Insights

Museums, schools, and hospitals are among Greater Manchester buildings set to benefit from a £1bn Government investment in green technology to cut carbon emissions.

Funding will also support investment in hydrogen energy and carbon capture technology to transform the North West of England into a low carbon industrial cluster by 2030 – including Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales.

The Government’s £1bn Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy aims to slash emissions by two-thirds in just 15 years and put the UK at the forefront of the global green industrial revolution.

It will boost Greater Manchester’s aim of achieving net carbon neutrality by 2038 – 12 years before national targets – and support new jobs and skills in the green economy.

To reduce carbon emissions from public buildings including hospitals, schools and council buildings, £932m has been directed to 429 projects across England through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. It will fund low carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps, and energy efficiency measures including insulation and LED lighting.

Greater Manchester will receive £97m from the scheme, with:

• £78,236,986 for Greater Manchester Combined Authority to decarbonise 15 bodies of the Greater Manchester public estate, including Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Police, the Royal Northern College of Music, and various Greater Manchester community buildings, including 36 schools and 22 leisure centres.
• The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester will receive £4,288,727
• Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council will receive £288,196
• Mount St Joseph, Manchester will receive £92,590
• Aquinas College, Stockport will receive £440,905
• Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester will receive £9,562,865
• Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust will receive £4,151,000

A further £171m is being made available across the UK through the Industrial Decarbonisation Fund, including £33m for HyNet North West for two projects that aim to transform the North West of England into a low carbon industrial cluster by 2030 – including Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales.

Two projects will look to decarbonise industry by directly capturing and storing emissions, creating a hydrogen economy across the North West, this includes repurposing old oil and gas facilities for carbon transport and storage.

The projects will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tonnes per year from 2025, rising to up to 10 million tonnes per year from 2030 and beyond, the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off the road. HyNet North West will provide green energy for local homes and businesses – a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.

As a result of government funding, HyNet North West aims to create thousands of new jobs in the North West by 2025, while protecting and retaining skilled jobs, attracting new talent and providing learning, training and upskilling opportunities.

The allocation to GmCA follows a successful bid with 14 other partners to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

It is expected to support the creation or safeguarding of around 2,000 jobs throughout the city-region, and will support the goals of Greater Manchester’s Five Year Environment Plan, including becoming carbon neutral by 2038 – 12 years ahead of the national target.

Cllr Andrew Western, GMCA Lead for the Green City-Region, said:

“Tackling the climate emergency requires bold and meaningful change at every level, and from all of us. Greater Manchester’s Five Year Environment Plan set a target of becoming a carbon neutral city-region by 2038, and to meet our goals it is essential that the public sector leads the way and demonstrates what can be achieved. This grant funding will help to reduce carbon emissions from more than 150 public buildings in the city-region.

“Investment in decarbonisation schemes like retrofitting and low-carbon energy is going to be crucial in powering a green recovery from the pandemic. We estimate that this funding, the largest award in England, will support the creation or safeguarding of more than 2,000 jobs here in Greater Manchester, fostering the skills that we need to keep cutting emissions and create a more sustainable future.”

The upgrades taking place across the public estate will complement the retrofitting of domestic properties carried out through the GMCA-managed Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme, which was recently extended until September. Households with incomes of less than £30,000 can apply for grants worth up to £10,000 towards energy efficiency improvements, helping to save on energy bills and cut emissions.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme was launched in October 2020 and offered local authorities grants of up to 100% of the cost of upgrading public buildings, with the aim that worked will be carried out and decarbonisation measures in effect by the end of September.

The University’s North of England Robotics  Innovation Centre (NERIC) has been awarded £3.6 million Research England Development (RED) funding from Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation, in a bid to accelerate innovation and research in the fast-moving world of robotics.

The construction of the new centre was announced last year and is part of the £2.5 billion Crescent Masterplan that has the ambition to regenerate Salford, the wider city region as part of a 20-year agreement.

Dr Georgina Harris, Director of Engineering at The University of Salford said:

“We are delighted to have been awarded this Research England Development funding reaffirming our reputation for knowledge and expertise in robotics and automation.  The award will support us with the recruitment of robotics specialists, invest in specialist facilities for the centre and enable us to play a pivotal role in the technology transfer from innovative research to industrial deployment.

“The North of England Robotics Innovation Centre is a model example of collaboration. Its creation is timely, taking place when the need for innovation in robotics and automation has never been more important to support the recovery of UK industry from the challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The new centre will provide SMEs with a hub where they can access world-leading academics, where they can work collaboratively to develop innovative solutions and where they can test and validate these technologies in preparation for real-world deployment.”

The Research England Development (RED) Fund commits up to £27 million in annual funding. It supports projects that aid the development and interaction of the UK’s higher education research and knowledge exchange (KE) activity in line with Government and UKRI priorities.

The Robotics Innovation Centre is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Work on the new building commenced at the start of the year, Morgan Sindall has been appointed as the contractor to construct the 22,580 square foot building that is set to make its mark in the world of robotics and automation.

The Centre is due to complete in the Summer of 2022.

Entrepreneur Jason Laing and his team are building a medical 3D printing business based on his personal success in overcoming horrific injuries. It made sense for ProMake international to capitalise on Greater Manchester’s strengths in health innovation and advanced materials along with the collaborative mind set Manchester has.

Jason Laing knows better than most the benefits of advances in materials science and healthcare innovation.

Having suffered horrific life-changing injuries in a 2015 cycling accident, he became the subject of a personal experiment in the use of 3D printing for medical purposes.

Using 3D printing technology, Jason and his team were able to design, manufacture and repair parts of his body, saving his arm from the risk of amputation.

3D printing and virtual reality also helped with his occupational therapy and mental rehabilitation where he re-learned how to walk, talk, read and write all over again due to the head injury he also suffered.

Jason’s journey has been documented through a TED Talk he did not long after his accident after learning to talk properly and memorising his speech.

That experience underpins the work of 3D printing healthcare manufacturing business, ProMake International Ltd, which established headquarters in Manchester in 2019 and is now being rebranded as ProMake LTD.

Through its advanced and unique product design, expertise in composite materials and progressive 3D printing technologies, the company assists inventors in developing and launching innovative products into global markets, particularly in the life science and aerospace industries.

Following Jason’s successful recovery, ProMake’s team have fully transitioned their expertise into the medical field by conducting facial reconstruction surgery using 3D printing.

In 2019, they completed the world’s very first inner ear transplant surgery to improve hearing by harmonically tuning the 3D printed Implant with a patient’s harmonics, as captured on video.

Since then, the ProMake team has also recently discovered that graphene – a 2D material first isolated in Manchester – is proving to be an even better medical solution for reconstructive surgery.

In leading their business from Manchester, they have been able to turn graphene into a functional form for their pioneering work by developing a unique way of 3D printing graphene polymers.

To support this application ProMake under agreements have been working with experts from Haydale and the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), which was funded in part by the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership.

COO and Co-Founder of ProMake Ltd, Jason says that his journey into 3D printing began with his experience as a jeweller, which included research into metallurgy, composite technology and computer-aided design.

That led him to work alongside his business partner Gavin Leggott along with maxillofacial surgeons, orthopaedics and veterinary care, merging that experience to develop innovative new healthcare solutions.

He discovered first-hand how they could work when a Pro-Am cycling accident left him with multiple injuries, including broken bones, dislocations, collapsed lungs and open fractures where bones broke through his skin.

Faced with the prospect of having an arm amputated, Jason says he worked with the surgical team to find ways that 3D printing might help.

He said: “We really took it to a new level because I also then gave full permission to take my life in my own hands essentially, and take the risk so that we can pioneer new developments that would then be used for medical research further on. So that’s where 3D printing really came to play for me.

“3D printing itself excites me because of the possibilities that it can bring about, and what it has done for me already.

“The technology itself has not only given me a career but actually gave me my life back. And it helped me rebuild my own body. So now we are going to be able to take that technology, the research that we did on me as a patient and as a technician, and now be able to give that information back.”

Jason says he is excited about the impact this work can deliver on a social level as well as a corporate level, meaning that patients will benefit too. The move to Manchester means access to research at the cutting edge of advanced materials in a city region renowned for health innovation and where people work well together.

He adds: “3D printing with graphene is a major game-changer. The 3D printing technology has not only rebuilt my own body but now as we also fuse this technology with graphene, we continue to unravel endless possibilities for medical innovation. We have recently introduced the world’s first accessible commercial graphene 3D printing portal.

“Collaborating, experimenting and sharing ideas for greater Humanity is at the heart of ProMake’s ethos and that’s why Manchester – alongside it being the home of graphene – is the perfect fit for our innovation mindset.

“We want to sit alongside MedTech professionals locally and in all corners of the globe, and by working closely with unique scientific talent at the GEIC and along with our industrial partners such as Haydale within an ecosystem renowned for its long history of international engagement, we feel this is easily within our reach.”

Working with the GEIC – through the Bridging The Gap programme, which is backed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) –  has elevated ProMake’s journey of discovery and they are now also realising the amazing benefits of 3D printing with graphene for external prostheses.

Graphene provides additional strength, superior thermal properties and enhances biocompatibility when added to biopolymers.

Looking ahead, the company has already begun to unearth the possibilities of 4D printing which would enable them to programme materials to function in a certain way before they print e.g. anti-microbial, sensory, Electric and hydro.

The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated how rapidly we can evolve under pressure and ProMake is a great example of a business that is grasping this opportunity to challenge the status quo and move with pace to deliver real change for the benefit of all.

Find out more about graphene and 2D material here.

A version of this story was published on the Invest In Manchester website.

Industry groups mapping the UK’s technology landscape say the North-West of England is a hotspot for growing tech firms, which benefit from increasing investment and geographic proximity to academic and business support networks.

North-West England is the “perfect breeding ground” for technology startups and scaleups because of its entrepreneurial climate, academic connections and growing investment activity, according to a new report from London Tech Week and the UK Tech Cluster Group. The North-west UK tech report is part of the 12 Clusters of Tech initiative, which was started by the two industry groups to map the UK’s tech landscape and explore current trends. It found the north-west region is home to six of the UK’s 14 digital unicorns (startups valued at over $1bn), and benefits substantially from connections to “feeder” universities that provide fledgling tech companies in the area with access to “high-quality” talent.

“The UK is home to 35% of Europe’s unicorns and, over the last four years, has created more unicorns than Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands,” said London Tech Week Festival director Suzy Pallett.

“Of the 14 digital tech unicorns created in the UK, six of these (43%) are located in the North-West, including THG [The Hut Group], The Very Group, Radius Payment Solutions, AO.com, AutoTrader and Boohoo.

“The North-West has a long history of pioneering technologies, from being at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, to its key role in the early days of computing. And in the 21st century, the region is forging new paths, with a focus on modern specialities – healthtech, e-commerce and fintech. Already home to six digital tech unicorns and attracting inward investment from far and wide, the North-West is unsurprisingly showing no signs of slowing down.”

The report said the North-West’s “tech talent and entrepreneurial spirit” is, especially in comparison to other areas of the UK, widely distributed across the region.

“While the region’s biggest cities are unsurprisingly the focus of much attention, it’s not unusual to find successful tech companies in small towns and villages,” it said.

“One reason for this is the geographic spread of universities producing talented graduates and conducting relevant research. This means that companies in places like north Lancashire report the ability to attract high-quality staff within travelling distance.”

Simon Shaw, founder and CEO of Manchester-based digital recruitment firm Hiring Hub, who is quoted in the report, said access to talent is critical for businesses looking to scale, adding:

“The North-West has a thriving, maturing IT and digital ecosystem that attracts world-class people, providing tech companies in the area with a rich supply of skilled people.”

These sentiments were echoed by other senior startup staff included in the report, such as Antony Chesworth, CEO of e-commerce platform EKM, who said:

“A strong pipeline of talent from the region’s universities and excellent travel links mean that Preston is a great home for EKM.”

As well as connections to academia, the report said the region’s success has been helped by its proximity to a range of dedicated support services that are available to tech companies with particular specialisms. Citylabs in Manchester or facilities such as Alderley Park near Macclesfield, for example, support startups in the healthcare technology space, while Sensor City in Liverpool and GCHQ’s Manchester office support those working in sensor technology and cyber security, respectively. According to the report, the North-West’s success has also attracted international attention, with multinational technology firms such as Amazon, Microsoft and Booking Holdings building a presence for themselves in the region, and overseas investors taking more of an active interest.

“According to Beauhurst, there were 389 announced and 502 unannounced tech investment deals in Greater Manchester alone between 2011 and 2020,” said Pallett, adding that this growing investment activity reflects the region’s increasing confidence as a tech hotspot.

“While a few regionally focused investors once dominated deal flow, an increasing number of venture capital firms and angels with relevant domain expertise are now active in the area,” she said.

“And North-West companies seem increasingly successful at engaging with investors in London, the US and beyond.

“Raising awareness of the investment potential that exists across every region of the UK is one of the fundamental reasons why we have launched the 12 Clusters of Tech initiative.”

As the investment landscape currently stands, the majority of capital is still directed towards London-based tech startups, which received a quarter of all European tech funding in 2020. While London firms received $10.5bn of venture capital investment, the rest of the UK’s tech startups raised only $4.5bn. The North-west UK tech report marks the fifth entry to the series by London Tech Week and the UK Tech Cluster Group, and will be followed by subsequent reports for Wales, the West Midlands, the East Midlands, the East of England, London, the South-East and the South-West. London Tech Week, which is owned by Informa Tech Founders and London & Partners, and co-founded with Tech London Advocates, runs industry events that showcase new tech and create networking opportunities for the UK’s entrepreneurs. The UK Tech Cluster Group is a self-assembled group of individuals and organisations that support geographical clusters of technology and digital businesses across the country. Working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport  and other government departments, it aims to highlight opportunities for national policy changes and innovative pilot programmes.

Supporting green growth is a priority within the Economic Vision for Greater Manchester. The launch of North West Net Zero underlined the ambition to create new jobs and skills and achieve a low carbon economy across the region that can support UK economic growth. 

Leaders from politics, business, and energy infrastructure providers in the North West have launched an ambitious vision to become a UK leader in tackling the climate emergency and boosting a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. 

As the UK prepares to host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November, the North West Net Zero: The Road to Cop 26 event outlined the wide-ranging measures already being taken to accelerate progress to net zero in the North West by at least 2040 – at least 10 years ahead of the national target. 

Among regional leaders at the launch was Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, a GM LEP board member, who said decarbonisation need not be a burden but an opportunity to create the new jobs and industries that would necessary to support economic recovery as we emerge from the pandemic.  

He said: “Today is about showing the power and potential of a whole region pulling in the same direction to tackle the climate emergency. Together, we hope to build a movement to make the North West the country’s leading force in the zero-carbon economy.

“If we get serious now about the climate crisis, it will also help us tackle the post-pandemic jobs crisis. There are tens of thousands of good green jobs just waiting to be created across the North West – in retrofitting our buildings, modernising our energy systems, and decarbonising our transport. Now is absolutely the time to make that happen. 

“We are outlining our vision to achieve a net zero North West by at least 2040 – 10 years ahead of the national target. Benchmarks like these not only give us something to aim at – they also demand meaningful commitments and urgent action. All of us gathered today are already taking that action, working together and developing detailed energy and environment plans for our places which can meet our collective ambitions.

“Come November, when all eyes are on the COP26 in Glasgow, we want to show the world that the North West of England is ready once again to lead an industrial revolution – this time a green one.” 

Other speakers included: 

• Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region 
• Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader, Cheshire West and Chester Council, and Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership Board Member 
• Carl Ennis, Chief Executive of Siemens plc and Chair of Net Zero North West 
• Peter Emery, Chief Executive Officer, Electricity North West Limited 
• Steve Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, Cadent Ltd 

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“The existential threat of the climate crisis is the greatest challenge facing our generation and we will only succeed if we tackle it together, using our respective strengths.

“Our region is becoming synonymous with green technology and jobs and I’m passionate about making the Liverpool City Region the UK’s renewable energy coast. 

“We have a full range of energy options here – offshore wind in Liverpool Bay has helped make the UK the largest producer of wind power in Europe; we are at the forefront of hydrogen production and distribution; and are piloting its use as an alternative fuel for domestic, industrial and transport.

“With Government support our Mersey Tidal Power Project – delivering predictable, green reliable energy – can play an important role in the UK’s future energy mix.

“The way in which we can bounce back quickly from the Coronavirus crisis is to build our economic recovery on the opportunities offered by the green industrial revolution. For all of our futures, we must not fail.” 

Carl Ennis, Chief Executive of Manchester-based Siemens and chair of Net Zero North West said that plans include a goal to accelerate investment for industrial decarbonisation.  

He added: “We believe we can create 33,000 jobs and unlock £4bn investment for the North West – we can be at the forefront of decarbonisation. This isn’t only about new jobs and new skills, but also about safeguarding the jobs and industries we already have.” 

Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, and Board Member of the Cheshire and Warrington LEP, said: 

“We know that the climate crisis does not respect local boundaries, nor does business and economic opportunity. If we are to achieve our ambitions, we need to take a collaborative approach that builds on all the skills and expertise available to us, and the North West is a leading example of this type of collaboration beginning to deliver real change.” 

Go to https://gmbusinessboard.com/economicvision to find out more about Greater Manchester’s Economic Vision.