The Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Manchester, University of Cumbria and Salford University
Keywords: Green infrastructure, biodiversity, carbon capture, urban sustainability, AI in ecology, machine vision, smart cities, plant health monitoring
Sector: digital and technologies, life sciences, Sustainable urban infrastructure; green building technologies, particularly biophilic design and nature-based solutions integrated into city planning and architecture.
Project leads: Professor Bamidele Adebisi MBE, Manchester Metropolitan University; Dr David Megson, Manchester Metropolitan University; Dr Emma Coulthard, Manchester Metropolitan University; Dr Weizhuo Wang, Manchester Metropolitan University; Richard Rowlands, I Want Plants ltd; Joseph Rouse, I Want Plants ltd; Ollie Brighton, I Want Plants ltd
Project collaborators: I Want Plants Limited; Manchester Metropolitan University; University of Manchester; University of Cumbria; Salford University; Trafford Council
Issues addressed by the project
The project addresses the urban environmental crisis, targeting the ‘triple planetary crisis’, as defined by the UN: climate change, air pollution and biodiversity loss. Despite their promise, there is a lack of quantitative evidence of the impact of urban green walls. The project aims to generate scientific data on their effectiveness in carbon capture, air quality improvement, biodiversity support, acoustic dampening, water quality improvement and human wellbeing enhancement.
To ensure long-term impact and scalability, the project also addresses operational challenges such as inconsistent plant health assessment, fragmented data practices, and environmental costs in sourcing and logistics. the project supports the reliable, efficient, and widespread deployment of sustainable green infrastructure by overcoming these barriers through AI-enabled monitoring and data-driven maintenance strategies, unlocking significant environmental, economic, and social value for urban communities.
This data generates easily understandable insights to be used by diverse stakeholders ranging from policy makers to local community members.
Future impact of the project
HYVERT, a modular living wall system, provides scalable green infrastructure that improves urban health and climate resilience. The project demonstrated quantifiable benefits, such as 1.2kg/m²/year carbon sequestration, 17-74% air pollutant reduction, biodiversity support for up to 600 invertebrate species, and psychological wellbeing gains. By validating these outcomes scientifically, the project empowers local authorities, businesses, and developers to confidently implement sustainable designs-improving air quality, reducing energy consumption, and supporting a greener urban future.
The next phase of the HYVERT initiative focuses on integrating advanced digital technologies, such as AI, IoT, and machine vision, to enhance the performance and scalability of nature-based urban infrastructure. By introducing intelligent monitoring and decision-support capabilities, the project aims to minimise resource use, support ecosystem health, and enable wider adoption of sustainable solutions in urban environments.
Key areas of development include:
- Remote, image-based techniques for monitoring vegetation health
- Data-driven insights to support proactive maintenance and lifecycle planning
- Tools to guide species selection based on contextual performance goals
- Localised, technology-supported plant production methods to reduce environmental impact
Collectively, these innovations contribute to a next-generation urban greening platform designed to improve ecological outcomes, reduce operational burden, and support long-term sustainability at scale.
Place-based local and regional benefits
The project has delivered significant benefits to the North West region, particularly Greater Manchester, by fostering green innovation, boosting the local economy, and enhancing community wellbeing. It has created 26 new jobs, expanded a local SME’s operations, and supported high-skill roles in R&D, data science, and digital manufacturing.
The partnership has also advanced skills development through 12 student research projects and a funded research degree, while strengthening engagement with local schools, communities and joint ventures with local councils. A Living Lab installation at Manchester Metropolitan University serves as a public-facing showcase for sustainable design and ongoing outreach.
By localising plant production and integrating smart technologies, the project has reduced environmental impact and positioned the region as a testbed for scalable, tech-enabled urban greening-providing a replicable model for other cities pursuing climate resilience and environmental equity.
National and global benefits
The project strengthens the UK’s position as a global leader in evidence-based, digitally enabled nature-based solutions. Nationally, it has informed green infrastructure policy and practice through collaboration with local authorities, CPD training, and public engagement. Globally, the scalable, data-driven system offers practical tools for cities addressing challenges such as heat islands, air pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Key benefits include:
- Modular AI and IoT toolkits adaptable to diverse urban environments
- Methodologies to support global green infrastructure adoption
- Scientifically validated, automated systems enabling rapid and reliable upscaling
By combining technical innovation with ecological impact, the project contributes directly to net-zero, climate resilience, and biodiversity goals both in the UK and internationally.
Level of investment and timescale
The initial phase of the project was delivered through a two-year Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), complemented by targeted micro-project funding and in-kind contributions from both partners. A second KTP is now in progress to extend the platform’s digital capabilities, with further external funding applications underway.
The combination of services under the HYVERT.ai such as maintenance and environmental reporting created as part of the second KTP are estimated to generate £75-110k/Yr, working as a model which increases total revenue coming in from clients whilst the plant health monitoring software is estimated to save the company around £15-35k/Yr in reduced labour visits.
Risk vs reward
The integration of environmental science, engineering, and advanced digital technologies-including AI, IoT, and data analytics-carried inherent risks, particularly around technical uncertainty and implementation at scale. However, these were outweighed by the rewards: the project exceeded its commercial and academic targets within 18 months, including significant increases in turnover, job creation, and national recognition through awards and follow-on collaborations.
This balanced, innovation-led approach has delivered substantial value across economic, environmental, and societal dimensions-demonstrating a high-impact return on investment and a compelling model for risk-aware, purpose-driven R&D.
Further aspects
Sustainability principles have been embedded across the company’s operations-from plant sourcing and manufacturing to logistics-reinforcing long-term environmental and commercial value. The project has also created a blueprint for effective university-SME collaboration, supporting knowledge exchange and innovation-led growth. Building on this foundation, a second collaborative project is extending the system’s capabilities through data-driven technologies.
Key areas of development include:
- Enhanced monitoring techniques for system performance – £1-1.5k/yr saving from for each client from reduced site visits.
- Predictive tools to support long-term planning and maintenance; 5-8% reduction in plant replacement costs per year £15-35k/Yr
- Improved workflows for service coordination and data capture;8 – 12 hrs per week reduction in administrative tasks.
- Smart infrastructure features for resource efficiency and sustainability – 18% reduction in transport emissions from reduced site travel and using remote monitoring.
- Decision-support tools for adaptive system design
- Scalable approaches to local production and deployment
- Operational analytics to support delivery and installation
This work marks a transition from static green infrastructure to a responsive, integrated platform-positioning the partners at the forefront of sustainable innovation in the built environment.
The success of the project has lead to the creation of a sister company HYVERT.ai, focusing data collection, analysis and reporting for the green infrastructure sector. Alongside this various green infrastructure products (e.g Green roofing, SuDS etc) have been developed based on the partnerships R&D.
