Sustainability specialist to support key marine net zero carbon initiative

Leicestershire-based sustainability specialist, Clean Air Power, is part of a consortium that has successfully secured £250,000 to deliver a major clean maritime project.

Clean Air Power is working alongside global engineering consultancy MAHLE Powertrain and the University of Nottingham, to help develop potential green propulsion systems for marine users such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The project, named HyJet, is now under way.

The funding has been secured via Innovate UK, a non-departmental public body which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services.

The consortium will explore the use of sustainable fuels, such as green hydrogen, methanol or ammonia, that would produce zero or near zero pollutants in smaller marine engines. The RNLI has an overall fleet of 400 vessels including all-weather lifeboats and inshore rescue vessels.

Clean Air Power, from Melton Mowbray, are specialists in decarbonised fuelling and will develop and supply the engine’s fuel injection systems, through its DigiJet range of valves and injectors.

Dan Skelton, Managing Director of Clean Air Power, said: “We are thrilled to be a partner in this successful bid, and are looking forward to working with the RNLI and the other partners to investigate potential sustainable solutions for the future. We have two decades of experience working on innovative injection and fluid control projects and are pleased to see this expertise recognised, both by our sustainability partners and the UK authorities, as we move to net zero with the marine sector.”

Innovate UK offered funding via the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. HyJet was one of 22 projects to win funding out of a total 45 applicants.

The HyJet 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 Emissions (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.