Turning ambition into action: Building the future of clean maritime on Teesside
This summer, Tees Maritime welcomed representatives from the Department for Transport and Innovate UK Business Connect to the Tees Valley as part of the regional UK SHORE roadshow.
Hosted by PD Ports, the session brought together businesses from across the region to explore the opportunities presented by the latest rounds of UK SHORE funding, including CMDC7 and ZEVI2, and what they could mean for Teesside.
Funding was, of course, part of the conversation.
But it quickly became clear that the bigger opportunity wasn’t individual bids. It was collaboration.
Throughout the discussion, businesses shared the challenges they are trying to solve, the technologies already being developed across the region and the barriers to deploying them at scale. Just as importantly, they began identifying where those challenges overlap and where working together could unlock opportunities that would be difficult to achieve alone.
One comment from the day summed it up perfectly.
“This region has a real history of innovation.”
It’s true.
Teesside has spent generations solving complex industrial challenges. Today, that same expertise exists across clean energy, advanced manufacturing, ports, engineering, digital technology and maritime operations. The capability is here. The ambition is here. The challenge is connecting it in the right way.
That is where Tees Maritime can make a difference.
One of our roles is to bring together organisations that may not otherwise find themselves around the same table, creating the space for conversations that lead to partnerships, new ideas and, ultimately, projects that benefit the whole region.
The UK SHORE session was a great example of that in practice.
The panel discussion, supported by Simon Buckley, Josey Wardle and Joshua McMullan, helped ground the conversation in the realities of delivering innovation. Rather than talking about technology in isolation, the discussion focused on what practical deployment looks like, what businesses need to move forward and where collaboration could accelerate progress.
Those conversations won’t end with the event.
Our next step is to continue bringing together industry, energy, technology and education partners to explore where there are opportunities to develop collaborative projects that support both the region’s ambitions and the UK’s transition to cleaner maritime operations.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, contributed to the discussion and shared their expertise so openly. We’d also like to thank PD Ports for hosting the event and providing the perfect setting for the conversation.
Innovation has always been one of Teesside’s strengths.
By continuing to connect the right people, we can help ensure it remains one of our greatest opportunities for the future.