1st July 2022 saw the official hand over of the Translational Research Hub (TRH). A multi-million-pound Cardiff University innovation hub where industry and scientists work together to solve commercial challenges is open for business.
Home to two leading research establishments – the Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) and Cardiff Catalysis Institute (CCI) – the Translational Research Hub (TRH) is designed to foster collaboration.
Funded by UK and Welsh governments, TRH brings industrial partners alongside researchers to design, develop and test new cleaner, greener products and processes using the Hub’s bespoke laboratories, offices, shared collaborative spaces, bespoke ERDF-funded cleanroom and state-of-the art microscopy suite.
The 129,000-sq-ft. research hub is the largest of its kind in Wales and exemplifies UK and Wales commitments to new collaborative scientific solutions to Net Zero.
Science & Innovation Minister George Freeman said: “South Wales is one of the world’s five compound semi-conductor clusters based on the prowess and prestige of Cardiff’s chemical science research. The Translational Research Hub will bring together business and academia to help generate new technological solutions to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges, from healthcare to energy. “That’s why I’m hugely proud of the government’s investment which, from today, will help drive forward our Net Zero ambitions while boosting our efforts to establish the UK as a Science and Technology Superpower.”
Wales Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: “I am delighted this innovation centre of excellence is now open for business. The significant investment we’ve made in the centre will help bring some of the most brilliant minds in Welsh academia together to find and develop made-in-Wales solutions to the major problems facing Wales and the rest of the world.
“Developing ‘next generation’ practices and technologies that will both shape our lives today and improve our experiences tomorrow will be crucial if we are to meet the climate emergency head on and build a greener, more sustainable economy.”