Supporting Innovation and Low Carbon Growth
This £58.7 million programme will deliver sustainable jobs and growth in the Swansea Bay City Region to support the creation of a decarbonised and innovative economy, thanks to a partnership between government, academia and industry.
Seven linked projects will help:
- Decarbonise the steel and metals industry
- Provide high-quality office space for businesses
- Provide a route map for the commercialisation of hydrogen
- Support the advanced manufacturing sector
- Establish a regional approach to decarbonise journeys in the region.
With a targeted focus on the Port Talbot Waterfront Harbourside area, this programme, led by Neath Port Talbot Council, is projected to be worth £6.2 million a year to the local economy.
The Supporting Innovation and Low Carbon Growth programme is made up of seven inter-linked projects under four themes:
- An energy positive Technology Centre building on Baglan Energy Park, providing flexible office space for start-up companies and indigenous businesses, with a focus on the innovation, ICT and R&D sectors. The excess energy from solar and other renewable technologies will be converted into hydrogen at the nearby Hydrogen Centre to be used to fuel hydrogen vehicles
- A specialist facility which will support the steel and metals industry in Port Talbot, Wales and the UK, while reducing its carbon footprint.
- Decarbonisation projects including a low emission vehicle charging network, as well as air quality monitoring and a hydrogen stimulus project
- An Industrial Futures project to address the gap between demand and supply for businesses and available land in the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone, with a hybrid building providing production units as well as office space to support start-ups and indigenous businesses in the innovation and manufacturing sectors
Status: Business case approved by the UK Government and Welsh Government.