The North East has long been proud of its ability to secure inward investment. Now that we’re increasingly being seen as a green industry world leader we should be prouder than ever.
The world knows what needs to happen next to safeguard our global future. In the UK, North East England will lead. It’s ironic then, that our fossil fuel dominated past means our region is so well placed. Coal dominated our industrial heritage before we progressed to the oil and gas industry. Together, it adds up to an unmatched legacy of engineering expertise, re-purposed sites, and supply chains.
Week by week, we’re taking this message to the world. Last month I visited Wind Energy Hamburg as part of the Energi Coast delegation - representing the region’s offshore wind supply chain. There were also representatives from Ports Blyth and Tyne, as well as a host of North East supply chain companies.
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Increasingly, we find, our reputation precedes us. There’s so much to tell the world about our achievements that it’s hard to find the space for wider context in what is a very long list.
But here’s just a fraction of it…
Firstly, we’re less than 150 miles from Dogger Bank Wind Farm - no less than the biggest wind farm in the world. Such wind farms are another North East legacy industry - the Port of Blyth was home to the world’s first offshore wind farm. Now it’s home to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, the UK’s flagship technology innovation and research centre for advancing wind, wave and tidal energy. Also at the port, JDR Cable Systems is building a £130m subsea cable manufacturing plant.
The Port of Tyne is home to Equinor and SSE Renewables’ operations and maintenance facility serving Dogger Bank and creating 400 jobs. The port also recently launched the Tyne Clean Energy Park - offering an extensive range of sites for offshore renewable companies.
The River Wear and Port of Sunderland is also supporting the green energy sector with global tenants such as Boskalis and Liebherr.
Elsewhere names like Neptune, Swans and Hadrian continue to connect us with our industrial heritage. Today these famous former shipyards are focused on renewable energy developments. For example, Hadrian Yard hosts Smulders Projects which has been fabricating foundations for offshore wind turbines and is shortly to be manufacturing wind turbine transition pieces.
More widely, the North East and Tees Valley is a leading UK heat network cluster and has the fastest-growing regional pipeline of projects.
Just last month Invest North East England represented the region at the Battery Show in Detroit, attended by thousands of battery and electric hybrid and vehicle technology engineers, directors, and executives. In Britain, since 2011, manufacturers have committed £10.8bn in UK electric vehicle and battery research and development. Almost 40% of that has been in the North East with international companies including Nissan, Turntide Technologies and Envision.
We’re able to represent the region with confidence and ambition because everywhere you look in the North East you can find examples of green industry firsts, bests and biggest. Our future has grown from our history. We should be so proud of both as well as our vital role to come.
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