A new report, produced by the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP), has highlighted how the the city-region’s advanced materials sector could shape how we live our lives in the future.
‘Material Gains: Building Better Cities for People and the Planet’ imagines Greater Manchester in 2038 as a city making the most of its advanced materials strengths to deliver and fairer and greener economy. The report considers ways in which technology such as graphene, which was first developed in Manchester, could shape the world in the future and offer solutions to problems across sectors such as transport and energy, to manufacturing and food production.
The report was prepared following a panel discussion on how the city-region of 2038 could look, chaired by Alok Jha, science correspondent with The Economist and in partnership with GM LEP, the University of Manchester and inward investment agency, MIDAS.
Illustrator, Barney Ibbotson, has brought the report to life with imaginings of Greater Manchester in 2038 (pictured) to showcase the possible applications for graphene in future cities. The central Manchester cityscape has been enhanced by new possibilities of graphene technology, including cleaner air, vertical farming, drones in the shape of Manchester worker bees, and new architecture made possible by stronger advanced materials.
Lou Cordwell, Chair of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP), said:
“This report is full of incredible insight provided by some of the key thinkers, organisations and companies involved in advanced materials.
“By 2038 we could see cities transformed – a future of vertical urban farms; rainwater purification units utilising graphene membranes; road surfaces which defy potholes and charge the batteries in the driverless, lightweight vehicles which pass along them.
“The air is clean, and people have a vast array of career opportunities in innovative industries that have not yet been imagined. Transportation is net carbon neutral, integrated, affordable and efficient, and new architectural structures are possible due to enhanced building materials.
“Innovation is at the heart of our Economic Vision for Greater Manchester. Creating new products and services built around advanced materials will generate opportunities for thousands of new, skilled jobs in industries which are only now being imagined.”
Justin Kelly, GM LEP board member and member of the Graphene, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Alliance (GAMMA), said:
Greater Manchester has the potential to make a significant impact in advanced materials innovation, as part of a wider advanced materials and manufacturing supercluster across the North.
“In this report we highlight the research carried out at our world-leading institutions which has then been taken forward by pioneering companies. These innovations create jobs and growth while also addressing some of the most pressing global challenges.
“The report is intended to stimulate further conversation about Greater Manchester’s role in influencing the future for global cities, while also considering how this could bring skilled jobs and economic benefits to our city-region.”
Professor Luke Georghiou, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at The University of Manchester, said:
“Advanced materials are a pervasive technology fundamental to progress in so many areas.
“The excitement of digital innovation sometimes obscures the underpinning material world we inhabit. This white paper demonstrates how sustainable growth in key sectors is being advanced by the remarkable configuration of research and manufacturing capability that we have in Greater Manchester which, over time, will also be reflected in high quality jobs and better quality of life for our citizens.”
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