Businesses and organisations from across the green energy and maritime sectors will come together in Ramsgate on Thursday (September 10) to explore how the town can capture the opportunities from the growing industries.
The Green Energy, Marine and Coastal Innovation Forum is a Thanet District Council event, delivered by Ramsgate Space CIC. It will bring together around 70 representatives from green and blue sector businesses alongside government, research, education, skills and economic development.
East Thanet MP Polly Billington, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, will join the event.
Taking place at the Port of Ramsgate, the forum comes as Thanet council progresses plans for the Green Campus, aimed at supporting the development of green energy, maritime and associated industries at the port.
The £8.5m Green Campus is part of the £19.8m Ramsgate’s Levelling Up scheme.
The original funding allocation for the scheme was £6.1 million. However it was allocated extra funding due to rising costs in April 2025 and then received another £2m in June 2025 after a decision to scrap the project to revive ferry operations and spread that funding to other schemes.
The programme will focus on four areas:
- Energy, innovation and future industries – the changing energy sector, emerging technologies and the role coastal locations can play in supporting future industries.
- The future opportunities of decarbonising the maritime industry, and how the use of new technologies and future fuels are reshaping maritime industries.
- From green jobs to local careers – how growth in green and related maritime sectors can translate into employment, skills and career pathways for coastal communities.
- Business growth, investment and opportunity – how businesses and coastal places can position themselves to capture the economic opportunities associated with sector growth.
Contributors will bring perspectives from industry, government, research, skills, innovation and business.
The programme includes a recorded address from Chris Stark CBE, Head of the Government’s Clean Power Mission Control, alongside speakers from Energy UK, RWE/London Array, University College London (UCL), Innovate UK, Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, Beauhurst Insights, Kent Community Energy and Hydrogen Transition Energy, as well as Kent-based businesses working across energy and emerging technologies.
The programme will also include research and a spotlight on innovation within the sectors, and a visit to the Green Campus site at the Port of Ramsgate.
Cllr Rick Everitt, Leader of Thanet council, said: “The investment we are making at the Port of Ramsgate through the Green Campus is about creating the conditions for new businesses, industries and jobs to grow here.
“The green energy and maritime sectors present a significant opportunity for Ramsgate and the wider district. This forum brings together businesses already working in these sectors with emerging technologies, skills, research and government to look at how we can attract further investment and support growth.
“Importantly, we want local people to benefit from that growth. That means connecting new investment and business opportunities with the skills, training and career pathways that will enable Thanet residents to access the jobs these industries create.”
The September forum is focused on businesses operating within the green and blue sectors and organisations supporting their growth.
It will be followed on Saturday 24 October by a public event, delivered in collaboration with Discovery Planet and the Green Catalyst programme. The drop-in event will be held at Ramsgate Space and will give people an opportunity to understand the technologies involved and explore the jobs, skills and career pathways being created.
More information to follow via https://www.ramsgatespace.co.uk/
The Green Energy, Marine and Coastal Innovation Forum takes place on Thursday 10 September 2026, from 10am to 4pm at the former Port of Ramsgate Terminal Building, Military Road, Ramsgate.
Green and blue sector businesses and organisations that would like to attend are invited to contact Ramsgate Space at [email protected]
