MariLight2 is an ambitious, forward-thinking yearlong project funded by Innovate UK. Building on MariLight, it seeks to further develop Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) technologies that will revolutionise the way ships, boats, and other marine structures are designed and fabricated in the UK, looking to deliver unrivalled lightweighting opportunities that could reduce ship emissions by over 10%, and emissions from fabrication processes by over 37%.
The LSAM technologies facilitate design freedoms that will result in significant reductions in vessel weight and associated through-life emissions without any reduction in performance. Optimised, automated production methods will deliver over 50% productivity gains compared to traditional manufacturing methods, with decreased material requirement and virtually no scrap content. Five of the MariLight2 partners worked together in the original MariLight feasibility project (CMDC2) and now, joined by an additional three partners, are working together to take those developments to pre-deployment stage; printing, certifying, and functionally testing optimised structural steel components. Across the partners, each leaders in their field, they boast a range of specialisms, from design, manufacturing, and technology providers, to those assisting with the development and delivery these of new design and fabrication processes.

Successful project outcomes are predicted to contribute significantly to the UK economy, creating new market opportunities worth circa £300M, as well as safeguarding and creating over 300 jobs, and generating indirect employment for 5,000 individuals by 2030 across the UK. The deliverables are poised to increase large-scale manufacturing production capacity, reliability, and productivity, and reduce operational costs, such as delay and manual handling, by up to 90%.

MariLight2 is predicted to significantly decrease the use of steel in manufacturing – with projected savings of 3 million tonnes of steel in global shipbuilding annually. It will also mitigate approximately 12 million tonnes of CO2e, aligning with the UK’s net-zero 2050 target.

You can read more on the key milestones, deliverables, and anticipated impact in our MariLight brochure.