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Northumberland
Energy for the future
World-leading renewable and low energy carbon technologies are being developed at the New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in Northumberland. This has research and testing facilities for wind turbines and blades, photovoltaic (PV) energy from light cells, wave and tidal power machines and subsea systems. The Port of Blyth has deep-water berths with large cargo handling capabilities.
Leading international companies such as Clipper Windpower have been attracted to the area because of the resources and work being carried out at Narec. The company has located its European research centre in Northumberland, where it has developed the world’s largest offshore wind turbine through the Britannia Project.
Northumberland has abundant supplies of water. Kielder, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in Europe, was built in the middle of vast forests. The county also has large areas of farmland where there is the potential to grow substantial quantities of energy crops and produce biomass fuels.
In the Blyth Valley and Wansbeck areas of south-east of Northumberland, centred on the towns of Cramlington and Ashington, are important manufacturing complexes. These have superb industrial parks that provide a base for significant concentrations of pharmaceutical and engineering companies.
Northumberland also has some of the most attractive coastline and countryside in the UK, as well as the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site. This has enabled the county to build a thriving and rapidly growing visitor economy. And a comprehensive broadband infrastructure has encouraged the development of innovative hi-tech businesses close to market towns such as Morpeth, Alnwick and Hexham, and in purpose-built centres in rural areas.
The US energy giant Clipper Windpower has developed a wind turbine in Northumberland that is able of generating enough power for 5,500 homes. The company is in prime position to seize the opportunities emerging from the projected creation of enormous offshore wind farms in the North Sea off Northumberland.
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The major Japanese group Yanmar, which manufactures diesel engines for industrial, agricultural and military uses, is developing a small-scale combined heat and power system. It is carrying out R&D work on its biodiesel technology at NaREC, and making use of the centre’s Clothier testing facilities.
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Aesica’s manufacturing site at Cramlington produces active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for the drugs and biotechnology markets worldwide. The company has two computer controlled plants at the complex and a technical centre with state-of-the-art process development capabilities.
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ComeSys Europe, also based in Cramlington, designs and manufactures advanced electronic control systems for all types of commercial vehicles and industrial applications. It has five main categories of products – drive-by-wire accelerator pedals, hand controls, thermal systems, instrumentation and sensors.
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Based at Prudhoe, The Specials Laboratory is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in the UK, producing medicines for hospitals and high street retailers. It also has clean room facilities for packaging test samples of newly developed drugs.
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This website is your guide to doing business in North East England and the range of inward investment support services from One North East.
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Nissan is building a £200 million European battery plant in Sunderland. The North East will have the UK’s first comprehensive infrastructure of electric vehicle... 
Advanced technologies in wind and solar power generation have been created. Biofuels and biomass are rapidly expanding, and innovations in fuel cells... 
Huge offshore wind farms planned for the North Sea have placed North East England in an ideal position to manufacture large numbers of turbines for these farms. 
Driving this sector are pharmaceuticals, world beating stem cells and genetic research, drug discovery and protein diagnostic techniques... 
The digital games industry, with Digital City as a focus, is a driving force in the creative field, while Sage has a commanding position in software development. 
The North East has major base chemicals & petrochemical complexes, alongside fine & speciality chemicals & pharmaceuticals. Biotechnology... 
Automotive manufacturing dominates this sector – Nissan in cars, and Komatsu and Caterpillar in heavy earth-moving vehicles. Defence, aerospace and marine... 
World leading subsea technologies have been developed to extract deeper oil and gas reserves, the North East has major pipeline terminals, processing... 
North East England is leading the way with a technology that allows electronic circuits to be made using specially developed semi-conductive materials. 
Exciting developments are taking place in printed electronics, with PETEC, the national centre for this future industry, located in the North East. Nanotechnology... 
Knowledge intensive business services in areas such as finance, legal services, human resources, management consultancy and marketing are expanding... 