Greater Manchester is partnering with Daikin on a low-carbon project that will retrofit 1,000 homes.
The partnership will also see Greater Manchester become a test-bed for new net zero technologies and services, with the aim of boosting investment and job creation in the city-region.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Chairman of the board of Daikin Europe N.V. and Senior Executive Officer of Daikin Industries, Ltd., Masatsugu Minaka.
Over the next two years, between 800 and 1,000 homes across Greater Manchester will benefit from trials of retrofitting measures and low-carbon heating technologies, including air-source heat pumps.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:
This landmark partnership between Greater Manchester and Daikin builds on years of collaboration and friendship between our city-region and Japan. It’s a vote of confidence in our ambitious, science-based plans to become carbon neutral by 2038, and shows how we’re using our international outreach to make a positive difference to people right here in Greater Manchester.
We want to connect the dots between decarbonising our homes and buildings, fostering net zero innovation, and developing skills in the green industries of the future. As part of our Trailblazer negotiations with the Government we are making the case for more devolved control in these areas, and for the role that city-regions have to play in addressing shared global challenges. This partnership with Daikin will provide a strong foundation for more opportunities to bring those green jobs, skills, and investment to Greater Manchester.
Masatsugu Minaka, Chairman of the board of Daikin Europe N.V. and Senior Executive Officer of Daikin Industries, Ltd., said:
This pioneering partnership between Daikin and GMCA will see Greater Manchester take significant steps towards its goal to become carbon neutral by 2038. We believe this relationship is a best practice approach to meeting decarbonisation targets in social housing.
We are committed to making a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of Greater Manchester and will continue to engage in public-private partnerships in the future, as well as bringing innovative environmental technologies to market in the UK and across Europe.
Cllr Martyn Cox, Greater Manchester’s Green City-Region lead, said:
Utilising new technologies to ensure homes across Greater Manchester are less reliant on carbon for heat and power has to be a huge priority as we look to reach net zero carbon by 2038.
This is a really exciting partnership that will mean up to 1,000 homes in Greater Manchester will benefit from low-carbon technologies which will not only boost our efforts to create a greener Greater Manchester but will lower the cost of heating too at a time when people need this most.
