Page 39 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan 2018

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Factory of the Future
The Factory of the Future project will establish an academic research hub which will provide technology solutions for manufacturing businesses. The project will also establish four physical spokes in Pembroke, Carmarthen, Neath and Port Talbot, each linking in with research facilities in Swansea university. These facilities will:
• Use state of the art equipment and bring together experts from engineering, IT, economics and management
• Improve and increase the use of data and technology to react immediately to changes in demands. This is also known as Smart Manufacturing.
Pembroke Dock Marine
The Pembroke Dock Marine project will regenerate an area of Pembroke Dock to create a dedicated site which will be used as a base by marine energy developers to progress their devices from an idea to a commercial product. The site will allow developers to test, manufacture and maintain offshore renewable energy devices and will be supported by the development of:
• A Marine Energy Test Area (META) - a series of areas along the waterway where developers can test devices at an early stage of development.
• The Pembrokeshire Wave Energy Demonstration Zone - a large offshore wave energy site which can be used by developers to test more developed devices in open sea conditions.
• The Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence (MEECE) - to coordinate and share knowledge, resource, experience and capacity between existing and future developers.
Centre of Excellence for Next Generation Services
The project will involve building a new CENGS technology centre in Baglan. The Centre will offer a range of laboratories and office space to the scientific community and industry. In doing so the centre will bring together a range of technical and commercial experts to bridge the gap between research and application of ideas to industry.
Steel Science
The Steel Science project will:
• Create a centre where steel technologists, academic and research staff will work together to find solutions to problems facing the UK steel sector.
• Develop innovative ways of how the steel industry can use local waste products to create carbon positive steel products and alternative sources of energy that could be used during the steel making process.
Digital Infrastructure
The project will include targeted fixed line improvements to expand the provision of fixed ultra-fast broadband, 4G and WiFi capabilities to benefit both rural and urban areas of the region as well as establish Internet Theme Testbeds to support innovation with 5G mobile connectivity.
Homes as Power Stations
The project will create a new industry in the region which will develop and build innovative energy technologies. These technologies will be applied to new and existing homes in the region and will allow them to produce, store and use their own energy. This will make these homes more energy efficient and reduce energy costs.
The project will also focus on smart technologies in relation to energy demand management (i.e. grid import and export in relation to energy demand, building integrated renewable energy and energy storage) for both new and retrofit housing. The proposed Centre for Excellence in Next Generation Services project will provide a data analytics capability to support the projects smart healthy elements.
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Aspirational Projects and Key Developments