Greater Manchester’s energy transition
The GMCA is innovating with hydrogen fuel cell technology
Does new technology hold the key to the energy transition?
As cities and regions all over the world strive to become more sustainable, getting to grips with new energy solutions is a vital part of the global energy transition, away from a reliance on fossil fuels and towards renewable sources.
There are exciting times ahead for Greater Manchester, as the city-region is set to play a leading role in exploring the real-world potential of hydrogen as a 100% renewable power source.
Through a ground-breaking partnership, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Manchester Metropolitan University, SSE Energy Solutions, Electricity North West and Carlton Power have signed an agreement with Panasonic, to deploy its innovative hydrogen fuel cell technology.
The agreement came about shortly after a delegation from Greater Manchester, led by Mayor Andy Burnham, made an important visit to Panasonic’s facility for the technology in Japan.
In her role as Honorary Consul of Japan for Manchester, Deloitte’s senior practice partner for the North West, Jo Ahmed, worked together with partners from Deloitte Japan to enable the critical introduction to Panasonic.
“Through our firm’s role as a champion for the region and our long-standing relationship with Panasonic, we’re proud to support an alliance with the potential to help create a greener Greater Manchester,” says Jo.
Greater Manchester has mapped out the changes it needs to make to meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2038
The exploratory partnership with Panasonic is a pioneering one. It effectively makes Greater Manchester the UK’s first use case for this hydrogen fuel cell technology, highlighting the region’s ambitious and international approach to carbon cutting.
“This partnership puts Greater Manchester at the forefront of ground-breaking new technology to reduce carbon emissions,” says Mayor Andy Burnham.
“I’m excited for a future where our hospitals and businesses are powered through 100% renewable energy, making a positive difference to the city-region and the daily lives of Greater Manchester residents.”
Over the next five years (between 2024-2028), the partnership will aim to strengthen research and innovation clusters, connecting people and ideas, and attracting investment. The GMCA-led delegation to Panasonic’s RE100 facility at its Kusatsu site was one important part of a wider, landmark mission that’s helping to connect the city with Japanese businesses and cultural institutions.
While in Japan, Andy Burnham signed a major bilateral partnership with Osaka Mayor, Hideyuki Yokoyama, to strengthen links in trade, investment, net zero innovation and cultural ties between the two cities.
“Japan is a really important international market for Greater Manchester,” says Deloitte’s Jo Ahmed.
“In this case, personal and city-to-city connections are fostering important progress for Manchester and Osaka, while also making an important contribution to global climate goals.
“Whilst in Japan we were also able proud to host a Deloitte net zero summit bringing together city leaders from across Japan with Mayor Andy Burnham and city delegates to facilitate further collaboration and to share learnings on decarbonising our cities. The impact we had in convening this summit was clear to see.”
"Working with Panasonic and our other partners will provide a strong foundation to bring more green jobs, skills, and investment to Greater Manchester."
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham
Speaking with one voice
Jo is passionate about the North West. While her Honorary Consul role and ‘day job’ as Deloitte’s senior practice partner for the North West are separate, both are focused on unlocking opportunities, so they complement each other perfectly.
Being at the heart of the region’s growth plans has given Jo a deep appreciation of its collaborative spirit. “We often call it ‘The Manchester Family,” she says, “because we work side by side and we’re passionate about reaching the same goal.”
To support this goal, through our global client network and local links, Jo and other colleagues from the firm were able to make the right connections between GMCA and decision makers at Panasonic.
“Coming together on the international stage is really important, because it means we speak with one clear voice, representing our region and its ambitions,” Jo continues.
“When you combine the public sector’s diplomacy and consensus-building skills, commercial industrial expertise and Deloitte’s international business perspective and network of clients, you have a really strong team.”
Just six weeks after talks between the GMCA and Panasonic began, a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed, marking the partnership between the six organisations.
Greater Manchester at the forefront
As the partners come together to collaborate, it’s hoped that the next five years will bring meaningful change in the city-region, creating jobs and growth while moving Greater Manchester closer towards its net zero goal.
And while access to Panasonic’s technology is vital, just as important is the spirit of collaboration that’s brought organisations across the region together.
For some, it builds on work that’s long been underway. Manchester Metropolitan University has supported the hydrogen opportunity for Greater Manchester for over a decade and the partnership is a big opportunity to push this research and innovation further forward.
Working together, the three energy companies will each play a unique part, with SSE Energy Solutions, for example, identifying the trial sites and energy infrastructure required, Electricity North West providing the network and grid connections, and Carlton Power supplying green hydrogen.
With the Greater Manchester-Osaka relationship also in place, Jo is looking forward to lending her support and Deloitte’s in any way she can.
“As part of the agreement, the two cities will be working on a joint plan for EXPO 2025, hosted by Osaka,” she explains. “EXPO is already being described as the biggest international event of the decade, and both cities have some incredible ambitions and things to share. So, watch this space.”
