EU Funding for Hydrogen Powered Ferry

Scotland-based Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd wins a bid for EU funding to build the world’s first hydrogen powered ferry.

13:51 22 June 2018

Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL), the last remaining shipbuilder on the lower Clyde, has been awarded the £9.3million European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation fund to build the world’s first hydrogen powered ferry. The project is scheduled to start on 1 July.

 

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf, said: “I am delighted to see FMEL play their part in winning this landmark bid. This project will also help showcase the skills and facilities on offer at the shipyard. I will be following it with great interest and look forward to seeing Scottish enterprise delivering a world first.”

 

Commenting on the announcement, Smith, who first initiated the project with a feasibility study in 2012 said: “This is a very exciting stage to be at now. This opens the real possibility of Scotland and her key European partners delivering another world-first not simply in ship-building but also in building sustainable local sources of fuelling in parallel.”  

 

Jim McColl, Chairman and Chief Executive of Clyde Blowers Capital, which bought the Port Glasgow based Ferguson Marine in 2014, said: “Ferguson’s was the last full-service commercial shipyard on the River Clyde. Since taking over in 2014, we have invested £25 million to bring the yard up to the world-class standards with a new, skilled workforce, that has provided the confidence in leading this hugely important, ground-breaking project.”