Cardiff University researchers will receive a share of £41 million in funding for projects aimed at boosting UK economic growth and addressing regional needs. The 10 projects will combine the country's technical and physical research with the ambitions of civil society groups and regional institutions to strengthen the region's economic potential.  Over the next four years, they will help existing research and innovation clusters to expand and develop emerging clusters.

The project, led by a UK-wide consortium, will be funded by a new initiative called the Place-Based Impact Acceleration Account (PBIAA), offered by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of the Research and Innovation of the United Kingdom. (UKRI). ).

Cardiff University, a partner in three of the ten projects to be funded, will not only provide research expertise to enable the growth of  South Wales' compound semiconductor cluster but will also play an important role in low-carbon projects leading to green hydrogen as an energy source.

Cardiff University's Compound Semiconductor Laboratory runs the South Wales Compound Semiconductor Site-Based Impact Accelerator with support from Swansea University.

The Accelerator will address a key issue limiting the growth of the semiconductor sector in South Wales - the lack of skilled workers - by strengthening existing companies' staff with professional and practical skills and training new people in the semiconductor industry. doesn't see Access to the workforce in greater numbers.

Working with partners such as the GW4 Alliance and Welsh partners, Cardiff University is a member of the Great Western Supercluster of Hydrogen Impact for Future Technologies (GW-SHIFT).

Led by the University of Bath and supported by experts from Cardiff University's Net Zero Innovation Institute, GW-SHIFT is driving superclusters from locations in the South West of England and South Wales to accelerate the impact of low hydrogen research and innovation in carbon. Net Zero 2050 is the UK's target.