invest north east england

Back in 2001 Regional Development Agency One North East’s ‘Strategy for Success’ identified potential growth areas for the region. The intention, to move away from the manufacturing based industries which had traditionally dominated, to more modern, high-value sectors.

Under the strategy, the north east would look to develop its capabilities in three key areas of opportunity; renewable energy (specifically offshore wind), electric vehicles and process technology. In each the objective was to leverage the region’s existing areas of expertise (particularly in the automotive and oil and gas sectors), and to build up an infrastructure and knowledge base that would attract additional public and private sector investment.
Since then over £200m has been invested in developing North East England's world-leading expertise in emerging technologies for growing markets and in the commercial exploitation of those technologies.

Offshore Wind Power

At the heart of renewables development in North East England is the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC). Launched in 2002 with funding from One North East and the Government, the facility is a centre for excellence for wind and marine technologies, distributed energy and electrical networks.

As Britain’s only dedicated test centre for large scale offshore devices it has in particular come to play a major role in the wind industry. Through a programme of strategic investments NAREC has been able to attract private companies such as Clipper Windpower to the area; who are currently developing a 10MW turbine (the world’s largest) in the area.

The success of the Centre has also seen Westminster provide funding. In 2009 the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan set aside a £10 million grant to provide testing infrastructure for marine drive systems and other component parts. Again the strategy has proved successful with sector leaders like Aquamarine Power and Trident Energy basing much of their trial work in the area.

Electric Vehicles

With more then 200 automotive companies already based in the north east (among them Nissan, the UK’s largest manufacturer), the Government’s aspiration for the nation-wide roll out of electric vehicles was always going to present a major opportunity. Indeed, the region was nominated as the UK’s low carbon economic area for ultra-low-carbon vehicles in 2009.

One North East has already started coordinating a trial of new electric vehicles with Nissan and Smith (one of the world leaders in commercial EVs), and is now pressing ahead with a programme to develop the UK’s first extensive charging infrastructure. On top of this a range of facilities will be developed as a part of the low-carbon zone, including the first training centre to specialise in the manufacture and maintenance of electric vehicles and an open access test track.

In total, One North East plans to invest some £30m in the sector. This comes in addition to funds already granted by the UK and European Governments, and which taken together have played a major role in convincing Nissan to choose its Sunderland plant as the location for the development of its electric battery, also positioning the region as one of the leading contenders for the manufacture of the actual vehicle.

Process Technology

The CPI (Centre for Process Innovation) concentrates on process technologies, fuel cells, functional materials and printable electronics. Recent estimates suggest that the process sector is now worth more than £70 billion (of which the North East contributes some 25%) and is one of the UK’s fastest growing industries. One North East has looked to capitalise on this through a series of grants, which have acted as a beacon for further investment.

The strategy has resulted in a number of important successes, most notably when the Government announced £12 million in funding for an open access demonstrator facility for the biotechnology industry as well as a £20 million expansion of the Printable Electronic Technology Centre (of which One North East provided £8 million). The latter will create up to 250 jobs in the region and 1,500 jobs nationally over the next four years.