The Innovation Accelerators Programme has revealed the 10 Greater Manchester projects that will receive a share of the £100m Innovation funding announced in last week’s budget.
The 10 projects will receive the funding as part of plans to create three national “innovation clusters” in Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
The Greater Manchester cluster will focus on sustainable advanced materials and manufacturing, digital and tech, health innovation, and technology to become carbon neutral by 2038.
The Greater Manchester schemes, and project leads, are:
- Future Homes, University of Salford (Net Zero)
- Greater Manchester Electro-chemical Hydrogen Cluster, Manchester Metropolitan University (Net Zero)
- Manchester Turing Innovation Hub (MTIH), The University of Manchester (Digital)
- The Development and Validation of Technology for Time Critical Genomic Testing (DEVOTE) Programme, The University of Manchester (Health)
- Energy Accelerator for Non-Domestic Buildings, The Growth Company (Net Zero)
- Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI), Manchester Metropolitan University. (Net Zero)
- Pilots for the Sustainable Materials Translational Research Centre (p- SMTRC), Rochdale Development Agency. (Advanced Materials)
- AR EdTech For Hydrogen Skills , Blair Project LTD (Net Zero)
- GM Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator, Health Innovation Manchester/Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Health)
- MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub, The Landing at Media City UK Limited (Creative)
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Greater Manchester’s selection as one of three Innovation Accelerator regions reflects the high level of confidence in our innovation ecosystem. The projects being backed are undertaking world-leading research to address some of the biggest challenges we face.
“They also align with the sectors where Greater Manchester has emerging or established strengths, like advanced materials, artificial intelligence and diagnostics. We look forward to working with partners to ensure this funding supports the growth of our future industries and delivers greater prosperity for our people.”
Indro Mukerjee, chief executive at Innovate UK, added: “As the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK is dedicated to building strong regional partnerships to boost local innovation and commercialisation. Our Innovation Accelerators will attract further private sector investment in city regions, driving economic and societal growth and benefiting local communities.”
