Peel Ports is working with a consortium led by the University of Liverpool to bid for the UK’s flagship national Clean Maritime Research Hub.  

As part of a wider partnership with the University of Liverpool’s School of Management, Peel Ports has committed to participating in workshops, sharing operational port data and insights and allocating staff time to the project.

The designation is part of the government’s UK SHORE programme, which aims to decarbonise the maritime sector by exploring key challenges and barriers, and encouraging research and development opportunities.

The programme is set to provide funding grant schemes for early research projects by UK universities. If successful, the University-led project will receive a total of £7.4m of funds over the course of the next four years.

The research hub would make Liverpool the UK centre of excellence for clean maritime research and facilitate further academic and industrial cooperation.  

Lewis McIntyre, Managing Director Port Services at Peel Ports said: “Peel Ports has received numerous industry accolades for its efforts in reducing its environmental impact, including this year’s prestigious Clean Maritime Operator award by Maritime UK.

“This reflects our efforts in decarbonising our port operations as a top priority, and we are delighted to support the University of Liverpool in its efforts to bid for projects of this nature, which align to our own net zero 2040 strategy.”

Professor Dongping Song from the University of Liverpool’s Management School said: ”Peel Ports’ support and participation is extremely valuable for the application to establish the hub and for the future research in decarbonising maritime industry and beyond.”

The newly created hub will address a number of issues including low and zero-emission fuels for the maritime sector, energy sources, vessel technology and land side infrastructure.

The winning bid will be announced before the end of the summer by the awarding and funding bodies: the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Department of Transport.