Frontier’s interim evaluation of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme sets out early evidence on how targeted public investment can accelerate the transition to net zero in the UK’s maritime sector.

Funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), UK SHORE is a multi-year initiative aimed at driving innovation in clean maritime technologies.  Frontier, in partnership with SYSTRA, have provided early insights into emerging outcomes and impacts of the programme, and processes for delivering UK SHORE projects.

A portfolio of projects

From vessel retrofits to shore power and green fuels, UK SHORE is backing a wide range of decarbonisation solutions through a total of £236 million government funding.

Schemes within the portfolio target projects at different stages in their innovation cycle – from projects still assessing feasibility to those ready to trial deployment.

Powering further investment

In addition to the total government funding, UK SHORE generated approximately £120 million of match funding across the schemes included in the evaluation. UK SHORE powered additional funding beyond the matched funding, supporting some projects to receive other grants and gain investors.

Future potential emission savings

It’s too early to see significant environmental benefits for the early-stage innovation projects evaluated. But many organisations involved reported that they expect to see both emission savings in the future.   Later-stage projects are now commencing demonstrations on the water and these can be expected to have more immediate emission benefits.

Potential contribution to local growth

UK SHORE has provided funded across all regions in the UK  . The long-term impact  on areas which received funding is yet to be evidenced, although around 40% of projects created jobs during the delivery phase of their projects.

Frontier and SYSTRA’s analysis will continue to feed into the ongoing evaluation of UK SHORE, with a final report due later in 2025.

Click here to read the full interim report: UK SHORE Interim Report