Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Pre-Deployment Trials

Funding Amount

The Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Pre-deployment trials is a grant competition from Innovate UK, funded by the Department for Transport, to support pre-deployment testing of innovative clean maritime technologies.

Total funding pool: Up to £121 million across the three strands of the competition (Feasibility Studies, Pre-Deployment Trials, and Deployment Trials).

Funding per project: A project’s total eligible costs must be between £750,000 and £6 million.

Funding rates for industrial research projects are stated as follows for eligible project costs:

• Up to 70% for a micro or small organisation

• Up to 60% for a medium-sized organisation

• Up to 50% for a large organisation

Eligible Applicants

To lead a collaborative project, the lead organisation must:

• Be a UK registered business of any size

• Collaborate with other UK registered organisations

Eligible Activities

This strand funds pre-deployment testing of innovative clean maritime technologies.

Proposals must design, develop and test, but not deploy, innovative clean maritime technologies for:

• On-vessel use

• Maritime infrastructure use

• Or both

If a project addresses on-vessel technologies, it must only involve land-based testing, such as:

• A factory

• A dry dock

The project must not plan to test technologies in the water as part of this project. The project must: Deliver a meaningful pre-deployment trial before March 2028 Underpin a future deployment by December 2029 Demonstrate how the project can support a significant reduction in well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions Include at least one representative end user, such as a vessel operator, port or harbour authority Demonstrate significant market potential through a clear commercialisation strategy Bring together a team with the expertise and experience needed to deliver the project objectives. Eligible projects can focus on one or more of the following priority or thematic areas: Priority themes

• Fishing vessels and inland waterways vessels

• Projects combining vessel or infrastructure technology themes with smart shipping technology themes

• Zero and near zero GHG emission fuel systems, such as ammonia or hydrogen

• Retrofitting clean maritime technology to existing vessels

Thematic areas:

• Vessel technology themes

• Infrastructure technologies including offshore themes

• Smart shipping, digital and autonomous maritime technologies

Program Deadline

15 July 2026