The Liverpool City Region is home to a dynamic maritime industry, facilitating trade to and from Europe and beyond. Our region's unique position at the mouth of the River Mersey makes it a natural home for innovation in the maritime sector. With that in mind, on the 6th of July, Port City Innovation Hub (PCIH) held our first major event themed on accelerating innovation across the region and introducing our mission. This industry-led day brought together local businesses, investors, academics, and potential partners - all with a vested interest in developing and supporting new businesses across Liverpool and the Wirral.
The event was hosted at Woodside Food & Market, with its incredible view of Liverpool’s historic waterfront being the perfect backdrop to discuss maritime innovation. This first-of-its-kind Innovation Accelerator initiative is being led by Wirral Council, alongside the University of Liverpool, Rainmaking, Mersey Maritime, and Wirral Chamber of Commerce. We are aiming to deliver region-wide business advice and support to increase the number of SMEs bringing new products and services to market for the maritime sector.
Speakers included leading figures in the local industry such as Cameron Jones, VP for R&D at
@Unilever who challenged attendees to think about the difference between invention and innovation and drew upon his personal experience of working in innovation across the globe.
We also heard from Nigel Quinn, CEO at @BibbyMarine whose presentation focused on the importance of decarbonization of the maritime sector, creating cleaner ships, and increasing jobs here in the region. Nigel was followed up by David Millar, Managing Director at @heapandpartners
who proudly reached carbon neutrality in 2017 and are now carbon positive meaning they are driving positive change in their sector. The big takeaway from David's presentation was that none of this would ever have been possible without investing in innovation.
Other delegates and partners at the event included:
Dr. Aileen Jones, Executive Director, Investment & Delivery at the Liverpool City Region,
Sally Shah, Chief Regeneration Officer at Wirral Council
Chris Sherling-Rooke CEO at Mersey Maritime
Ryder Jones the Project Lead at Wirral Council for PCiH
Dionne Thomas head of marketing at Hi-Impact Media
Paula Basnett CEO at Wirral Chamber of Commerce
With plenty more events to come and opportunities to get involved and network with like-minded businesses, keep an eye on our events calendar for updates. If you want to find out more about PCiH or utilize the support available you can see our distinct support offerings here. We deliver region-wide business advice and support and would love to hear from you.
Our team at Port City innovation Hub would be delighted to hear from you about your project which could be a fit for other participants on the programme. Please get in touch today.