UK Innovation Zones

UKIZ Zone · potential location: Teesside and the Humber

Teesside & Humber

Clean energy and green industry

Proposed by UKIZ · not a government designation

The zone

01THE MISSION

Use existing industrial infrastructure, port access and energy complexes to make Britain a place where clean energy technology is not only researched but built, financed and exported.

02WHY IT MATTERS

  • Clean energy technology manufactured, not only imported
  • High-value industrial employment in existing industrial regions
  • Export of British engineering capability into global energy transition markets

Comparable in function to NEOM's green hydrogen zone or Masdar's clean energy cluster.

03WHY THIS LOCATION

  • Teesside is already a major UK clean energy hub.
  • Large-scale industrial, energy and chemical complexes are in place.
  • Port access for export of components and fuels.
  • An established engineering skills pipeline.

04EXISTING STRENGTHS

  • Teesside Freeport
  • PD Ports
  • Wilton International
  • Dogger Bank offshore wind
  • Regional hydrogen projects

05WHO BELONGS HERE

  • Energy developers and operators
  • Industrial decarbonisation teams
  • Infrastructure and project finance
  • Chemical and process engineering companies

06INDUSTRIES

  • Hydrogen
  • Offshore wind
  • Carbon capture and storage
  • Green fuels
  • Chemical process innovation
  • Recycling and the circular economy

07UNIVERSITIES & RESEARCH

  • Teesside University
  • University of Hull
  • Durham University

08INFRASTRUCTURE

  • Grid capacity and industrial energy supply
  • Deep-water port and heavy logistics
  • Process plant and demonstration facilities
  • Storage and pipeline infrastructure

09THE COMMERCIALISATION PATH

  1. Research
  2. Problem
  3. Prototype
  4. Company
  5. Capital
  6. Customer
  7. Scale
  8. Export

10WHAT SUCCESS COULD CREATE

  • Clean energy technology manufactured, not only imported
  • High-value industrial employment in existing industrial regions
  • Export of British engineering capability into global energy transition markets

Described as outcomes rather than forecasts. UKIZ makes no projections it cannot evidence.

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What are you working on?

If this mission is your world — as a founder, researcher, operator, investor or institution — tell us what you could contribute and what you need.

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