Call for Proposals: Maritime Decarbonisation Programme

Additionally, the call seeks to assist the maritime sector in adapting to and complying with new European and international regulatory frameworks.

Maritime decarbonisation is a central element of maritime sustainability. Shipping is recognised as the most efficient form of commercial transport in terms of CO2 emissions per tonne of cargo transported in one mile. However, due to the scale of the industry, maritime transport is still a significant contributor to the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions (around 3% of total global CO2 emissions).

In recent years, there have been significant efforts to enhance fuel efficiency on various fronts, such route optimisation or hull and propeller design. However, achieving net-zero goals requires a profound transformation of the sector, where space assets are poised to play an integral role. This transformation is not only prompted by societal and economic pressures, but it is also underpinned by the release of several long-awaited regulatory frameworks from European and International maritime authorities.

Sub-Themes

• Maritime decarbonisation is a broad subject that requires the involvement and advancements from various stakeholders. To mirror the multifaceted nature of the required transformations and address the specific needs of different decarbonisation approaches, the Call has been organised into sub-themes, each open at a different point in time. Please see the list of currently open or upcoming funding calls and their further specific details below:
  • Decarbonisation through Maritime Autonomy (opening: September 2024)
    • Includes topics such as:
      • initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions through increased autonomy
      • resilient and ubiquitous connectivity
      • precision positioning and timing services
  • Ports Decarbonisation (opening: November 2024)
    • Includes topics such as:
      • Optimisation of Port Operations
      • Dock Electrification
      • Ports as a gateway to offshore energy
      • Green fuels storage, distribution, and usage.
  • Green Propulsion (opening: January 2025)
    • Incudes topics related to:
      • challenges and opportunities that the maritime industry will encounter in adopting alternative non-fossil fuels, including aspects like supply chain monitoring, provenance audit, and disposal.
      • alternative propulsion systems such as Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS)
      • after-treatment systems like Onboard Carbon Capture (OCC) systems.

About the Opportunity

• As part of this Call for Proposals, ESA will support Feasibility Studies and Demonstration Projects under this ‘Announcement of Opportunities’ as a ‘Thematic for Proposals’:
  • Feasibility Studies allow successful teams to analyse, design and plan their intended service.
  • Demonstration Projects allow successful teams to put their intended service into practice. Teams will test their service in the market by running a pilot with significant users and, by the end of the project, the service should be operational.

Funding Information

• Feasibility studies: Max 500k EUR, 50-80% funded by ESA (can be 100% for research institutions)
• Demonstration projects: No max cost, 50-80% funded by ESA (dependent on delegation decision)

Value of Space 

• Satellite technologies and data have a significant role to play within the proposed services:
  • Satellite Positioning and timing: SOLAS Regulation V/19.2.1.6 requires all ships – irrespective of size – to have a receiver for a global navigation satellite system. Most logistics and digitalisation services rely on ships’ GNSS as the sole positioning data input. Additionally, GNSS reflectometry can be used to derive sea state for smart routing solutions, and advanced GNSS (e.g. RTK) may be used for high accuracy applications such as autonomous systems.
  • Satellite Communications: Satellite connectivity is central to maritime decarbonisation and autonomous shipping. Satellite communications allow ubiquitous real-time connectivity securing a ship-to-shore channel and underpinning data analytics applications. In addition to generic VSAT, IoT, and LEO mega-constellation connectivity solutions, satellites also deliver maritime specific services such as the GMDSS, and satellite AIS, and VDES.
  • Satellite Earth Observation: SatEO is routinely used to improve situational awareness on maritime operations including sea state, weather conditions, or hazards such as the presence of ice, which will be used as actionable input for maritime decarbonisation. SatEO is also used to assess the environmental impact of ships and ports, as well as to monitor fuel supply chain.

Eligibility Criteria

• For this call, companies residing in the following Member States will be eligible to apply: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
• Funded participation is open to any company and/or organisation, be it as a group of users, public body or non-governmental organisation, residing in any of the ESA Member States that are participating to the programme as specified in the Letter of Invitation in esa-star.
• The applicable funding level of the individual prime- or subcontractors is subject to authorisation by the involved National Delegation(s). Therefore, bidding teams are requested to obtain a Letter of Authorisation from all their national delegations before submitting a Full Proposal.

For more information, visit ESA.