In this project, the Dover Clean Ferry Power (DCFP) consortium focuses on the development of innovative solutions to accelerate the adoption of (plug in) hybrid or fully electric propulsion vessels in the Short Straits (Dover to Calais and Dunkirk) ferry fleet, with the potential to extend to cruise and cargo operators if appropriate. The project takes the Port of Dover (PoD), the busiest ferry port in the UK, as its feasibility case and investigates alternative, reliable pathways for the provision of electricity for Channel crossing ferries at the PoD over short, medium and long-term planning horizons, ultimately working towards a future where the unique capacity and resilience of the shortest crossing to Europe can be sustainably delivered for the nation. The DCFP project partners will collaborate over seven months to identify the current and future electrical power demands of the ferries operating at the PoD. It will find viable, sustainable emissions-minimising pathways for the on-shore supply of the required demand, with minimum impact on the daily business of the port and its ferries. This project will support the delivery of the Port of Dover Air Quality Action Plan as well as Net Zero delivery for the port, operators and customers. This will ultimately help meet the zero emissions shipping ambitions of UK's 'Clean Maritime Plan', envisaging the UK as a global leader in clean shipping by 2050\.

The i-HEATS project aims to develop an intelligent engine condition monitoring and diagnostics system based on first-principles digital twins and data-driven models. The project has direct application to ship and land power plants, endeavouring to provide a game-change in the condition monitoring of internal combustion engines. I4.0 technologies will be employed leading to the development of intelligent tools, including digital twins, deep learning, sensors fusion, and cloud computing. The novel areas of the project include the use of a unique, custom made, data acquisition system for measuring the instantaneous shaft torque, storage and analysis of acquired data locally and on cloud (edge/cloud computing), a first-principle based engine digital twin integrating thermodynamic and crankshaft/shafting system dynamics models, data-driven models based on deep learning techniques complementing the digital twins to offer real-time predictive capabilities, developed data-driven model to identify and rectify inaccuracies of critical sensors of the measured parameters (sensor fusion), data-driven algorithms to monitor engine condition and provide diagnostics based on the measured instantaneous torque and other critical parameters. The prototype i-HEATS system will be developed and tested by integrating the above tools with appropriate hardware and user interfaces and subsequently will be extensively tested in lab and full-scale conditions leading to a pre-commercial version. The developed system will be capable of monitoring engine condition and providing timely diagnostics based on indicators relevant to performance, maintenance, emissions, and operating costs. The i-HEATS system will be implemented for the two typical engine types used for ship power plants. This project provides a sophisticated and innovative engine condition monitoring and diagnostics system with tangible benefits on fuel efficiency, environmental footprint reduction, engine reliability improvement, and the reduction of the operating fuel and the maintenance costs. The i-HEATS project advances and innovation will pave the way towards the development of future smart ship systems.

The LHOFT Project - Liverpool - Humber Optimisation of Freight Transport uniquely brings together the combined strength of a major cargo owner (Unilever) the two key port operators at each end of the M62 corridor (ABP on the Humber and Peel Ports on the Mersey) to combine with experts from the rail industry to input into a study lead by the University of Hull's Logisitics Institute to develop an end-to-end journey model that promotes the diversion of trade from long distance North-South road routes to ports on the East and West of the country. These freight journey's could be further optimised by the use of rail and offers the potential for a huge reduction in the number of freight miles on the UK road system. Technology to be developed by the University will enable multiple cargo owners to pool volumes to de-risk new sea and rail services through northern ports so removing risk barrier that prevents more cargo using northern ports today. Flows to be targetted include ferry services to the continent and all container services where the origin or destination of the cargo is on the M62 corridor.