Cutting-edge new Tees Valley facility to drive UK digital trade

State of the art technology which has the potential to radically transform international trade, saving businesses billions of pounds every year, is to be trialled at Teesside International Airport.

The Digital Trade Testbed is being developed in a partnership between Teesside University and Tees Valley Combined Authority and will showcase how state of the art digital technology coupled with 5G connectivity can be used to make trade easier, cheaper, more equitable, and sustainable.

The testbed will utilise Teesside University’s skills in digitalisation and AI to test, validate and innovate solutions for global digital trade. The UK became the first G20 country to establish a legal framework for digital documentation to be used in international trade when the Electronic Trade Documents Acts was signed into law in 2023.

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.

With administration costing an average of 15% of trade costs, this could help businesses save billions of pounds every year. Working with industry partners, Government bodies, international organisations and technology providers, the Digital Trade Testbed, the only one of its type in the country, will look at how new technologies such as AI, machine learning, IoT, geofencing, and decentralised digital identities can be used to join up systems, improve interoperability, and deliver practical advancements in trade.

The test bed builds on an ongoing partnership between Teesside University and the International Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (iC4DTI). Through the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK, this partnership has already won investment to fund two projects to accelerate the digitalisation of UK and world trade.

Professor David Hughes, Associate Dean (Research and Knowledge Exchange) in Teesside University’s School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, said: 'The UK is at the forefront of digital trade, and this presents a real opportunity as a nation to drive good practice in this vital area.

'As a region and a University, we are delighted to be spearheading this trade revolution through the Digital Trade Testbed. 'It will enable us to develop innovative real-world solutions which work for businesses supporting them to trade with the rest with minimal friction and helping drive economic growth.' A £3.5million funding boost from the Teesside Freeport was agreed in 2023.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who chairs the Teesside Freeport Board, said: 'We’ve always been a technology trailblazer to attract huge international investment and show the way for the rest of the nation.

'Our work on 5G with industry experts, Government and Teesside University has been yet another example of how we’re leading the pack to boost our airport and unleash our region’s full potential.

'This testbed is yet another chance to put Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool on the international map when it comes to removing trade barriers, promoting cutting-edge research, and making it easier to do business in the UK.'

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• The proposed Digital Trade Testbed