Maritime Accelerator 2024

Applications closed

Introducing the Maritime Accelerator 2024, a dynamic initiative powered by Connected Places Catapult, dedicated to nurturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with pioneering solutions applicable to the maritime industry and beyond.

We are directly collaborating with a consortium of programme partners, comprising DP World, Houlder, Maersk, National Shipbuilding Office, Portsmouth International Port, Port of Tyne, the Royal Navy, Serco, and the University of Plymouth.

Our partners actively contribute to challenge setting, SME selection, and provide invaluable access to internal expertise and testing facilities, ensuring that every SME in our programme receives support tailored to their unique needs.

Our exclusive 5-month programme is seeking a cohort of up to 8 SMEs operating at TRL 5-8. Through modules and 1-on-1 support, encompassing market targeting, value proposition refinement, strategic pricing, financial forecasting, and compelling communication strategies, we are committed to empowering SMEs to elevate their investment readiness, fine-tune business models, and master the art of customer profiling and enterprise selling.

The Maritime Accelerator isn’t just a programme; it is a transformative journey, paving the way for SMEs to thrive, innovate, and leave a lasting mark on the maritime landscape.

Successful applicants will be able to apply for between £10K-£20K of programme funding to deliver a trial of their solution with one of the programme partners.

The accelerator challenges and eligibility criteria can be found below.

Application Support Webinar

Connected Places Catapult recently held a webinar to give applicants to the Maritime Accelerator the opportunity to find out more about the programme offering, challenges, application process, scoring criteria, and the assessment process. Watch the webinar below.

There will also be a series of two drop-in session to ask further questions from potential applicants.

Key Dates

Programme challenges

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, applicants:

you must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
you must be UK-registered.
you must have a solution which is technical readiness level (TRL) 5 – 8. This means that the solution has, at least, been tested or demonstrated in its intended environment and, at most, has been deployed as a first-of-a-kind commercial system.
your solution must address one or more of the identified challenges.
you already operate in the maritime sector, or you are looking to bring your solution into maritime space from another sector.
you must be willing to travel on occasion for face-to-face meetings (but most of the programme will be conducted virtually).

How to apply

Applications are now closed.

Innovation Imperatives