Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport have announced a partnership to create a green freight corridor, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in transport and foster skills and job growth across the region.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Freeport East CEO, Steve Beel, and Tom Newman-Taylor, CEO of East Midlands Freeport, underscoring their commitment to collaborate with public and private sector partners, especially in the logistics industry, to develop a greener transportation corridor.
By pooling their resources, the freeports aim to accelerate the adoption of technologies like green hydrogen, electric charging systems and digital twins to drive decarbonisation efforts.
With over 5,000 trucks and daily freight trains departing from the Freeport East area, and East Midlands Freeport situated in the logistics Golden Triangle, the corridor offers great potential to reduce the carbon footprint of goods entering and leaving the UK.
Key projects already underway to support the corridor include the development of green logistics infrastructure in Felixstowe, Stowmarket and East Midlands Gateway.
Freeport East is also spearheading the development of a Green Hydrogen Hub, while East Midlands Freeport is facilitating the transition of the UK’s last coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe on Soar into a clean energy production hub.
Rachel Eburne, Mid Suffolk District Councillor and Director of Freeport East, said: “Transport emissions must be cut if we are to meet net zero targets, so we welcome this agreement between Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport and hope it will inspire even wider collaboration, ideas and action.”
Tom Newman-Taylor, Chief Executive of East Midlands Freeport, said: “This exciting initiative illustrates how Freeports can be forerunners in the decarbonisation of transport and industry.”
Peter Jones, Head of Green Hydrogen at ScottishPower, said: “This is an encouraging step forward in the drive to develop the hydrogen economy. Collaborations like this provide focus on the pathways necessary to decarbonise key sectors like heavy industry and transport.”
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