Cutting Edge Digital Zone Now Under Construction At Teesside Airport

Work is underway to create a cutting-edge digital testing ground at Teesside Airport to make trade even easier for businesses.

The new 5G-enabled “Teesside Digital Trade Test Bed” on the airport’s north side will see a private network cover a large stretch of the site to help carry out a wide range of trade, goods movements, and digital processes.

Building work is underway to create a facility to test freight scanning software technologies, a covered workshop and cabins, plus lighting and security fences.

The collaboration between Teesside University and the Combined Authority aims to ease practical problems which hamper operations in customs zones.

Testing at the facility will also be pivotal to the autonomous vehicle airport pilot taking place later this year.

The only one of its kind in the UK, the project will look at how new technologies such as AI, machine learning, IoT, geofencing, and decentralised digital identities can ease trade.

The project was backed by £3.5million of funding from the Teesside Freeport.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who sits on the Teesside Freeport Board, said: “It’s great to see we’ve finally got spades in the ground to create this important zone. We are well known as a leader in pioneering technology to attract huge international investment – and our 5G work, and digital prowess, is making huge global companies sit up and take notice.

“We will be putting Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool on the international map to remove trade barriers, promoting cutting-edge research, and making it easier to do business nationwide and worldwide.”

The testbed will use Teesside University’s skills in digitalisation and AI to test, validate and create solutions for global digital trade.

The idea is rather than needing dozens of paper documents, digital trade has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of time and expense associated with importing and exporting goods.

The testbed builds on an ongoing partnership between Teesside University and the International Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (iC4DTI).

Administration typically accounts for 15% of trade costs and using digital technology to make these task more efficient could save the UK economy billions of pounds.

Professor David Hughes, Associate Dean (Research and Knowledge Exchange) in Teesside University’s School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, said: “This project places Teesside at the heart of pioneering solutions for the future of international trade.

“By combining Teesside University’s research expertise with real-world applications at Teesside Airport, we’re demonstrating how advanced technologies like AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and digital identities can remove long-standing barriers to global commerce.”

The wider plan is for its results and findings from the testbed to inform the UK Border Strategy, with the chance for it to bring both cost and time savings on a much larger scale.

For further information on development opportunities and available property at Teesside Airport, contact commercial agents Colliers or AREA.