Greater Manchester is home to a globally significant advanced materials R&D asset base. This includes the largest school of Materials in Europe at the University of Manchester, the National Graphene Institute, the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, Manchester Metropolitan’s Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, PrintCity and the Henry Royce Institute, the national home for advanced materials research.   

The city-region is home to 4,000 advanced manufacturing companies and 180 specialist advanced materials firms with cluster strengths in textiles, coatings, aerospace and automotive. We are also home to a range of R&D-intensive businesses such as BAE Systems, GCP Applied Technologies, Siemens, Rolls Royce SMR and more.  

To exploit this growth potential, the Graphene, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Alliance (GAMMA) has been formed to lead the creation of a supercluster in the City Region. Major development sites have been allocated to accommodate this growth, including Atom Valley in the North East of the City Region – a site which is both a part of GM’s designated Investment Zone and one of its six Growth Locations.

Reflecting its research strengths GM significantly overperforms on attracting research grant and contract funding, with Greater Manchester home to genuinely world-class research assets in Advanced Materials, including the National Graphene Institute and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre which provide spaces for R&D, industry collaboration and support for Advanced Materials start- and scale-ups.

In addition, the Henry Royce Institute, opened in 2020, is based in Manchester and coordinates 700 academic, technical and research staff across the UK to develop solutions to materials challenges, and to accelerate associated commercialisation.