The Clean Tyne Shipping Corridor project has been backed by the Department of Transport (DfT) and will develop a roadmap for a green shipping corridor from the North East to support the maritime sector’s transition to net zero.

In 2021, maritime and engineering experts from Newcastle University were part of the team supporting the Clean Tyne Project, funded through the first round of the Clean Maritime Demonstrator Competition (CMDC). This 6-month demonstrator project, which finished in April this year, led to the creation the Clean Tyne Blueprint, a digitalised and decarbonised roadmap for the Port of Tyne.  The project finished with a dissemination event held at the Port of Tyne’s Innovation Hub with guest speaker Rt Hons Grant Shapps MP.

Following on from the success of the Clean Tyne project, Newcastle University and consortium partners have been successful in securing over £500k of funding including £390K from the UK Government from the Round 2 of the CMDC. The Clean Tyne Shipping Corridor consortium includes Arup, Connected Places Catapult, EDF Energy R&D UK, Lloyd’s Register, Newcastle University and the North East LEP.

This group of specialists aims to support the zero-emission shipping mission and Government's Clean Maritime Plan by undertaking a feasibility study to establish a green shipping corridor from the UK north-east shore with the vision to join up with the European Green Corridors Network. This will be an ambitious alliance among countries, the private sector, research institutes and civil society to develop, demonstrate and deploy zero-emission fuels, ships and fuel infrastructure together.

Driving demand for green shipping

Outcomes of the project will be used as the blueprint to drive rapid diffusion and mobilise demand for green shipping. For example, once the infrastructure to provide zero-emission fuel for one green corridor is in place, it can then be used for shipping on other, adjacent routes.

Dr Alan Murphy, Reader in Maritime Engineering at Newcastle University’s School of Engineering, is leading the project. He said: “This is a great opportunity for us to build on research from Round 1 of the CMDC, expanding our focus for decarbonisation in ports to now decarbonising the full shipping system.

“This is an area in which we have been working for many years, and this is a great opportunity for us to build on and strengthen our collaborations with the project stakeholders and wider maritime supply chain.”

Dr Haris Patsios, Reader in Smart Energy Systems, is collaborating on the project. He added: “Round 1 of CMDC has helped us forge a strong collaboration between key stakeholders in this space combining in a unique way academic expertise in marine and energy systems. CMDC Round 2 is a natural continuation building further momentum in our efforts to develop and deliver the new generation of net-zero tools and solutions for ports, ships, and related infrastructure.”

Watch the recording from the Clean Tyne dissemination event for more insights into this project’s findings. 

About CMDC2

The project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) which was launched in May 2022, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of the CMDC2, the Department allocated over £14m to 31 projects supported by 121 organisations from across the UK to deliver feasibility studies and collaborative R&D projects in clean maritime solutions.

The CMDC2 is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emission’s (UK SHORE) flagship multi-year CMDC programme. In March 2022, the Department announced the biggest government investment ever in our UK commercial maritime sector, allocating £206m to UK SHORE, a new division within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions throughout 2022-2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.