Belfast Harbour: £15m into zero-emission transport testing project

Belfast Harbour is to become a live environment for testing zero-emission transport and energy systems.

It comes after a £15m investment from UK Research and Innovation's Local Innovation Partnerships Fund.

The cluster led by Artemis Technologies, will connect electric vessels, high-power marine charging, autonomous transport and energy systems through secure digital twin technology.

Testing these technologies in an operational port will show how they work as an integrated system and help reduce barriers to commercial adoption.

Artemis Technologies CEO Dr Iain Percy said they are creating a digital network that will allow them to "optimise" both transport and energy use.

"What does that mean for most people? It means your bus turns up at the right time in terms of transport.

"But in terms of energy it means, more significantly that when the wind is blowing too hard, the network tells our boat 'take the power' and ultimately as we build up, it tells Belfast Harbour which uses a huge amount of energy 'take that energy'.

"Equally when the wind doesn't blow, it says 'don't use that energy' and what does that mean?

"It means we don't have to shut down windfarms and ultimately lower energy prices," he added.

This is the second project announced from the £30m allocation to the Belfast-Derry Innovation Corridor.

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: "It will be developing to try and match up the energy supply with the demands of the harbour, which is a really big user.

"We are really world leading in terms of this so it is a really good investment," she added.

It's hoped what is learned in this project could have wider applications across Northern Ireland.

Dr Percy said: "Where the real accelerator value add comes in here, what can be done on that network can be rinse and repeat anywhere else."

"We already have real buy in from Foyle Port and other regions within Northern Ireland," he added.

£100m 'global players' wind farm deal to create 300 jobs

More than 3,000 homes planned as part of £1.3bn harbour upgrade