The International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Greenhouse Gas study highlighted that maritime transportation emits around 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually and is responsible for around 2.5% of global greenhouse gas. Without action it is projected to increase between 50% and 250% by 2050\. With the ever-increasing global focus on sustainability and decarbonisation, the IMO targets a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050\. In parallel, marine authorities are mandating greener drive solutions, especially in closed areas such as marinas and city waterways. Technology has a key role to play in achieving an aggressive reduction in CO2, however, the industry must evolve to adapt new technologies that increase sustainability. This is especially true for technologies that have been developed and demonstrated in other industries already, such as the automotive and motorsport sectors. The CHAMP 2 (Clean Hybrid Alternative Marine Powertrain) project seeks to demonstrate the benefits that can be realised through clean marine propulsion systems, whilst also validating and streamlining the digital workflow used to develop them. This will allow for alternative configurations to be identified and applied in a rapid and de-risked way, and in turn to assist in catalysing the clean-up of the maritime sector. Additionally, the project will address the standardisation of supply chain input and evaluate the skills and capability gaps that need to be resolved for successful delivery.

Plymouth's Marine e-Charging Living Lab (MeLL) will offer a network of shore-side charging facilities for electric marine vessels operating in Plymouth Sound. This innovative project will expand greatly on current activities, support new business growth and the development of further electric vessels. The presence of charging equipment on multiple sites will also create a test environment for vessels of all shapes and sizes. Plymouth Sound already has two operational electric vessels, and more are currently being designed and refitted. The infrastructure created through MeLL will enable continued growth and innovation, deliver considerable economic benefits and create a blueprint that can be adapted to fit ports and harbours across the UK. The project will bring together a consortia of partners with considerable expertise in this sector, comprising the University of Plymouth, Plymouth City Council, National Grid, Western Power Distribution, Princess Yachts, Plymouth Boat Trips and Aqua Superpower. Their collective experience and knowledge will provide Plymouth with a truly unique and ground-breaking facility. In essence, the project will look at every aspect of the process and infrastructure required for clean propulsion. It will take into account supply, location, viability, demand, types of end users and research areas for forward planning, predictions and solutions-based test environments. Key areas of work will include: •Identifying suitable locations for grid connections •Installing charging facilities •Supporting differing customer demands •Further understanding the market •Identifying opportunities linked to the FreePort scheme •Collecting data to support research into environmental and other impacts •Sharing details across all partners so the model can become an adaptable framework for other locations The inclusion of industry partners means we will be able to design solutions that take into account parameters such as duty cycle, size, speed and manoeuvrability. Bringing in National Grid and Western Power Distribution will support both local grid connections and knowledge exchange, but also develop an understanding around how shore-side charging can be rolled out nationally. We will also explore ways to standardise charging points as this will be a critical step for the future. The government has made considerable commitments around the deployment of electric vehicles on land, and the innovation required to make that achievable can also be applied on water. Plymouth is already fast becoming a cluster of excellence and growth in electrification and the MeLL project will ensure it continues leading that charge.

We plan to develop and integrate three complementary novel technologies and demonstrate their application to noise and vibration cancellation. They are: a novel highly responsive, audio bandwidth combined sensor/actuator and associated "local echo canceller" for both sensing the noise and simultaneously cancelling it; novel moulded composite panels with tailorable characteristics for passive noise damping; advanced digital adaptive control algorithms. The resulting "smart panels" have potential for further added-value functionality upgrades. We will build on a previous TSB-funded project which developed the component technologies to proof-of-principle. We will reduce the size, weight and cost of our sensor/actuator and integrate it into panels; demonstrate operation of our local echo canceller; develop and demonstrate a novel real-time adaptive digital control loop; develop the panels to maximise both passive and active noise damping and to facilitate panel jointing; and demonstrate end-user applications. The growing business opportunity for "smart panels" is driven by two factors: increased awareness of the adverse effects of noise on health (reflected by increasingly stringent legislation and government policy) and the growing desire for a quieter living, working and travelling environment. Applications include buildings, cars (especially the growing number of small luxury vehicles) buses, trains, trams, boats and aircraft. In addition to product sales, IP licensing, design consultancy and firmware / functionality upgrades offer ongoing high-value revenue potential.

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