The Belfast Maritime Consortium, partnering with Artemis Technologies Ltd has been award a £33m grant from the UK government to build zero-emission ferries in Belfast.

The project, hope to revolutionise maritime transport Belfast will initially create 125 research and development jobs in the city and a further 1,000 over the next ten years.

The entire project will cost £63m, with the remainder of the funding coming from The Maritime Consortium partners.

The ferries run on innovated technology that has been used by America’s Cup racing team Artemis Racing, the sister company of Artemis Technologies.

Developing the eFoiler Propulsion System, which is designed to reduce the energy used by the ferries by 90 per cent, the company hopes the project will reinvigorate a strategically important maritime cluster in Belfast.

Artemis Technologies is led by double Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy who said: “When we launched Artemis Technologies, we decided to base ourselves in Belfast because of the incredible aerospace and composite engineering talent available.

“Belfast’s local expertise coupled with the city’s rich shipbuilding heritage, and our own America’s Cup yacht design experience, will ensure Belfast is the global lead in zero emissions maritime technology.

“For years, we’ve been designing low energy, high performance solutions for some of the fastest yachts on the planet, and we will now utilise that knowledge, and along with our partners, apply it to build the world’s most environmentally friendly high-speed ferries, capable of carrying up to 350 passengers.

“Our concept for an electric hydrofoil propulsion system is totally unique and will enable vessels of the future to operate with up to 90% less energy, and produce zero emissions during operation.

“As cities across the world seek ways to reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion, the transformative vessels to be produced right here in Belfast, will have a global role to play in delivering the connected maritime transport system of the future.

“This investment from the UKRI Strength in Places Fund is a major endorsement of what we are trying to achieve, which we strongly believe will see Northern Ireland at the centre of the revolution in water transport.”

Northern Ireland can help lead the way with world-class manufacturing and technology development.