Green Ports: The Port of Tyne’s growing sustainable innovation ecosystem

The Port of Tyne in South and North Tyneside continues to be a vital economic driver for the North East, celebrating a year of significant growth and innovation.

As the UK’s second-largest car export hub, handling up to 600,000 vehicles annually, the Port holds a strong reputation within the automotive sector.

Fresh from Maritime Innovation Week 2024, dedicated to advancing sustainable innovation in the maritime industry, the NEAA caught up with representatives from the Port of Tyne to discuss their ambitious Tyne 2050 strategy. This forward-thinking vision and transformation is leading the way in key areas such as environment and technology, as well as collaboration and innovation. The Port’s Innovation Hub plays a pivotal role in supporting these initiatives and positioning the North East as a leader in the maritime sector.

Firstly, can you tell us more about the Port of Tyne and outline its key services and markets?

There has been a port on the River Tyne for over 2,000 years. Today, the Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports – delivering bespoke solutions for the green energy sector, supporting world leaders in the automotive transition, handling specialised bulk and containerised products, alongside delivery logistics, and assisting growing passenger numbers via the regionally important International Passenger Terminal.

Overall, the Port of Tyne adds £720 million to the North East economy, supporting 11,000 jobs directly and indirectly and. As one of the UK’s largest trust ports, the port is entirely self-financing and runs on a commercial basis, reinvesting all its surpluses back into facilities along the River Tyne for the benefit of the North East and all its stakeholders.

The Port of Tyne is committed to a cleaner, greener future and the ambitious Tyne 2050 is a key part of this; can you tell us more about this vision?

Tyne 2050 is a long-term strategic vision that is guiding the Port of Tyne to see the River Tyne become a gateway to help transform both the region and the maritime industry.

With a set of intentionally ambitious goals, it is fully aligned to the Government’s Maritime 2050 strategy and to the North East Economic Plan. These include the Port being carbon neutral and a smart port by 2030, by becoming a test bed for clean energy, an all-electric port.

What is the 2050 Maritime Innovation Hub and how is this partnership supporting the Northeast region?

The UK’s first Maritime Innovation Hub is here in the North East at the Port of Tyne, providing a test-bed for new technologies, where best practice is shared to benefit the entire maritime industry.

In 2019, the then Government laid out its aim to set up a cross-sector innovation hub in a UK port by 2030. 11 years ahead of schedule, the 2050 Maritime Innovation Hub opened its doors.

The Hub is one of the region’s premier innovation assets. Used as a clean energy testbed, the Hub provides a place for businesses to test and develop new products before bringing them to market.

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