Innovation plan to boost Liverpool’s science superpower ambition

Steve Rotheram has unveiled a multi-billion pound plan to supercharge the Liverpool City Region’s innovation powerhouse credentials.

The metro mayor said that the city region is aiming to invest five per cent of its economy on Research and Development (R&D) by 2030 – nearly double the government’s UK target. Achieving this would add an estimated £41.7 billion to the city region’s economy and create 44,000 jobs.

A new Innovation Prospectus details how the city region’s world-leading expertise in infection control, materials chemistry and artificial intelligence would be a launchpad for future discoveries and investment.

With net-zero projects such as Mersey Tidal Power and hydrogen energy factored in, the city region has more than £12 billion of innovation projects primed for investment. In the five years before the pandemic, the city region attracted £2 billion of innovation investment and currently has a further £1 billion of projects underway.

Rotheram said: “For as long as we have existed, people and businesses from the Liverpool City Region have been inspiring and changing the world. It’s fair to say that innovation is in our DNA. But I don’t want us just to dine out on our past. I am determined to make our region the country’s innovation engine and to make that happen, we will be investing five per cent of our GVA in research and development over the next few years – nearly double the government’s national targets. I want to take advantage of our strengths – and potential – and turn them into profitable businesses, creating better, greener jobs and bringing greater prosperity to local people.”