Britishvolt, the company building an electric vehicle battery factory in north-east England, said it has received a "strategic investment" from shipping firm Scorpio Group.
In partnership with the Monaco-headquartered shipping group, the company said it will seek to contribute to battery innovation in the maritime space.
With around 90% of world trade carried by marine vessels, shipping is one of the most polluting industries, with more than 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions attributed to ocean-going ships.
Kasra Pezeshki, Britishvolt's chief investment officer, said: “These more polluting, heavy duty, modes of transport need to look at best solutions for lowering emissions.
“Britishvolt batteries can play an integral part in that. The news is the perfect curtain raiser for further announcements that will be following shortly regarding our cell chemistries and formats.”
Filippo Lauro, Scorpio's vice-president, said the pair "will be able to work together to further accelerate green-propulsion and potentially power storage solutions for maritime".
The investment follows the £200mln raised in a funding round in February, where commodities group Glencore committed £40mln.
Also this year, Britishvolt has signed agreements with Lotus Cars to develop an electric sports car powered by Britishvolt cells and with Aston Martin towards the launch of its first battery electric vehicle in 2025.
Orral Nadjari, Britishvolt's founder and chief executive, said: “Britishvolt will be a leader in the most important race facing humanity and our planet – the race to carbon net zero. Or in this case 'wave to zero'.”