Maritime Funding Opportunities

Note:
The majority of the funding opportunities listed are specifically targeted at maritime-related projects. However, some are general funding opportunities that, while not exclusively maritime, are still applicable to maritime research and innovation.

UK funding calls – Maritime

  • The Ideas Elevator – Maritime Decarbonisation, open to SME for disruptive, very early-stage and exciting ideas and concepts (at Technology Readiness Levels 1-2) that may alter the future landscape of clean maritime. Apply by 8th May 2026
  • Coast-R Small Grants Fund Round 2 is offering grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 for projects contributing to coastal community resilience. Apply by 15th May 2026
  • Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7: Deployment trials (£3m-£15m), Pre-deployment trials (£750k-£6m) and Innovative feasibility studies (£100k-£1m). £121M in total Apply by 17 Jul 2026
  • Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Alternative Fuels, Funding to each project up to £30 million. Apply by 16 September 2026
  • Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Electric Power, Funding to each project up to £30 million. Apply by 16 September 2026
  • Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Energy Efficiency, Funding to each project up to £30 million. Apply by 16 September 2026
  • Great British Energy (GBE) Supply Chain Fund: Offshore Wind and Networks. Round 1 by 31 Mar 2026; Round 2 by 30 Jun 2026, Round 3 by 30 Sep 2026, Round 4 by 10 dec 2026
  • Former LRF funded student, scholar or apprentice can apply Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) Network to Engineer a Safer Tomorrow (NEST) funding. Apply here

UK funding calls – applicable to maritime

  • Scotland Beyond Net Zero Seed Fund 2026 to support climate and net zero research collaborations across Scotland £5-15k per project Apply before 27 April 2026
  • iX Challenge – Modular Hydrogen Separation for Small Scale Pilot Waste Facilities Apply before 27 April 2026
  • Supply Chain Accelerator provides early-stage development funding for offshore wind supply chain projects, supporting them to be investment-ready. 3rd Round is open to register interest now. Registered project will receive application pack by end of April 2026. Find out more
  • iX Challenge – Autonomous Robotic Inspection Platform to supporting Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd in identifying a highly autonomous robotic platform, such as a quadruped, a drone, or a mix of both, capable of carrying out repeatable plant inspections within the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) environment Apply before 4 May 2026
  • HMGCC Co-Creation Challenge: Smart personal assistant for security researchers Apply before 7 May 2026
  • What Works Centre (WWC) for local employment support, up to £15M funding available to establish an independent, co-created What Works Centre (WWC) to identify, develop, test, and evaluate evidence-based locally delivered employment support to help people access, remain in, and thrive in good quality work. Apply by 19 May 2026
  • Battery innovation concept development round 2, open to UK registered businesses apply for a share of up to £25 million to support innovation in battery grade material technologies for electrification by IUK, Apply by 27 May 2026
  • Driving Net Zero through Data-Driven Innovation by Energy Systems Catapult, fund up to £40k for researchers and academic partners to leverage data-driven insights to solve complex challenges within the UK’s energy and transport systems. Apply by 1st Jun 2026
  • Future offshore wind technologies: feasibility studies Apply before 3 June 2026
  • Future offshore wind technologies: industrial research Apply before 3 June 2026
  • Frontier AI Discovery by IUK to advance the development of frontier Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and foundation models in the UK. Apply before 10 June 2026
  • EDI Hub+ Flexible Fund Round 2, Pilot projects (£50k), Scale-up projects (£80k), Evaluation projects (£30k) Apply between 4 Mar – 24 Jun 2026.
  • Pre-announcement: EPSRC Prosperity Partnerships 2027 co-delivered by business and academic partners, aim to create long-term prosperity for the UK Total fund £40M Find out more
  • Statements of Need in Research Infrastructure by EPSRC Open – no closing date
  • Strategic infrastructure outlines Minimum £400k award to purchase infrastructure including equipment, resources to improve UK scientific capability and enable cutting-edge research of high priority by EPSRC Open – no closing date
  • Rapid Projects Fund by EDRC (Energy Demand Research Centre) Find out more and apply
  • SMART: SCOTLAND grants for feasibility studies for SMEs conducting feasibility studies for high-risk, highly ambitious research and development (R&D) projects by Scottish Enterprise Find out more
  • Measurement for Business (M4B) Funding by NPL for UK SME to access NPL experts and facilities Find out more and apply
  • ICURe Explore programme cohorts Find out more
  • Highlands & Islands Enterprise Innovation Grants Find out more
  • Made Smarter Adoption and Innovation: Companies in manufacturing could receive support for digital transformation, such as advice and guidance, Training, Digital intern, Match funding up to £20k for purchase of hardware and software. Find out more
  • ESA Open Call for Proposals: Proof-of-concept Studies and Pilot Projects Find out more and apply
  • ESA Open Call for Proposals: Kick-starts Find out more and apply

UK tenders

UK finance/investment opportunities

  • Defence Innovation Loans FY25/26 Cycle 7: Loans of up to £1 million with a below market interest rate of 7.4% per annum to help convert your mature defence innovation into a strong business proposition for defence procurement. Find out more
  • British Business Bank Growth Guarantee Scheme support loan sizes of up to £2m and provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee. Find out more
  • British Business Bank Investment Funds Find out more
  • British Business Bank Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans and debt finance from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million. Find out more
  • British Business Bank Investment Fund for Wales offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25,000 to £100,000, debt finance from £100,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million. Find out more

European funding calls – Maritime

European funding – applicable to maritime

Fellowships and posts

Partnership opportunities

Training opportunities

Award opportunities