Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre

The Appledore clean maritime innovation centre represents a global innovation project in the heart of Appledore with £15.6 million in Government Funding. The Centre will be the largest ever amount of funding and project investment undertaken in Torridge and has received support from a range of globally innovative partners as well as government agencies such as the National Shipbuilding Office. The development will establish Torridge and wider northern 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.

Alongside this, and following the installation of northern Devon's first seaweed farm, there has been significant interest to support the growing local seaweed sector- an industry predicted to be worth around €9bn annually by 2030 across Europe. This includes the development of seaweed biproducts such as plastic replacements and pharmaceuticals, efforts that the University of Plymouth will be supporting. Forecasts indicate that the proposals are expected to create around 90 jobs and bring an estimated injection of over £60 million into the local economy over the next 30 years.

A key role of the centre is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers with dedicated space set aside for education and engagement activities. Working together with the two university research partners, Petroc and the staff within their University Centre, will be driving a pipeline of courses to develop skills locally for roles in clean maritime, environmental management and preparing for the future green hydrogen deployment. Local educational initiatives will work in tandem with regional partners under the banner of the South West Institute of Technology (SWIoT) and international partners such as the Moroccan renewable college group IFMEREE.