Our back story: how Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre came into being
The Centre has long been part of Greater Manchester’s transition to a hydrogen and fuel cell economy.
Greater Manchester Hydrogen Partnership
hIn 2013, Manchester Metropolitan University launched an initiative called the Greater Manchester Hydrogen Partnership together with the Combined Authority and a group of key innovators who came together to work through how hydrogen and fuel cells could be used for different purposes across diverse industry sectors in the region.
Within a year, the partnership developed working groups for energy, transport, research, innovation and skills and progressed a number of projects with feasibility studies. At its core was the growing recognition of the need for a physical centre to bring together academic and industry expertise in the challenge of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the North West.
Shared Vision
The shared vision of a technology centre conducting research on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies combined with a commitment to future skills development and low carbon energy meant Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre was endorsed in the region’s European Union investment plans.
At the same time, Manchester Metropolitan University focused on the potential that hydrogen and fuel cell technology research and education on could bring not just to the University but the wider city region.
Making It Happen
Working together, funding was secured from the European Regional Development Fund to make Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre a reality. Our £4.1m state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cell research and development hub officially opened in September 2018.
Our work contributes to our region, business and the community, and to the wider world, as they in turn inform everything we do.
