Almost £50m is available for new and innovative projects in the maritime sector through the collaborative Horizon Europe initiative. Every legal entity from the UK is eligible to apply to the EU for this funding. 

The European Technology Platform Waterborne is recognised by the EU as the voice of innovative organisations in the maritime and inland waterways sector, including ports and operations.

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation with a total budget of €95.5 billion. It tackles climate change, helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and boosts the EU’s competitiveness and growth.

The programme facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. It supports creating and better dispersing of excellent knowledge and technologies. It creates jobs, fully engages the EU’s talent pool, boosts economic growth, promotes industrial competitiveness and optimises investment impact within a strengthened European Research Area.

Innovate UK, Maritime UK and Connected Places Catapult are holding an Information day and Brokerage Event for the Horizon Europe Zero Emission Waterborne Transport calls for proposals in London on 31st October 2023. Jaap Gebraad, the Secretary General of Waterborne will be presenting and the event will be strongly advertised acros European colleagues and so it is hoped to get a good turnout from non-UK organisations.

For more information about these or any other Horizon Europe issue, contact NCP-Mobility@iuk.ukri.org

Current Horizon Europe Calls

• Combining state-of-the-art emission reduction and efficiency improvement technologies in ship design and retrofitting for contributing to the "Fit for 55" package objective by 2030 (ZEWT Partnership)
• Structuring the Waterborne transport sector, including through changed business and industrial models in order to achieve commercial zero-emission waterborne transport (ZEWT Partnership)
• Advanced digitalisation and modelling utilizing operational and other data to support zero emission waterborne transport (ZEWT Partnership)
• Demonstrating efficient fully DC electric grids within waterborne transport for large ship applications (ZEWT Partnership)
• Achieving high voltage, low weight, efficient electric powertrains for sustainable waterborne transport (ZEWT Partnership)
• Demonstration of Technologies to minimise underwater noise generated by waterborne transport (ZEWT Partnership)
• Coordinating and supporting the combined activities of member and associated states towards the objectives of the Zero Emission Waterborne Transport partnership so as to increase synergies and impact (ZEWT Partnership)