Clean Maritime

Trailblazing clean maritime innovation
Clean Maritime
Fuel powering shipping and wider port activity has been some of the most polluting fuel used across all transport modes. Globally, the maritime sector needs to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants as these affect the environment profoundly accelerating the climate change.

The Clean Maritime Plan sets out how the UK can take a proactive role in driving the transition to zero emission shipping in its waters and is globally recognised as a leader in this field.
At Plymouth, we are among the UK’s leading proponents of clean maritime research, with a track record in consistently securing government funding through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.
Through engagement with business and the wider scientific community, we are co-creating ways of transforming this research into practical solutions to challenges faced by the marine and maritime sectors.
We led the partnership that created the UK’s first e-marine hub of shore-side charging facilities for electric maritime vessels and played an integral role in enabling £15.6 million of Levelling Up funding to be secured for the Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre in 2023.
Our position as a founding member of the National Centre for Coastal Autonomy, launching the national Cyber-SHIP Lab in collaboration with major marine industries, and partnerships such as with the Royal Navy all drive our ability for advanced ocean observation.
Meanwhile, through state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) Lab and Maritime Simulation Lab we continue to harness the capability of new and existing technology.
 

Clean maritime explained

Dr Richard Pemberton and Ms Sarah Fear explore the complex and multifaceted potential of clean maritime, decarbonising the maritime industry in line with the targets of net zero emissions set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
How easy is it to refuel at sea? And is it feasible for shipping to move away from diesel to alternative energy sources?
Research at the Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy and our collaboration with industry is pivotal in developing sustainable solutions for clean maritime and supporting the sector in adopting novel technologies for zero-emission shipping.
 

Explore our research

Electric boat- ZENOW project

Zero Emission Network of Workboats (ZENOW)

Mayflower Marina in Plymouth. Getty images.

Virtual Bunkering for Electric Vessels (VBEV)

Plymouth harbour marina

CanUK vessel-to-grid

Clean Maritime

The Electric Seaway

Smart shipping

Smart shipping safety and cyber assurance

Shipping cargo container at sea

Maritime sustainability research

Container ship at sunset while being loaded and unloaded in a port.

Green shipping corridor

Electric ferry cropped

An electric ferry for the heart of Plymouth

 
 

Plymouth Perspectives on clean maritime

Is offshore renewable energy the future of carbon-free shipping?
Is moving maritime away from fossil fuels really a step into the unknown?
Tackling the dirty, dull and dangerous: shipping clean with autonomous marine systems
Is there a 'silver bullet' solution to green shipping?
Are clean maritime solutions resilient to cyber-attacks at sea?
Shutterstock Aerial top view container cargo ship in import export business commercial trade logistic and transportation of international by container cargo ship in the open sea, Container cargo freight shipping.
Making waves: how we are leading the way in maritime research for cleaner seas

Trailblazing clean maritime innovation

Providing evidence to support policy-making processes

The Maritime 2050 strategy sets out how the UK can take a proactive role in driving the transition to zero emission shipping in its waters.
"The challenge is encouraging smaller ports to decarbonise. Helping a hundred small harbours de-carbonise could potentially deliver the same impact as a large port de-carbonising."
Sarah Fear
A series of high power DC electric charging stations has been installed around the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park (Credit - University of Plymouth)

Explore our areas of expertise

 

People

State-of-the-art facilities

Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy

Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy

In response to climate change imperatives, we are bringing together a critical mass of leading research and expertise from across the University of Plymouth. Through co-creation and collaboration with partners from business, government and key communities from across the globe, the Centre aims to be a beacon for the University’s whole-system transdisciplinary approach to solutions-oriented research, accelerating sustainable developments in decarbonisation and renewable energy.
 

Strategic Research Institutes

Close-up wave
Marine Institute
Advancing sustainable use of the marine environment through our systems-thinking approach to research, education and innovation.
Aerial view from high altitude of little planet earth with small village houses and distant green cultivated agricultural fields with growing crops on bright summer evening
Sustainable Earth Institute
Solving complex global sustainability challenges through a holistic, solutions-oriented approach to research, education, innovation and knowledge exchange.