Greater Manchester has particular research and industry strengths in a number of critical areas.

Private sector strengths include innovative firms involved in the generation, distribution and storage of sustainable energy, as well as engineering firms enabling the decarbonisation of industry to support the transition to Net Zero.

Major firms include energy and infrastructure suppliers such as SSE, Octopus Energy and its subsidiary Krakenflex, using AI and a cloud-based platforms to control distributed energy assets matching supply and demand. Electricity North West, the distribution network operator and Rolls Royce’s Small Modular Reactor headquarters, which is developing the next generation of nuclear energy generation facilities, are based in here.

The Energy Innovation Agency is a collaboration between Greater Manchester stakeholders to accelerate the introduction of energy-related innovations.

Sustainable Ventures hosts a leading climate tech hub at Sister, Manchester’s innovation district. It provides business advice and support services together with space and funding to help climate tech start ups to scale faster and create jobs in the region.

The Greater Manchester Electrochemical Hydrogen Cluster (GMEHC) is accelerating the development and adoption of electrochemical green hydrogen technologies by fostering collaboration between academic institutions, government and industry.

Energy House 2.0 at the University of Salford is a globally unique facility simulating weather extremes to test building energy performance and net-zero technologies.

Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park is a large-scale clean-energy hub with 680 MW battery storage, liquid air and hydrogen production.

The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute houses the experience and equipment to research the full nuclear fuel cycle, linking into local expertise in graphite research to improve safety, security and reliability in the UK nuclear industry.

Greater Manchester is part of a wider cluster of energy-related activity across the North West, with deep links to the Hynet project in Cheshire, the UK’s most developed nuclear cluster across Cumbria and Lancashire, and tidal energy generation in Merseyside and North Wales.