Greater Manchester Advance Manufacturing and Materials Investment

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has established a £10m Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Investment Fund (GM Advance) to continue the development of the thriving innovation ecosystem.

Funding will be provided to complete product development to minimum viable product (MVP), commercialise the production of MVP, research the adoption of advanced manufacturing techniques to an existing product, buy assets and machines to adopt advanced manufacturing techniques, expand advanced manufacturing production capacity, and access working capital for growth.

The fund offers a range of subsidised financial products, helping to retain, grow, and attract new businesses into the region. Advanced manufacturing and materials companies in Greater Manchester lack gateway funding for innovation and product development. GM Advance’s suite of products has been designed to bridge this gap in the market, helping businesses grow stronger, quicker.

GM Advance is a central part of Greater Manchester’s Investment Zone, which is providing £160m over 10 years to support the development of the city-region’s advanced manufacturing and materials sector.

The fund is open to companies ranging from new startups to small and medium-sized enterprises. To be eligible for funding, applicants need to be based in Greater Manchester or have tangible plans to relocate or expand operations into the region.

Advanced manufacturing is defined to be production processes that integrate advanced science and technology, including digital and automation, into manufacturing.

GMCA has four local priority subsectors within advanced manufacturing and materials, which will be prioritised when making investment decisions. These are:

• Sustainable materials (application of existing and development of new)
• Advanced machinery
• Digital manufacturing (enabling digital technologies such as digital twins)
• AI and machine learning