Tees Valley Lithium lands up to £18.3m of DRIVE35 backing for its £185m Billingham refinery with around 1,100 construction jobs; PD Ports starts the largest works in South Gare breakwater's 150-year history (55,000 tonnes of Norwegian granite, McLaughlin & Harvey with Herbosch-Kiere); and Hartlepool's next-generation Xe-100 nuclear plant enters Generic Design Assessment. Plus a profile of px Group, the Thornaby firm operating NZT Power's carbon capture backbone and hiring ~100 locals, and this week's tip: follow the operator, not just the builder. Sources and links: https://teessidetradepodcast.co.uk/episodes/ep-8-billingham-lithium-south-gare-hartlepool-nuclear-px-group/