Key North East business information and facts

It is vital that we spread the word about the North East’s achievements in business to further investment in the North East.  These quick reference facts and statistics for Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Northumberland and Tees Valley will help you do just that.  Encourage others to spread the word by sharing this using the links at the bottom of the page.

• North East England has been awarded special status (by the government) as a Low Carbon Economic Area
• North East England has around 300 engineering companies which could benefit from supply chain opportunities in the renewable energy sector
• The area is fast becoming an international leader in the development of ultra low carbon vehicles and charging technology
• Nissan is investing £200m in its plant in Sunderland to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles
• A comprehensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure is being installed throughout the North East, with at least 619 publicly available charging points installed by January 1, 2011
• Key areas for ultra low carbon vehicle development include Sunderland, Northumberland, South Tyneside and the Easington district. The areas benefit from deepwater ports as well as high-quality road access via the A1 and A19
• The North East is set to lead the way with the emerging market of printable electronics
• North East England is recognised as a real centre for innovation, from its diverse SME base to international investors who benefit from our hotbed of talent to bring new ideas to commercial reality
• The petrochemical cluster in Tees Valley, including the Wilton site, has the largest manufacturing capacity of any integrated chemicals complex in the UK
• The North East’s diverse process industries sector has a reputation for innovation and is now driving forward new sectors such as bio-refining and renewable energy
• Ensus has raised £250m to develop Europe’s largest bioethanol plant at Wilton International, Tees Valley
• The North East’s wide-ranging digital sector has important areas of strength, particularly its games cluster - one of the strongest outside London and the South East
• New media, games and software comprises 29% of North East England’s wider commercial creative sector, with an annual turnover of more than £255m*
• The area benefits from outstanding research departments at its five Universities which are regularly designated as world-leading
• As of 2008, the North East had over 50 companies in the rapidly emerging field of biotechnology, with a combined turnover of more than £700m
• Around £100m of work in the North East relating to offshore wind has already been secured in the last year.  Signs show that those trends are continuing to rise
• Dogger Bank, the nearest and overall largest development zone, is expected to produce over a third (9GW) of the total offshore wind energy.

*Suggested by research in 2007 by New Media Partners
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