A ground-breaking £15.6m has successfully been awarded to Torridge District Council from Levelling up Funding towards the build of the Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre. The new Levelling Up Clean Maritime Centre will provide the base for national scale research and innovation and will obtain the status of a national facility for clean propulsion.
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. CFCM is at the forefront of global research into clean maritime propulsion solutions and will lead and deliver the clean propulsion work within this project. This project will 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.
“I am delighted to lead the Clean Propulsion sector of this forward-thinking project to create a facility for innovation to meet the demand from the expanding market for zero emissions propulsion systems in the maritime sector.”
Professor Chris Smith, the Director of the Centre for Future Clean Mobility
BBC Press Release: Levelling up funding for Okehampton, Exmouth and Appledore – BBC News