The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) of the Marine Institute and Innovate UK hosted a networking reception in Dublin on Monday (15 April) to advance their joint plans to create green shipping corridors between Ireland and the UK.
The event attracted maritime industry stakeholders who are interested in responding to this research call by constructing consortia which can drive progress in this important area of research.
The call is co-funded by the Marine Institute and the UK Department of Transport and will be delivered by the IMDO and Innovate UK.
Minister for Transport, Eamonn Ryan said: “My department welcomes the launch of the joint funding call from Marine Institute, the Irish Maritime Development Office and Innovate UK. This will produce detailed and valuable feasibility studies on green shipping corridors focused on routes across the Irish Sea, between Ireland and the UK.
“The Clydebank Declaration was launched at COP26 in 2021, with Ireland as one of the initial signatories of the initiative. Clydebank was designed to drive forward to the decarbonisation targets set by the International Maritime Organization in relations to green shipping. The launch of this funding call by Marine Institute and Innovate UK represents the first step towards meeting this ambition and demonstrates an innovative and collaborative approach to solving this issue, which I commend.”
Elin Burns, deputy British ambassador to Ireland, also welcomed the research call and said: “The UK and Ireland are delighted to collaborate together to tackle one of the greatest challenges of our time, climate change. The UK has ambitious net-zero targets, and transport continues to be a sector which contributes significantly to emissions.
“Green shipping corridors are key to demonstrating the development of technology, infrastructure and regulations to promote industry adoption of zero-emission technologies. The UK and Ireland’s partnership on this fund recognises our close maritime links across both trade and travel, and demonstrates our commitment to supporting green corridors between our countries.”
The call provides an opportunity for maritime industry stakeholders to consider how consortia might be formed to address the challenges of creating green shipping corridors across the Irish Sea. It also recognises the importance of trading and tourism links between Ireland and the UK and the imperative of reducing carbon emissions in the maritime industry.
Commenting at the launch, IMDO director Liam Lacey said: “We are pleased to be working with Innovate UK, supported by our respective Departments of Transport, on this joint research call that will bring green shipping corridors between Ireland and the UK closer to reality.
“The call is funded by the Marine Institute and UK Department of Transport to a value of €1m. It envisages the creation of consortia of ports, shipping companies and researchers and industry experts to undertake feasibility studies that will result in practical solutions being advanced that put shipping corridors between Ireland and the UK on a pathway to a greener future. This is an ambitious and valuable project that we expect to generate considerable industry interest and lots of innovative ideas.”
James Lovett, innovation lead for future maritime technologies at Innovate UK added: “Innovate UK is proud to be delivering this competition and is delighted to be working with the Marine Institute and the UK Department for Transport.
“These bilateral research collaborations are vital to make green shipping corridors a reality. The required technology and system developments cannot happen in isolation, which is why I’m pleased to see pioneering cooperation between the UK and Ireland. We’re looking forward to seeing the exciting research applications from UK-Ireland maritime industry consortia.”
