Greater Manchester is backing five innovative projects with £50 million to drive growth and create jobs in sectors ranging from AI to advanced materials and life sciences.
The funding is being allocated through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) – a flagship Government programme being delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
UKRI is investing up to £500 million across the country to strengthen regional innovation and boost economic growth.
The projects build on Greater Manchester’s sector strengths and expertise in three areas to create new jobs, improve productivity, and attract further public and private investment.
They are:
- The Atom Valley Innovation District, which will pioneer new sustainable products, processes, and technologies in the advanced materials and manufacturing sector
- The Retrofit Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Centre, which will explore how these technologies can help cut carbon emissions and retrofit homes
- The GROW AI project will support SMEs in adopting AI and fast-track commercial applications of the technology
- The Greater Data Accelerator will use population-scale health data and analytics to accelerate the adoption of new medicines and diagnostics
- • The Greater Manchester Wearables and Remote Monitoring Innovation Cluster will support innovation to transform how wearable and remote monitoring technologies are researched and developed
Forming a central pillar of the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change, the LIPF brings together local leaders, businesses and research organisations to build on regional strengths.
Greater Manchester’s portfolio of projects has been selected by Innovation Greater Manchester (IGM), the city region’s partnership bringing together research-intensive universities, local government and a broad coalition of industry partners.
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Portfolio Lead for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth, said: “Through this significant investment in five pioneering projects we will translate world-class research and innovation into new jobs and opportunities that benefit Greater Manchester’s businesses and residents.
“By focusing on advanced materials and manufacturing, health innovation and AI, we are building on the strengths that already set our city region apart and creating the conditions for more businesses to innovate, scale and succeed here. This is the kind of investment and collaboration that helps us deliver long-term, inclusive growth, strengthening our economy and ensuring the benefits of innovation are felt right across Greater Manchester.”
Andrew Hodgson, Chair of the Innovation Greater Manchester Board, said: “I am delighted that Greater Manchester has secured such a significant investment and is the first region to have all its projects approved.
“This is testament to the maturity in Greater Manchester and the strong partnership that exists across the region. I would like to thank the partners for their support in the process. At IGM we look forward to continuing to collaborate with UKRI, supporting deployment of world-class innovations that impact lives throughout the region and beyond.”
Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester and IGM Board Member, said: “This shows what Greater Manchester can achieve through collaboration between universities, industry and the public sector.
“We’re very proud to play a central role in this, working alongside our partners to turn research into innovation that supports business growth, builds new ventures and strengthens the economy. Our research, partnerships and innovation activity will increasingly create globally competitive clusters that attract investment, generate high-value jobs and position Greater Manchester as a leader in advanced materials, manufacturing, health innovation and AI. This is about connecting talent, ideas and industry – delivering long-term, inclusive growth across our communities.”
The portfolio of projects has been designed and selected to both deepen Greater Manchester’s strengths in clusters of genuine global opportunity and build on the city region’s collaborative, cross-sector approach to seizing opportunities for growth where industrial clusters and technologies overlap.
Funded projects
Two of Greater Manchester’s projects are focused on using advanced materials and manufacturing processes to improve sustainability and support the net zero transition.
The Atom Valley Innovation District will be delivered by Rochdale Development Agency and The University of Manchester. Bringing together a consortium of leading partners from across the UK, the £16.4 million LIPF award to the University will unlock a nationally connected advanced materials and manufacturing cluster in Rochdale.
This will activate the Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS) within the new Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC), which is under construction at Kingsway Business Park and is due to be completed later this year.
The project will support businesses from across Greater Manchester and beyond to adopt advanced materials and cutting-edge and sustainable manufacturing processes at scale.
The Retrofit Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Centre (RAMMIC) will also be funded, led by the University of Salford in partnership with The University of Manchester, Sustainable Ventures and the Energy Innovation Agency.
RAMMIC will receive £8.56 million to explore how we can use advanced materials and manufacturing processes to support the decarbonisation of the estimated 27 million homes and 1.8 million non-domestic buildings that require energy efficiency retrofits.
Using the University of Salford’s unique Energy House 1 and Energy House 2.0 facilities, it aims to unlock new market opportunities for businesses while driving progress toward net zero and wider societal benefits, such as improved housing quality, reducing emissions, and better health outcomes for residents.
The funding will also support the use of AI to drive growth across Greater Manchester’s economy.
Delivered by a partnership between the Manchester Metropolitan University’s Centre for Enterprise and The University of Manchester’s Turing Innovation Catalyst, the GROW AI project will receive £12.8 million to fast-track AI commercialisation, support SMEs in adopting AI, and create a pipeline of high-growth AI ventures.
The remaining two projects are focused on strengthening our position as a leading UK cluster for health innovation and life sciences.
The Greater Data Accelerator, led by Health Innovation Manchester and The University of Manchester, will receive £6.7 million to harness the city region’s population-scale health data and analytics capabilities to accelerate the development and adoption of new medicines and diagnostics technologies.
The programme aims to attract further inward investment, support faster research, and bring innovations to patients more quickly
Complementing this, the Greater Manchester Wearables and Remote Monitoring Innovation Cluster (GM-WIC), led by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and The University of Manchester, will drive a step change in wearable and remote monitoring technologies used in healthcare.
Supported by £5.5 million of LIPF funding, GM-WIC will create a unique data infrastructure linking wearables and routinely collected health data. It will support innovation through targeted accelerator programmes, real-world testing platforms, and clear adoption pathways, enabling companies to scale rapidly from development through to deployment.
Together, these initiatives will position Greater Manchester at the forefront of healthcare innovation, delivering both economic growth and improved health outcomes.
The five projects selected by the Innovation Greater Manchester Board have now been approved to begin setting up for delivery by UKRI.
This marks another milestone in the city region’s ambition to become a global leader in innovation-led growth, with Greater Manchester the first of 17 UK regions to move into full delivery under the flagship national programme.
