MARITIME INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT
Maritime innovation in the Liverpool City Region at a glance
The Navigating Maritime Innovation (NMI) project, led by Mersey Maritime, is designed to capture, connect, and showcase the breadth of innovation across the maritime sector in the Liverpool City Region and beyond. Through data-driven mapping and direct engagement with industry, academia, and government, the project, which has been running since the start of 2025, is building an unprecedented intelligence base to help accelerate collaboration, investment, and impact.
As we enter the final stages of the information gathering stage of the project, in this special edition of our regular ‘Maritime Innovation Spotlight’ blog, we felt now was an opportune moment to reflect on some of the key findings to date, to summarise emerging themes and consider what appetite exists in the region for collaboration around maritime innovation in the future.
Technology and innovation themes
So far, our ongoing survey and engagement with the maritime sector within the Liverpool City Region is presenting many promising and important early insights. For example, responses to our comprehensive survey have already highlighted clear areas of technological focus aligned with our project themes. These include:
- Advanced Technology – 54% of identified projects so far, cover AI, digital cloud integration, automation, and advanced materials.
- Decarbonisation & net zero – 30% of projects have a strong emphasis on environmental monitoring, carbon capture, and energy infrastructure.
- Future energy – 16% of projects are focused on this imperative, spanning hydrogen, e-methanol, nuclear, hybrid solutions, and renewables like solar and wind.
These insights show a sector that is ambitious, responding to the challenge of diversification, and investing heavily in digital transformation in particular, seconded by sustainable innovation.
Collaboration at the core
The NMI project findings so far have clearly underscored a remarkable emphasis on and openness to collaboration. 94% of organisations we have engaged with to date have expressed willingness to partner with external stakeholders, demonstrating that the sector recognises the value of joint ventures, shared expertise, and cross-industry knowledge exchange. This collaborative mindset positions the Liverpool City Region as a natural hub for convening partnerships and driving maritime innovation forward.
With the Department for Transport’s recent announcement around future funding for the next phase of the UK SHORE decarbonisation programme, and further rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, this willingness to collaborate and build consortia across the industry bodes well. As in the past, Mersey Maritime stands ready to support and help our ecosystem seize the opportunities that further Government co-investment with industry will present in the future.
Demonstrable impact
Data collected through the NMI project to this point, has already revealed the scale of ambition in the innovation space that already exists and the imperative to build on such activity in the future. The data is revealing:
- £607 million in potential and ongoing funding opportunities identified.
- 62% of projects are already underway or planned within the next 12 months.
- Innovation activity is concentrated across ports and inland operations (56%), vessels (38%), and offshore infrastructure (6%), reflecting both immediate needs and long-term transformation.
- Workforce implications are significant, with most projects driving hiring and upskilling (45%) or new job creation (34%), pointing to a sector that is building capacity as well as capability.
This intelligence is not just numbers — it is a strategic roadmap to guide decision-makers, de-risk investments, and accelerate solutions to real-world maritime challenges. A key part of the future of this project will be to help our maritime ecosystem capitalise on the strategic roadmap that is being formulated in the months and years ahead.
Shaping the maritime innovation future for the LCR
By building a comprehensive, validated picture of innovation capacity, the NMI project will help to enable, evidence-based action. Whether it’s convening ‘AIM Day’ style workshops in partnership with our leading research institutions to connect industry challenges with academic expertise, or spotlighting investment-ready projects and large-scale infrastructural consortia opportunities, the initiative is laying the groundwork for systemic change across the maritime ecosystem in our region.
There’s still time to get involved!
The success of NMI depends on collective insight. We encourage all maritime organisations, whether operators, owners, academics, or innovators and even those who have capabilities in support of the maritime sector who may not currently be working in this field but have the interest to do so, to add their voice to this important work. Every contribution helps shape the roadmap for a stronger, more sustainable, and more competitive maritime future not just in our region but across the North West too. Please do so urgently though as we will shortly conclude this element of the project as we consider how best we can move towards delivery of its outcomes in a practical and meaningful way.
Contact Paul Tallon, Maritime Innovation Manager HERE
To learn more, click HERE
Add your data to the NMI survey HERE
About Navigating Maritime Innovation
Mersey Maritime’s Navigating Maritime Innovation project is intended to identify, promote, and connect world-class maritime innovation within the Liverpool City Region and promote this to a wider audience. By combining intelligence gathering with industry engagement, the project is strengthening the ecosystem, raising visibility of local capabilities, and positioning the region as a leader in maritime transformation.
