Greater Manchester Electro-chemical Hydrogen Cluster

Greater Manchester is building a dedicated innovation hub to solve the materials and measurement problems that currently hold back hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers. Hydrogen technologies offer a clean alternative to fossil fuels for power and transport, but they remain too expensive and unreliable for widespread commercial use. The core challenge is practical: the materials inside fuel cells and electrolysers degrade too quickly, and there are no standard ways to measure their performance accurately. This cluster—backed by the University of Manchester, the Henry Royce Institute, and the National Physical Laboratory—will tackle both the technical materials science and the business-model support needed to get small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the hydrogen supply chain. If the cluster succeeds, it could accelerate the UK’s shift to clean energy by making hydrogen devices cheaper and more durable. The immediate impact will be on industrial infrastructure: manufacturing processes, energy storage, and grid balancing. It also aims to anchor high-skilled jobs and inward investment in Greater Manchester, positioning the region as a centre for internationally competitive hydrogen research and development.