Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport have signed a deal on a new partnership that the two organisations say will support a green freight corridor that will help decarbonise transport and drive enhanced skills and employment initiatives along the length of one of the UK’s most important transport routes.
The MOU was signed by Freeport East CEO, Steve Beel, and Tom Newman-Taylor, CEO of East Midlands Freeport. The MOU underlines both parties’ commitment to working with a range of public and private sector partners, particularly in the logistics sector, to deliver a greener transportation corridor.
The initiative will emphasise the need for greater investment to support the decarbonisation of transport flows between the two freeport locations. Working together, the freeports say they will accelerate the technologies, business models, innovation and infrastructure needed to drive decarbonisation by utilising green hydrogen, electric charging systems and novel technology applications, such as digital twins.
Green Corridors are already an established part of the maritime decarbonisation sector. Delivering a green corridor initiative between the UK’s largest container port and the heart of the Midlands logistics Golden Triangle, offers the opportunity to combine maritime and land transport decarbonisation initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of goods entering and leaving the UK, says the freeports.
Projects already underway that will support the corridor include development of green logistics infrastructure in Felixstowe, Stowmarket and East Midlands Gateway. Freeport East is also developing a Green Hydrogen Hub that will support clean fuels for transport decarbonisation while East Midlands Freeport is supporting the transition of the UK’s last coal fired power station at Ratcliffe on Soar to a clean energy production hub.
The Government has set a target of growing rail freight by at least 75% by 2050 alongside delivering a net zero rail network. It is investing in zero emission HGV demonstrators ahead of a planned phase out of non-zero emissions HGV sales by 2040. The freeports say the benefits of a green corridor would not only support the UK’s aspirations on net zero, but also help minimise the impact of freight transport in places like Cambridge, Ipswich and Leicester
