The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is inviting maritime technology providers to submit entries to the IMO CARES (Coordinated Actions to Reduce Emissions from Shipping) Maritime Technology Global Challenge, designed to accelerate the identification and deployment of innovative decarbonisation solutions for ports and domestic vessels in Africa and the Caribbean.
Technology providers can enter the Challenge and showcase market-ready solutions to help reduce GHG emissions from the maritime sector in selected developing countries in Africa and the Caribbean: Namibia, St Kitts and Nevis, as well as Trinidad and Tobago. A fourth country will be announced in the coming weeks.
Anton Rhodes, Project Manager, IMO Department of Partnerships and Projects, said: “Technology application is a vital part of the global maritime decarbonisation transition and will help to ensure that every country is empowered to move towards a low carbon future. The IMO CARES Maritime Technology Global Challenge will ensure that domestic shipping and ports in the four target countries will receive technical proposals for mature green technologies that address their specific needs – and can be applied to other countries in the region that are facing similar issues. This Challenge will bolster the adoption of green technologies in both regions and support a just and equitable maritime transition.”
The IMO CARES project places a strong emphasis on supporting climate-vulnerable countries, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It is funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is implemented by the IMO. The project aims to coordinate and link various global initiatives to accelerate the decarbonisation process of the maritime sector in developing countries.
Winners will be selected by an independent judging panel and results will be announced at end-January 2024. The winners will be expected to submit their final proposals by April 2024. Up to four winning technology providers will be selected and will receive funding of US$ 15,000 to 30,000 to develop bespoke technical proposals for the implementation of their solutions in the specific countries. Additional funds may be made available at a later stage for the demonstration of the winning technologies in each participating country, under the Global MTCC Network (GMN) project, funded by the European Union.
