The UK’s High Level Climate Action Champion has praised the collaborative efforts of Artemis Technologies and the Belfast Maritime Consortium as they progress their project to develop new green maritime technologies.

Nigel Topping was speaking as he visited Artemis Technologies as part of a tour meeting local businesses at the forefront of addressing climate change ahead of the COP26 conference taking place in Glasgow in November.

Following the visit, he said:

“It’s great to see so much innovation using UK manufacturing and engineering skills to tackle what’s been an underappreciated part of the challenge of getting to net zero.

“It’s a great example of collaboration with 13 members in the Belfast Maritime Consortium all bringing different bits of intellectual and experiential capital to bear on what’s a very complex problem.

“We know really well the challenges that make it almost impossible for the private sector to get through the innovation ‘valley of death’ without government support.

“We really need to see government, the private sector and the academic sector all coming together so that we can get through that really difficult period when the ideas are great but they haven’t been proved yet or they haven’t been made at enough volume to get the costs down.

“A lot of our fundamental innovation breakthroughs need to be supported by governmental funding and then the private sector can just take it to scale.

“This is a brilliant news story for Belfast, Northern Ireland and the UK.”

The Belfast Maritime Consortium led by Artemis Technologies was last year awarded £33 million from the UK Research and Innovation flagship Strength in Places Fund.

The funding, combined with significant further co-investment from consortia members, will enable the development of the world’s most advanced high-speed electric ferry, propelled by the Artemis eFoilerᵀᴹ, a revolutionary electric hydrofoiling propulsion system.

David Tyler, Commercial Director, Artemis Technologies added:

“It was a pleasure to welcome the UK High Level Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping to our facility as we work towards launching the world’s most advanced high-speed zero-emission passenger ferry currently being developed with our partners in the Belfast Maritime Consortium.

“We are proud of the part we are playing in helping the UK reach net zero and are very much aware of the pivotal role we play in facilitating the green revolution both on a local and global scale.”

Appointed in 2020, Nigel Topping helps drive action from businesses, investors, cities and regions on climate change while bridging the gap between governments and business action on climate in the race to net zero.