Building something special together:
A UK Centre for the Blue Economy.

We’re building something ambitious and distinctive: an emerging UK Centre for the Blue Economy, rooted in 100 miles of Sussex coastline and serving 1.7 million residents.

This is not a finished product. It is an emerging partnership, shaped by collaboration between ports, universities, colleges, local authorities, industry and environmental organisations. Together, we are creating a coastal innovation system that puts nature, people and the economy front and centre.

The geography sits within an economy worth approximately £27 billion in West Sussex alone, around 8 percent of the South East economy, with 379,000 employees across more than 42,600 businesses. This scale provides the foundation to test, deploy and scale innovation with national relevance.

A UK Centre for the Blue Economy

The blue economy is the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources for economic growth, jobs and wellbeing, while restoring and protecting marine ecosystems.

Through the emerging Centre for the Blue Economy, Sussex Bay brings together:

• ports and maritime industries
• clean energy systems and offshore renewables
• marine technology, data and sensing
• coastal and climate resilience infrastructure
• blue natural capital and nature-based solutions
• integrated skills and workforce pathways

Around 95 percent of all UK trade moves by sea. Ports are foundational to national productivity and supply chains. At the same time, coastal communities face distinctive economic and social challenges. Sussex Bay responds to both opportunity and need, focusing initially on western Sussex Bay, including Southwick (home to Shoreham Port), Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor Regis.

Our anchor: Shoreham Port

At the heart of the programme is the Shoreham Port Industrial Cluster, supporting more than 200 businesses and over 1,600 direct jobs.

The Port’s Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plan sets out clear pathways for electrification, alternative fuels, energy systems integration and digital optimisation. As a working trust port, Shoreham provides a live environment for testing and deploying innovation under real operational conditions.

Significant investment is already visible in the wider geography. The Worthing Heat Network represents £millions of private investment, with the potential to support hundreds of jobs over time.

Innovation, productivity and nature

Sussex Bay integrates five interlinked priority areas:

• port and maritime decarbonisation and energy systems
• offshore renewable energy and supply chains
• marine and coastal infrastructure innovation
• marine data, sensing and applied digital technologies
• blue natural capital and nature-based solutions