Funding of nearly £38m has been announced for
a facility to make compound semiconductors - a
new technology behind robotics, 5G and driverless
cars.
The 10 councils in the Cardiff Capital Region are
set to develop the foundry in Newport, which
could create about 2,000 high skilled jobs in five
years.
The funding follows £12m from the Welsh
Government in November 2015.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said it would boost
Wales' global reputation.
The facility will cost £8m to refurbish and £30m
to kit out with all the technology required.
It will
be owned by the councils and is projected to
create £375m of private sector investment in the
next five years.
These will be highly skilled and highly paid jobs,
with the going rate expected to be around
£65,000 a year.
Compound semiconductors are expected to
revolutionise technology and enable a wide range
of developments like robotics, 5G, renewable
energy and driverless cars.
Making south east Wales a European centre of
excellence for the technology very
and modern
electronics was central to the £1.2bn City Deal
agreed between the local authorities and the
Welsh and UK governments.
Welsh company IQE, which is based in St
Mellons, Cardiff, and exports around the world,
has already joined with Cardiff University and the
Welsh Government to invest in developing a
compound semiconductor cluster in the area.
Already there are a number of companies making
and using more traditional semiconductors -
made of silicon - across south east Wales.
The aim of the latest investment is to create a
network of those companies and help them
develop further so that Wales can be a world
leader in making them and developing
technologies that will use them.
Mr Jones said: "Today's announcement is great
news for Wales - and the first of many new
exciting projects set to make a real difference to
the economy of south east Wales and, ultimately,
to people's lives."
Chairman of the City Deal regional cabinet,
Rhonda Cynon Taf council leader Andrew Morgan,
said the foundry was the "first tangible
demonstration" of the partnership in action.
The dream of those behind this project is that
compound semiconductors will do for south east
Wales what silicon semiconductors did for Palo
Alto in California.
The development of silicon semiconductors
revolutionised technology and became a lucrative
industry. Silicon Valley became known around the
world and attracted high levels of investment and
became "the place " to set up tech companies.
Compound semiconductors are in effect the next
generation. Using them, technologies can develop
that can for instance make solar energy more
efficient, enable 5G, improve robotics, or
driverless cars.
They would also make possible developments
often referred to as "The Internet of Things",
where our devices can talk to each other. For
instance where vehicles or buildings can
communicate with each other and exchange data.
The technological opportunities are wide-ranging
and the dream is that by being at the forefront of
development of compound semiconductors the
whole of the Welsh economy would move up a
gear. One of the aims of the Cardiff City Deal
was to increase productivity in south east Wales
and the development of this cluster has been very
much a part of that aim.
What also stands out is that the local authorities
that made up the Cardiff Capital Region would
own the foundry that would make the compound
semiconductors and it would be leased to the
private sector. The investment is not a grant or a
loan but a commercial investment and the
business plan is for the original investment plus
interest to be returned to the councils over the
lifetime of the project.
a facility to make compound semiconductors - a
new technology behind robotics, 5G and driverless
cars.
The 10 councils in the Cardiff Capital Region are
set to develop the foundry in Newport, which
could create about 2,000 high skilled jobs in five
years.
The funding follows £12m from the Welsh
Government in November 2015.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said it would boost
Wales' global reputation.
The facility will cost £8m to refurbish and £30m
to kit out with all the technology required.
It will
be owned by the councils and is projected to
create £375m of private sector investment in the
next five years.
These will be highly skilled and highly paid jobs,
with the going rate expected to be around
£65,000 a year.
Compound semiconductors are expected to
revolutionise technology and enable a wide range
of developments like robotics, 5G, renewable
energy and driverless cars.
Making south east Wales a European centre of
excellence for the technology very
and modern
electronics was central to the £1.2bn City Deal
agreed between the local authorities and the
Welsh and UK governments.
Welsh company IQE, which is based in St
Mellons, Cardiff, and exports around the world,
has already joined with Cardiff University and the
Welsh Government to invest in developing a
compound semiconductor cluster in the area.
Already there are a number of companies making
and using more traditional semiconductors -
made of silicon - across south east Wales.
The aim of the latest investment is to create a
network of those companies and help them
develop further so that Wales can be a world
leader in making them and developing
technologies that will use them.
Mr Jones said: "Today's announcement is great
news for Wales - and the first of many new
exciting projects set to make a real difference to
the economy of south east Wales and, ultimately,
to people's lives."
Chairman of the City Deal regional cabinet,
Rhonda Cynon Taf council leader Andrew Morgan,
said the foundry was the "first tangible
demonstration" of the partnership in action.
The dream of those behind this project is that
compound semiconductors will do for south east
Wales what silicon semiconductors did for Palo
Alto in California.
The development of silicon semiconductors
revolutionised technology and became a lucrative
industry. Silicon Valley became known around the
world and attracted high levels of investment and
became "the place " to set up tech companies.
Compound semiconductors are in effect the next
generation. Using them, technologies can develop
that can for instance make solar energy more
efficient, enable 5G, improve robotics, or
driverless cars.
They would also make possible developments
often referred to as "The Internet of Things",
where our devices can talk to each other. For
instance where vehicles or buildings can
communicate with each other and exchange data.
The technological opportunities are wide-ranging
and the dream is that by being at the forefront of
development of compound semiconductors the
whole of the Welsh economy would move up a
gear. One of the aims of the Cardiff City Deal
was to increase productivity in south east Wales
and the development of this cluster has been very
much a part of that aim.
What also stands out is that the local authorities
that made up the Cardiff Capital Region would
own the foundry that would make the compound
semiconductors and it would be leased to the
private sector. The investment is not a grant or a
loan but a commercial investment and the
business plan is for the original investment plus
interest to be returned to the councils over the
lifetime of the project.
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