H2UB first connected with Manchester last year by hosting an Innovate UK delegation during our accelerator program.
This year, we joined the Delegation Trip Greater Manchester organized by Business Metropole Ruhr as part of the Manchester Innovation Summit.
One conference day was fully dedicated to hydrogen. Our colleague Robin Ibing joined a panel on future collaboration between the Ruhr Valley and Greater Manchester and contributed to a breakout session on the skills needed to build the hydrogen value chain.
Industrial legacies as starting points for the future
Manchester’s industrial past is rooted in textiles, steam engines, railways and machinery – all powered by coal. Essen, in turn, became a global hub for coal, steel and heavy industry with giants like thyssenkrupp shaping industrial supply chains.
Both cities share the legacy of heavy industry. Today, that know-how is being re-channeled into the hydrogen-driven green transition:
- Manchester unites research, industry and politics in its Hydrogen Fuel Innovation Centre to develop emission‑free mobility and energy solutions.
- Essen and the Ruhr region combine industrial expertise, infrastructure, start-ups and research institutes as well as energy and tech companies, to develop roadmaps and pilots for electrolysis, pipelines, refueling and storage. Networks like Business Metropole Ruhr and H2UB coordinate and accelerate these efforts toward Net Zero.
Greater Manchester’s Hydrogen Strategy 2025–2030
At the summit, Manchester also presented its new five-year hydrogen strategy, a regionally tailored plan designed to:
- translate national and international targets into concrete projects.
- provide clarity for investors and industry.
- enable a scalable rollout of infrastructure, innovation and skills development.
- identify priority sectors and places for hydrogen deployment.
All in all, the Manchester Innovation Summit showed the potential of linking Manchester’s R&D and advanced manufacturing strengths with the Ruhr’s dense industrial ecosystem.
A big thank-you to Business Metropole Ruhr for organizing the delegation trip and inviting us to be part of this exchange!
Pictures by Business Metropole Ruhr