Connected Places Catapult is inviting applications for the Clean Transport Accelerator: Maritime, a six-month programme designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing innovative solutions for maritime decarbonisation. Delivered in collaboration with a consortium of partners including Serco, Port of Tyne, Portsmouth International Port, the National Shipbuilding Office, and with support from Maersk, the accelerator focuses on future fuels, electrification, and other technologies that advance the sector's transition to cleaner operations. The initiative aims to select up to six companies with solutions at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 5–8 to receive tailored support and opportunities for technology trials.
Program Offering
• Tailored Commercial Support: Participating SMEs will receive customized commercial guidance based on a detailed business needs assessment. This support may cover market analysis, value proposition development, pricing strategy, financial forecasting, and communications.
• Trial Funding: Successful applicants will have the opportunity to apply for up to £30,000 in funding to deliver a four-month trial of their solution with a programme partner.
• Industry Access: Participants will benefit from access to industry expertise, facilities, and testing environments provided by the programme partners, helping to accelerate innovation and ensure solutions are commercially viable.
Focus Areas and Challenges
The programme is seeking innovative solutions that address key challenges in maritime decarbonisation. The four main challenge areas are:
• Challenge 1: Serco — Optimisation of sea-going fleet operations: Seeking solutions that enable better insight into current fleet operations to solve future challenges related to emissions, predictive maintenance, and duty cycles. This includes management of data flow, improved data insights, optimisation of duty cycles, and insights into future fleet operations.
• Challenge 2: Port of Tyne — Scope 3 emissions tracking and reporting: Seeking solutions that enable accurate and consistent capture of scope 3 emissions from entry to exit. This includes frameworks for information capture from suppliers, inventory tracking, digital tracking systems, and improved transparency.
• Challenge 3: Portsmouth International Port — Efficient use of excess clean energy: Seeking solutions that enable the use of excess clean energy to improve utilisation of shore power assets and strengthen the commercial case for ports. This includes aggregation of third-party demand, deployment of portable hardware, and integration of management software.
• Challenge 4: National Shipbuilding Office — Decarbonising shipyard manufacturing: Seeking solutions that enable the use of decarbonisation technologies in vessel manufacturing and shipyard operations. This includes increasing the use of low-carbon fuels, circular use of materials, optimisation of manufacturing processes, and waste reduction.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the programme, applicants must meet the following criteria:
• Be a UK-registered micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
• Have a solution at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5–8.
• The solution must address at least one of the identified challenges.
• Applicants can be operating in the maritime sector or looking to bring a solution into the maritime space from another sector.
• Be willing to travel for occasional face-to-face meetings, such as the Welcome Day on September 29th.
• Be available to actively participate in programme activities between September 2026 and March 2027.
Key Dates and Application Details
• Applications Open: 16 June
• Application Support Webinar: 30 June
• Applications Close: 28 July 2026, 12pm
• Shortlist Notification: 11 August
• Interviews: 17-19 August
• Cohort Selection Notification: 20 August
• Point of Contact: For questions about the programme and application, please contact Iwona Wilk, Programme Manager, at iwona.wilk@cp.catapult.org.uk or Rebecca Goulding, Head of Enterprise Support – Transport, at rebecca.goulding@cp.catapult.org.uk.
This accelerator builds on the success of Connected Places Catapult’s previous maritime programmes, which have supported 29 SMEs and delivered 11 trials. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend the application support webinar on June 30th to learn more about the programme offering, challenges, and application process. This session will provide guidance for submitting a strong application and offer an opportunity to engage with the programme team.