The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced £15.6 million of funding from the Levelling Up Fund for the Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre in North Devon which will research green technology and work with local universities and private companies to bring investment and directly create nearly 100 high skilled jobs.
The centre, which represents the largest ever amount of funding and project investment undertaken in Torridge, has already received support from a range of partners as well as government agencies such as the National Shipbuilding Office. The development will establish Torridge and North Devon as a global-leading research and development destination for innovation in clean maritime technology and support industries.
Expected to open in 2025, the centre will feature cutting-edge research and industry partnerships from the Centre for Future Clean Mobility (CFCM, University of Exeter) and the University of Plymouth offshore renewable and maritime autonomy specialisms. The complex will also incorporate a range of offices and flexibly designed workshops to support businesses to innovate.
CFCM’s global-leading research into clean maritime propulsion will support the re-positioning of Appledore as a centre of excellence for clean-propulsion shipbuilding as the movement away from diesel intensifies over the next few years. The project will also capitalise on the Crown Estate’s plans to develop an initial 4GW of Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) energy generation in the Celtic Sea, enough to power around 3 million homes, and the Innovation Centre’s waterfront location next to the Harland & Wolff shipyard. The complex will be a catalyst for jobs and economic regeneration in the area creating a unique mix of research, education, commercialisation and business development opportunities.
