The UK Government made a pledge in the Clydebank Declaration at COP26 to establish six green shipping corridors by 2026.  This report describes in detail a pathway to deliver, what could be the first in the UK, between Liverpool and Belfast. This route is approximately 130 nautical miles and is one of the busiest routes in the Irish Sea, connecting the two major UK cities. A green shipping corridor is defined by the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UKSHORE) as zero emission maritime routes between two or more ports, and are seen as vital for encouraging the development of vessel and shoreside technology in clean maritime.

Maritime, shipping and the movement of goods and people in the region via its ports is a major economic driver for both Liverpool and Belfast, contributing £5BN in economic activity.  However this activity also attracts significant global greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to poor air quality locally.  The UK is committed to see these emissions reduce and recognises that as an Island Nation, this represents a sizeable challenge and opportunity to transition to low or net zero emissions.   This report is a summation of a lot of focused work by a large stakeholder group in examining options for decarbonising a route linking the Ports of Liverpool and Belfast, to demonstrate it is possible and establish a blueprint available for scaling to other routes, perhaps initially in the Irish Sea Region and then further afield.

This report captures what is needed to establish a green shipping corridor and identifies 29 suitable pilot projects to develop the corridor further and secure a leading international role in green ports and shipping for the UK. Green shipping corridors require a systems approach to implementation and to consider each element that contributes directly to the reduction of carbon emissions or provides a part of the enabling environment to support this reduction. We have identified the existing assets and enabling components of the maritime ecosystem, including subjects such as fuel production and communication systems, as well as governance and skills.  This is a substantive tome full of rich detail covering nationally applicable matters but through a focused place lens.  Delivering a Green Shipping Corridor is complex, but this work has shown us that with a well motivated stakeholder group this can be broken down in to manageable and crucially investible projects ready for delivery.

This report is an output of an Innovate UK funded programme, Pulse, which examined a suite of challenges in the aviation and maritime sectors.  The report has been prepared by Connected Places Catapult, working in collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV, Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool, Queens University Belfast, and Mersey Maritime.

This report is part of a larger body of ongoing work to decarbonise the maritime sector, supported principally by the Department for Transport, Department for Business & Trade, the National Shipbuilding Office and Innovate UK.  UKSHORE supported by Innovate UK has administered the Clean Maritime Demonstration programme, investing £206M of grants with private sector match funding since 2022 across a host of propulsion and infrastructure projects.  This includes investing in selection of feasibility studies into Clean / Green Shipping Corridors between the UK and Europe, which are due to conclude by Spring 2025.

29.08.24 BIRMINGHAM, Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership, has today announced 19 small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selected to join the Clean Futures accelerator programme in the West Midlands.

Now in its second year, the accelerator has already supported 20 SMEs through the first year’s cohort. 18 out of 20 companies participating in the first year have entered serious discussions with new customers about their innovations. £2.6 million has so far been secured for SMEs through contracts or research and development funding; with a further £43 million in the commercial pipeline. So far, £1.3 million has been raised in private investment, with a further £27 million pending.

The companies chosen to join this year’s new cohort will each receive up to £50,000 to trial their solutions over the next six months. Their solutions respond to challenges associated with the rail and automotive manufacturing sectors. These include clean and efficient vehicle manufacturing and assembly design; the production of cost-effective solutions for clean transportation infrastructure; and the production, transport, and storage of alternative fuels such as hydrogen or biofuels.

Alongside funding, the accelerator will also provide the businesses with bespoke technical and commercial support, utilising expertise and cutting-edge facilities at the BCIMO in Dudley and the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering at Coventry University. The cohort will also be provided with networking and showcasing opportunities to connect with industry and financial partners.

The companies selected are:

Aeroforge
Alucast
Composite Braiding Ltd
EnginSoft UK Ltd
Extend Robotics
GBR Rail Ltd
Geospatial Ventures
Grinsty
Integrated Systems Engineering
LiBatt Recycling
MOLE
Moasure
Moonbility
OX Delivers
Raeon Ltd
Taraz Metrology Ltd
Treeva
Unipart Powertrain Applications
Vanguard

Find out more about each of the companies in the cohort brochure.

Clean Futures is led by Connected Places Catapult, alongside the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO), Coventry University and Coventry University Services. It is part of the wider West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, which is designed to bolster the region’s innovation and R&D capability and capacity to spark commercial growth and investment. The West Midlands Innovation Accelerator is delivered in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovate UK and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The event annually attracts a diverse crowd of industry executives, government leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs gather to revisit complex issues at the heart of a new model of city and society.

Together with our 17 partners and co-exhibitors from 12 UK cities, regions, academia and freeport we will be showcasing smart and innovative solutions they have implemented to help deliver their city ambitions. Our confirmed partners are:

1. Birmingham City Council together with West Midlands Combined Authority
2. Manchester City Council
3. Sunderland City Council
4. London hub with London & Partners, The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI), London Legacy Development Corporation and The Earls Court Development Company
5. Innovation City Belfast with partners
6. West Yorkshire Combined Authority with partners
7. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
8. Nexus University of Leeds
9. Thames Freeport
10. Invest In Bath & Bristol
11. Tees Valley Combined Authority together with Teesside University
12. Invest in Newcastle

During a thee day programme on the UK Pavilion stage you will have the opportunity to hear from exciting speakers and to meet city leaders, innovation and technology leads and hear from peers about their investable opportunities.

Meet us in person in Hall 3, share information and extend your network.

We are delighted to partner with British Aviation Group (BAG) to be present at their exhibition stand and talk about our work around the Passenger Experience programme, Digital Aviation and programmes related to Air Mobility including the Drone Pathfinder Catalyst programme. 

Andrew Chadwick, Ecosystem Director Air Mobility & Airports together with our wider team working on above programmes will  join the the event. If you are attending the Expo, make sure to pay the team a visit.

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are vital to industry and represent the backbone of trade and commerce worldwide. They are responsible for ensuring we have access to food, medicines, and goods of all kinds.

Almost 90% of domestic goods transported in the UK in 2022 were moved by road – the vast majority of which by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). These vehicles currently produce approximately 19% of all UK domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, this must be reduced to zero, in line with the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy.

Connected Places Catapult is supporting Innovate UK and the Department for Transport with the Zero-Emission HGVs & Infrastructure Demonstration programme, which represents a public investment of up to £200 million, match-funded by industry. The programme will see the launch of the first large (40+ tonne) zero-emission HGVs in significant numbers, together with supporting infrastructure, which will enable freight operators to determine the suitability of the new technology for their operations. Public-facing battery-electric charging stations and hydrogen refuelling stations will enable HGVs to go beyond ‘back to base’ operations.

Further information regarding the programme can be found here and a full list of the winning consortia partners has been published here.

Together with BSI, Connected Places Catapult is supporting partners involved in the Innovate UK-funded demonstrations and stakeholders in the wider zero-emission HGV ecosystem.

There are four strands to our DfT-funded project.

• Standards – in partnership with BSI
• Commercial and Investment Strategy
• Safety and Security Best Practice
• Infrastructure Planning Best Practice
• Joined Up Thinking

Standards – in partnership with BSI

Standards are crucial in ensuring zero-emission HGVs can roll out in an efficient and safe manner, with interoperability embedded from the start, and to create a market that delivers on required outcomes. Through the standards work, in partnership with BSI, we have formed a Standards Advisory Group for zero-emission road freight that will provide the decision making and governance for the standards development work. Three ‘flex’ standards, which are well suited to fast-moving areas of innovation, are currently being developed.

We’re pleased to announce that BSI Flex 2071 v1.0:2024-06, titled ‘Design of publicly accessible charging sites for battery electric HGVs – Code of practice’, has been released and is out for public consultation for one month until July 12th 2024.

Click here to view, download and share your feedback on the first version of this Flex.

Further background on our standards work can be viewed here.

Commercial and Investment Strategy

The public / private investment through the programme is crucial in helping to bring stakeholders together and roll out the initial vehicles and infrastructure, but it is just a starting point. Much more finance will be needed to fully transition the 600,000 HGVs across the UK and the millions around the world. These investments will ultimately be offset by reduced total cost of ownership with lower fuel costs, increased driver satisfaction and improved sustainability as we move towards circular supply chains. We are speaking to the UK-based and international investor ecosystem to create a long-term and sustainable programme of decarbonisation. We intend to create a trade and investment bridge for the programme, raise the profile of UK-led activities to local and international markets and position the UK as a thought leader and green partner of choice.

Safety and Security Best Practice

Safety is top of the agenda when developing zero-emission demonstrations of HGVs. We are seeking industry consensus on best practice in terms of safety and security to inform both demonstrations and longer term roll out of vehicles and infrastructure.  Standards and guidance documents must work together with regulations to ensure safe practices are embedded as existing industries transition and new industries are formed.

Our best practice document, to be published in December 2023, will consider the operation, refuelling/charging, maintenance, and recovery of the vehicles. The focus is on new hazards that are novel to heavy duty battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Infrastructure Planning Best Practice

Planning and regulatory hurdles are a key barrier to wide-scale infrastructure deployment for zero emission HGVs.  In December 2023, we will publish a reference document for stakeholders involved in planning, design and roll out of battery-electric charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

We will consider the overall system of HGV charging / refuelling, and the decisions needed from the earliest concept stage through to operations. Our scope includes barriers, existing and emerging guidance, charging/refuelling location, the planning and regulatory landscape, funding and case studies.

Joined Up Thinking

Our subject areas overlap considerably. For example, one of the biggest safety concerns is allocating sufficient space for public HGV refuelling/recharging facilities, which has an impact on the financing of the site and on the infrastructure planning. We will consider these interdependencies in our reporting, and would welcome further discussion with other sectors.

How do I get involved?

If you’d like to find out more, please email us at zeroemissionroadfreight@cp.catapult.org.uk.

You can also register for our showcase event, the Connected Places Summit, in March 2024, which will include the latest on zero-emission road freight activities.

Phase 1 reports

These reports were produced in previous phases of the zero-emission road freight programme. Some material is currently being updated, as described above.

We are delighted to once again participate in Innovation Zero, and we’re contributing to a number of sessions, including: 

Andrew Chadwick, Ecosystem Director, Air Mobility & Airports, joining the Fuelling Flight: Hydrogen session on 1 May at 11:45.

Alison Young, Head of Global Investment, joining the session on Funding the Automotive Transformation, on 1 May at 12:25 in the Transport & Mobility Forum.

We are hosting a Digital Twin Hub session on Day 1, 22 April at 2pm, titled ‘Digital twins driving innovation in the North – Explore innovative projects that look to catapult the North of the UK into a bright digital future’. Join Nury Moreira, Community Manager of Digital Twin Hub, and other speakers for an inspiring conversation.

This year, we are proud to host our own Pavilion, a place designed to showcase real innovation, and provide opportunities to connect with thought leaders, and UK and global peers.

To review our full Agenda of sessions and activities taking place over the three days and plan your visit, please head to the UKREiiF website > Programme tab > Download Programme or > Click on the Connected Places Catapult Pavilion dot to browse online.

Make sure to visit our Pavilion in Pavilion Square, we look forward to connecting with you in Leeds! 

Hydrogen presents a huge opportunity for UK to build new supply chains, targeting the $2.5trillion global hydrogen market by 2050.

The Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII) has been created as a strategic national programme to make hydrogen work for the UK and ensure that we seize this opportunity.

Connected Places Catapult, acting as a partner of the HII, is looking to procure results from near term demonstrations, and has allocated a budget of up to £50,000 per project to contribute to the costs of the demonstration activities. In exchange, Connected Places Catapult and HII partners will be entitled to widely disseminate the results from the demonstration activities.

This high TRL demonstration must cover 2 or more of:

• Hydrogen production
• Hydrogen conversion
• Hydrogen distribution
• Hydrogen end use.

The demonstration needs to be in the latter stages of planning, with a consortium of funded and suitable partners already engaged. The demonstration activity and reporting should be complete by November 2024.

There will be a requirement for the applicant to submit a demonstration methodology and deliver an end of project report, which HII partners will publish, to help disseminate the learnings from the demonstration to the wider hydrogen supply chain. HII partners would encourage applicants to also articulate any specific requests for further support from HII partners which could support this demonstration (for example, developing material data sets in collaboration with this demonstration).

Your business must:

• Have a UK-registered address
• Be in the latter stages of planning a high TRL (5-7) hydrogen demonstrator.’
• Be willing to attend regular online meetings with HII partners, and any final showcase of demonstration activities in person, to be discussed in due course.

Companies have until midday on 12 January 2024 to apply.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Raj Ragiwala.

Future Focused Solutions for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation – Open Call and Investment Forum for UK and UAE Businesses

The COP28 – Net Zero Mitigation & Resilience Solutions for the UAE programme is seeking to develop long-term, business led research and innovation collaborations between UAE based investors and SMEs and the UK to address pivotal climate change mitigation and resilience challenges.  
 
Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Gulf Strategy Fund, this programme is responding to three opportunities outlined in the 2023 iteration of Dubai Future Foundation’s The Global 50 future opportunities report. The challenges have been chosen to create collaborations that merge local and UK expertise.  
 
We will work with Dubai Future Foundation and Expo City Dubai to offer UK and UAE SMEs the opportunity to connect and collaborate on solutions to three challenges focusing on minimising environmental risks, harnessing nature’s capacity to restore itself and radically changing ways of life by replacing the models that countries, communities and individuals live by. 
 
For each challenge, we will select 4 SMEs, two based in the UK and two based in UAE to showcase their solution to the challenge in Dubai at the end of March 2024. The selected companies will also present their business to a selected group of UAE– based investors at an Investor Pitch Evening. Where appropriate and viable, the showcase presentations may be selected to be installed at Expo City Dubai, or other suitable venues, for a period of 3 months.

Point of contact

If you have any questions about the programme and application, please contact:

Megan Ford, SME Ecosystem Support Officer, megan.ford@cp.catapult.org.uk  

Application Support Webinar

We will host an application support webinar, with a date to be confirmed shortly.

This webinar will cover the background to the programme, the challenges it is aiming to address, how the programme will benefit SMEs, guidance on how to apply and information on the application process.