you will be made ineligible, and your application will not be sent for assessment.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

that all the information provided in the application is correct
your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
all sections of the application are marked as complete
that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into four sections:

Project details.
Application questions.
Finances.
Project Impact.

Accessibility and inclusion

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Application team

Decide which organisations, including Irish collaborators, will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

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.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

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 could happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

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.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1, 2 and 3. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project. You must include your Irish partners in this section.

We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects who do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

Yes
No
In process of being applied for
Not applicable

Question 4. Need or challenge

What is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation?

Explain:

the main motivation for the project
the project objectives
the project deliverables
how your project will support the transition to green shipping corridors and zero emission shipping
how the project will support the adoption of technology which will reduce the level of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions or improve air quality, when compared to conventional maritime technologies
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
whether you have identified any similar innovation and its current limitations, including those close to market or in development
any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one
the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural, or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity
the barriers to the adoption of your technology
how this project might support or enable the development of regulation, including engagement to date with relevant regulatory bodies
how the project will further the understanding of the current gaps in knowledge on the technical aspects of the technology

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 5. Approach and innovation

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Explain:

the technical detail and approach of your proposed project, with reference to barriers that the project seeks to overcome
the justification for choosing your proposed green corridor route
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 technology development or progress that will be achieved by the project, including defined success criteria
the estimated level of well-to-wake greenhouse gas emission savings and air quality improvements resulting from your technology, including both direct and indirect savings from the future demonstration project itself and any subsequent commercial deployment, stating any assumptions and evidence where possible
how your project is tailored to maritime applications, and how you have considered the environmental, operational and practical challenges of innovation in the marine environment
how your approach has considered the regulatory landscape and challenges to implementing the technology, you must demonstrate a clear understanding of the regulatory context
how your project will engage with relevant regulatory authorities to progress both the innovative and non-innovative elements of your project, for example, vessel structure, stability, and standard infrastructure equipment
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, for example, reports, know-how, new process, product, or service design, and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified

Well-to-wake emissions is defined as the emissions associated with production, distribution, storage and usage of energy.

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You can submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 6. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Explain:

the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking, including your Irish partners
the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project
any roles you will need to recruit for

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You can submit one appendix, with a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to 4 A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 7. Market awareness

What does the green shipping corridor route you are targeting look like?

Describe:

the route and sub sectors you will be targeting in the project, for example, ferries, freight or any other potential shipping types
the size and frequency of the target route for the project outcomes, with references where available
the structure and dynamics of the target route, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
the target route’s main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist
the current UK and Irish position in targeting this route
the size and main features of any other similar routes to which this project could be applicable

If your project is highly innovative, where the route may be unexplored, describe or explain:

what the route’s size and subsector might be
how your project will try to explore the route’s potential

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 8. Outcomes and route to market

How are you going to grow your business and increase long term productivity as a result of the project?

Explain:

your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example, why they would use your green shipping corridor or service
your route to market
how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction
how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term
how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example, through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model
your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project

Describe how your project will be exploited for the benefit of future UK and Irish supply chain, including:

the route to commercialisation of your green shipping corridor after the project, including further development activity in the UK and Ireland
the potential benefits of future commercialisation within the UK and Ireland
the potential benefits from export of the green shipping corridor system concept
how you will anchor intellectual property (IP) generated by the project in the UK and Ireland and how this IP will be exploited for the benefit of future UK and Irish supply chain
how the project provides the UK and Ireland with a competitive advantage over other countries

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale
how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

Question 9. Wider impacts

What impact might this project have outside the project team?

Describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:

external parties
customers
others in the supply chain
broader industry
the UK and Irish economy

Describe and, where possible, measure:

any expected impact on government priorities, including economic growth around the UK and Ireland, boosting productivity and creation of jobs, and any high skilled job creation
any expected environmental impacts, other than greenhouse gas emissions, such as air quality, either positive or negative
any expected regional impacts of the project

Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example:

quality of life
social inclusion or exclusion
jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing, or displacing them
education
public empowerment
health and safety
regulations
diversity

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 10. Project management

How will you manage your UK and Irish project effectively?

Explain:

the main work packages of your project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one
your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
the management reporting lines
your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones

Your answer can be up to 600 words long.

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 11. Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Explain:

the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks
how you will mitigate these risks
the timeline for delivery of your feasibility study project before March 2025
any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, and data sets
any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues, and other requirements identified, and how you will manage this

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long, and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 12. Knowledge sharing and clean maritime market development

How will this project enhance the UK and Ireland’s positions as world leaders in clean maritime technology through shared learning, dissemination and knowledge exchange?

Describe:

the benefits of a collaborative UK and Irish approach and the increased shared value as a result
what processes you will adopt for ensuring that lessons are learned across the clean maritime sector, including input from stakeholders and potential customers
how you will ensure that your project takes account of other relevant work, for example, successful and unsuccessful clean maritime projects, previous government-funded or EU-funded work in the UK and Ireland, and academic studies
what knowledge sharing arrangements you will put in place and how you will ensure that information is disseminated effectively, including considerations such as timeliness and means of communication
what evidence and data will be collected, including how and when this will be done and who will be responsible
the types of information you plan to share with other stakeholders that you have identified
how your project offers learning and development in relevant clean maritime technologies and enables research and innovation across the wider supply chain
the scalability and replicability of your project, and how you will build on experience to support future market development and cost reduction

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 13. Added value

How will this public funding help you to accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation? What impact would this award have on the organisations involved?

Explain:

what advantages public funding would offer your project, for example: appeal to investors, more partners, reduced risk or a faster route to market
the likely impact of the project outcomes on the organisations involved
what other routes of investment or means of support you have already approached and why they were not suitable
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

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 14. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the UK and Irish taxpayer?

In terms of your project goals, explain:

your total project costs, including those of your Irish partners
your Irish partners costs as listed in the attached Irish partner cost template
the grant you are requesting for the UK partners
how each partner will finance their contributions to your project
how this project represents value for money for you and the UK and Irish taxpayers
how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
the balance of costs and grant across the project partners, including Irish partners
any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project

The template listing the Irish partners costs will be assessed for eligibility by the Marine Institute, Ireland.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must download the Irish partner cost template, complete and submit as an appendix to this question containing a breakdown of all the Irish organisations finances. It must be a spreadsheet no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

3. Finances

UK Organisations

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form.

For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance. You can also view our Application Finances video.

Irish organisations

All Irish organisations will need to enter zeros into the finance section of the Innovation Funding Service and select no in answer to the question, are you requesting grant funding.

Details of all Irish organisation finances must be listed in the Irish partner cost template and uploaded as an appendix to the cost and value for money question.

If an Irish organisation requests grant funding in the application, you will be made ineligible, and your application will not be sent for assessment.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

Background and further information

In 2022, the international shipping sector was responsible for more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than many individual countries, including South Korea, Australia, France and the UK. Without further action and intervention, the sector will continue to emit substantial GHG emissions out to 2050.

As a global sector, decarbonising maritime requires joint international effort from vessel owners and operators, ports and harbours, individual governments, infrastructure and energy providers, innovators and supply chains. A zero or near zero emission vessel travelling an international route, no matter the fuel pathway, will at a minimum require coordinated support from both ends of the route.

To support international maritime decarbonisation efforts, at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, 24 countries, including the UK and Ireland, signed up to the Clydebank Declaration for Green Corridors. Building on the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, signatories committed themselves to support the establishment of green shipping corridors, zero-emission maritime routes between two (or more) ports.

Setting up green shipping corridors involves using zero or near zero emission fuel or energy, putting in place refuelling or recharging infrastructure at ports. It also involves deploying zero or near zero emission capable vessels to demonstrate cleaner, more environmentally friendly shipping on a given route. This will require the participation of vessel and port owners and operators, governments and supply chains. The vessel and infrastructure operators’ roles are evident and the local, national and international governments must support the commercially attractive and safe operation of green corridors. The supply chains centred around ports must be robust and reliable and have the right infrastructure, at the right place and at the right time to enable green corridors.

In response to these international commitments, the UK and Ireland announced their partnership in UK SHORE’s International Green Corridor Fund (IGCF). This will fund feasibility studies examining green corridor routes between the UK and international partner countries.

UK SHORE funding, worth £1.5 million, will be made available for UK registered organisations and activities to deliver these feasibility studies. This will be in collaboration with international partners, including Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Ireland, to move closer to making end-to-end green corridors a reality.

Definition of green shipping corridor for the purpose of this competition

A green shipping corridor is a maritime route on which scalable zero emission (well-to-wake) vessels are demonstrated and supported. This involves sourcing or production of:

scalable zero emission fuel or energy
arrangements for its transportation and distribution
putting in place storage and refuelling or recharging infrastructure in port
deploying zero emission capable vessels to operationally demonstrate zero emission shipping on a given route

Corridors must, therefore, be a collaboration across the full shipping value chain.

Corridor demonstrations are not intended to be a one-off, but to kickstart a wider transition and should continue over a sustained period of time. To qualify as a corridor, at least one zero emission vessel must be transiting the route. However, where possible, the number of zero emission vessels should increase on the route over time, with plans being made and efforts taken to facilitate this scale up.

Green corridors are about stimulating early adoption of promising long-term solutions to reach zero emissions in shipping by 2050, with scalable zero emissions energy sources.

Scalable zero emission energy sources have the potential to achieve zero or near zero greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis, while also scaling production in line with the required pace of the transition, for example:

green hydrogen
green ammonia
green methanol
battery electric

Innovate UK

Innovate UK is delivering this competition in partnership with the Department for Transport and the Maritime Institute, Ireland and is part of a wider set of investments across transport.

Working with our partners, Innovate UK are investing to accelerate innovation across Aerospace, Road, Rail and Maritime. Our work covers key themes including Net Zero and future transport opportunities presented by new technologies, for example, autonomy. We aim to tackle practical challenges seen every day in the transport system.

This is aligned to our Transport Vision 2050 which we have published after extensive engagement with UK industry and stakeholders. Click the link to read the UK Transport Vision 2050 and contribute to the debate.

Click the Innovation in transport – UKRI link to find out more information about what we do across our transport programmes.

Impacts and Evaluation

Innovate UK will work with projects that have been awarded grants or contracts, to implement a new Impact and Evaluation framework. Your project will be required to collect and report key metrics and data as specified by the programme and in line with the centralised evaluation framework. This will include the collection of both evidence and counterfactual data to support impact and attribution claims.

You will be required to work with Innovate UK to analyse and interpret the data using the techniques specified in the evaluation plans, to support the production of reports at an agreed annual reporting schedule.

You will be briefed on the specific metrics and evidence following notification of your award. For planning, forecasting and budgeting purposes, each organisation within a consortium will be expected to allocate three working days to supporting this requirement over the life of the project.

You will also be asked to respond periodically to further requests, following your project’s conclusion, recognising Innovate UK’s obligations, and the benefits of, evaluating impact over time.

Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme Information

This award is being offered under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme in accordance with section 10(4) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Projects funded must meet the following definition:

Category 1 - Feasibility study

The evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision-making. This is done by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately its prospects for success.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, the Department for Transport (DfT), and Marine Institute, Ireland (each an “agency”).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to DfT and Marine Institute, Ireland and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
scoring and feedback on the application
information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Officer reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK, DfT and Marine Institute, Ireland are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, DfT and Marine Institute, Ireland will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Department for Transport (DfT) Privacy Policy

Marine Institute, Ireland Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

The Marine Institute complies with Irish national Data Protection laws (Data Protection Acts 1988-2003) as amended by the Data Protection Act, 2018.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth

If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth. This service forms part of our funded offer to you.

These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale.

We encourage you to engage with Innovate UK Business Growth, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by up to five independent assessors chosen by Innovate UK and the Marine Institute, based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria.

Green Shipping Corridors UK-IE questions and assessor guidance for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window)

Next steps

Successful UK applicants will be asked to set up your project on the UK Innovation Funding Service (IFS) system.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your (IFS) Set Up portal, the tool that Innovate UK uses to gather necessary information before we can allow your project to begin.

You will need to provide:

the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
a redacted copy of your bank details
a collaboration agreement
an exploitation plan

In order for us to process your claims, you must make sure you have a valid UK business bank account. It can take several weeks for a new account to be created if required. We recommend starting this process as early as possible to avoid any delays to your project start date.

The bank account which grant is to be paid into must:

be a business account in the same name as the organisation listed in IFS
be from a UK bank regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
have a cheque and credit clearing facility

Online accounts are eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.

Innovate UK will accept most banking societies apart from:

Viva Wallet
Intesa Sanpaolo
Equals Money UK Limited

If you have any doubts that your bank account will not meet Innovate UK's funding criteria, you can use the sort code checker. If you input the sort code and find a tick next to the ‘BACS Direct Credit payments can be sent to this sort code’, this will give you an indication that the bank account you hold is acceptable.

Finance checks

We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project.

You must check your IFS portal regularly and respond to any requests we have sent for additional information to avoid any delays.

Failure to complete project setup may result in your grant offer being withdrawn.

Your Grant offer letter (GOL)

Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your GOL.

The GOL will be made available on your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this for us to approve. Once approved we will send you an email with permission to start your project on your confirmed start date.

You must not start your project before the date stated on your email and GOL. Any costs incurred before your agreed start date cannot be claimed as part of your grant.

If your GOL is approved on or before the fifteenth of the month it will be dated from the first of that month. If your GOL is approved after the fifteenth, it will be dated the first of the next month.

Irish partners

If an Irish partner is successful in this competition, you must complete a Grant Agreement with the Marine Institute, Ireland. Once the Grant Agreement is signed, the Marine Institute, Ireland will make payments in instalments as agreed in the payment schedule stated in the Grant Agreement.

The typical values are 25%, 50% and 25% on submission of reports and completion of agreed deliverables. Payment is made to the organisation’s Irish bank account and a current tax clearance certificate will be required for each payment.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

Contact us

For UK organisations, if you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

The Innovate UK phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

For Irish organisations, if you need more information about eligibility or how to apply, please contact funding@marine.ie

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