EU funds research institute in Wales

First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, announced EU funding in support of a new research institute for advanced engineering during a visit to TWI Technology Centre in Port Talbot. Work on the facility is set to begin in the current months.

The EU is investing £7.5 million to kick-start the build of new, state-of-the-art engineering laboratories at Harbourside Business Park. The EU funding award will be matched by industry support and underwritten by TWI to create a total project fund of £19.5 million for the development of the new Advanced Engineering Materials Research Institute.

AEMRI will be a unique facility in Wales for structural testing and evaluation, and will support cutting edge industrial research. It creates 16 highly skilled jobs, as well as training 20 PhD students and providing business growth opportunities for Welsh engineering and manufacturing businesses through access to its testing facilities.

Carwyn Jones said: ‘EU funds for this new facility will result in more collaborative cutting-edge research and development taking place in Wales and will generate significant inward investment through major industrial partnerships.?

‘I am delighted that we’ve been able to support this expansion. It’s excellent news for our advanced engineering sector and will put Wales at the forefront of innovation in engineering during the coming years.

‘I am pleased we can bring business growth and new highly skilled jobs to Port Talbot after the severe blow to the community last week. We are a pro-business government, and continue to work closely with companies to create growth and jobs in every part of Wales.’

The scheme has received backing from a range of global manufacturing companies and will generate over £12 million of inward investment within the next seven years through industry collaborations targeting companies such as Rolls-Royce, Boeing and Siemens.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/04022016/eu-funds-research-institute-in-wales-441/