£33m of levelling up funding handed to Greater Manchester R&D projects
Ten Greater Manchester projects will share in £100m of levelling up funding to accelerate innovation.
In total, 26 R&D projects across three UK regions will attract private R&D investment, create new jobs, boost regional economic growth, and develop the technologies of tomorrow.
The Innovate Accelerators programme is pioneering a new model of R&D decision-making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation in support of regional economic growth.
Partnerships of local government, business and R&D institutions in the three city regions of Greater Manchester, Glasgow and the West Midlands, have led on selecting the 26 projects, working closely with Innovate UK.
The whole of government is backing the Innovation Accelerators, with access to dedicated support from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). This will help the partnerships to attract private R&D investment and overcome barriers to cluster growth.
Greater Manchester will lead the way in sustainable advanced materials and manufacturing, digital and tech, health innovation, and technology to become carbon neutral by 2038.
Minister of State for Science Research & Innovation at DSIT, George Freeman, said: “Record investment in our UK science, technology and innovation sectors are creating new career opportunities in the campuses, clusters and companies of tomorrow.
“R+D is key to levelling-up by growing the R+D Innovation Economy outside the Greater South East.
“That’s why UKRI is putting clusters at the heart of its strategy and why our £100m Innovation Accelerator Programme provides £33m each to three emerging clusters to attract industrial co-investment and become major, globally competitive centres for research and innovation.”
Indro Mukerjee, chief executive at Innovate UK, said: “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. Together, we can unleash the full innovation potential of every community in the UK.”
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.”
The Greater Manchester projects are:
‘Future Homes’, led by – University of Salford. (Sector: Net Zero)
‘Greater Manchester Electro-chemical Hydrogen Cluster’, led by – Manchester Metropolitan University. (Sector: Net Zero)
‘Manchester Turing Innovation Hub (MTIH)’, led by – The University of Manchester. (Sector: Digital)
‘The Development and Validation of Technology for Time Critical Genomic Testing (DEVOTE) Programme’, led by – The University of Manchester (Sector: Health)
‘Energy Accelerator for Non-Domestic Buildings’, led by – The Growth Company (Sector: Net Zero)
‘Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI)’, led by – Manchester Metropolitan University. (Sector: Net Zero)
‘Pilots for the Sustainable Materials Translational Research Centre (p- SMTRC)’, led by – Rochdale Development Agency. (Sector: Advanced Materials)
‘AR EdTech For Hydrogen Skills ‘, led by – Blair Project LTD. (Sector: Net Zero)
‘GM Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator’, led by – Health Innovation Manchester, hosted by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. (Sector – Health)
‘MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub’, led by – The Landing at Media City UK Limited. (Sector – Creative)
