Work underway on £3.5m Teesside Airport testing facility

The 5G-enabled facility will test freight scanning software technologies in a collaboration between Teesside University and the Combined Authority.

The aim is to ease problems that hamper operations in customs zones, and will be a key part of the autonomous vehicle airport trial taking place later this year.

Located on the north side of the airport, work will also include the construction of a covered workshop, cabins, and security fences.

Backed by funding from the Teesside Freeport, the project will look at how AI, machine learning, IoT, and decentralised digital identities can ease trade.

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

The university will use its skills in digitalisation to remove the need for dozens of paper documents, reducing the time and expense that comes with importing and exporting goods.

The work could potentially save the UK economy billions of pounds, as administration accounts for around 15%of trade costs.

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.”

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, and digital identities can remove long-standing barriers to global commerce.”