On 28th April 2022, at Bruntwood Circle Square, Manchester, the Energy Innovation Agency was joined by energy innovators and stakeholders from across the UK and further afield to hear from speakers including BEIS, Electricity North West and Bruntwood on:

• UK and Greater Manchester (GM) carbon reduction goals and progress on decarbonisation.
• The support available to innovators through the Energy Innovation Agency
• Specific challenges faced by one of GM’s largest commercial landlords

Following the presentation and panel sessions, innovators also had the opportunity to pitch their energy solutions to panels from the Agency and partners.

The Event

The Agency launch event was attended by 100 delegates to hear about how the Agency is supporting innovators to commercialise their solutions, and how these activities fit within the carbon neutral ambitions and green community here in Greater Manchester.

The event also introduced the first in a series of energy challenges, the decarbonisation of heat in non-domestic buildings.

It’s estimated that around 80% of Greater Manchester’s current buildings will still be standing in 2050, and so smarter retrofitting is urgently needed to help improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions from buildings. However, with heritage status, currently occupied buildings, and a more agile approach to working life, there is no simple solution, which is why the agency is seeking help from innovators with this first challenge.

Bev Taylor, Energy and Environment Director of Bruntwood said, “All new builds have sustainability at the heart, but this is less easy when retrofitting. No one size fits all and it takes time to get the right solution. People’s expectations of a modern workplace are changing, and along with the climate crisis, we can no longer do what we’ve always done. We need change now and I’m hoping the Energy Innovation Agency can speed this up.”

The Pitches

During the afternoon, the Agency team and partners heard pitches from 14 innovators, from across the UK and further afield (including Canada and Japan); covering a broad spectrum of energy challenges.

Daniel Dickinson, Business Development Lead for the Agency, said, “we were pitched a fantastic range of ideas, from innovations in renewable generation such as wind and hydro turbines, to new hardware and software that decarbonises heating systems, to digital twins and technology that vastly improves building energy control and therefore usage”.

“Some businesses are ready for deployment, others earlier in their R&D phase, and some are looking for investment to scale rapidly. The Agency team and I are excited to support these innovators, and get their solutions deployed at scale to make the biggest impact possible!”.

The Projects

The Agency is currently working alongside local authorities to bring a unique renewable energy solution to our highways and rooftops, to secure seed investment for a novel hydrogen fuel cell technology that promises to significantly reduce production costs, and to introduce a suite of smart electric heating solutions to social housing that can operate standalone or improve heat pump performance, decarbonising heating and reducing energy bills.

Respond to our energy challenges

If you have a solution that can contribute to the decarbonisation of Greater Manchester by 2038, or if you are interested in support from the Agency, please contact usor complete our Challenge Response form.