Work begins on £28m industrial research hub in historic steelmaking area

Works to build a new multi-million pound industrial research facility have begun in a Welsh county.

The project will eventually see the creation of the £28 million South Wales Industrial Transition from Carbon Hub, otherwise known as the SWITCH Harbourside building.

It will be located in the Harbourside area of Port Talbot as part of the Swansea Bay City deal, where it will aim to help “accelerate the decarbonisation of the steel and metals sector”.

The facility will be based on a brownfield parcel of land near Port Talbot Dock in an area described as having “excellent infrastructure links” nearby, such as Port Talbot Parkway Station and the M4 motorway.

It will be built by Morgan Sindall Construction and will see 95 members of staff based there once up and running.

Once completed it will contain a number of facilities such as workshops and welding zones, with mechanical testing zones and laboratory space.

It will also feature a number of offices, reception and breakout spaces for staff.

A Neath Port Talbot Council spokesperson said: “The facility, to be known as SWITCH Harbourside, will be a purpose built, open access research hub supporting innovation across academics, industry and government.

“Its focus will help sectors such as steel and metals with their decarbonisation processes, helping develop circular economy models and create advanced materials for a net zero society.

“Inside, the building will include workshop and welding areas, specialist mechanical testing zones, laboratories and a modern office space for the staffing group.”

Approval for the project was given by the council in April of 2025.

It will be funded with £8.2m from the Tata Transition Fund provided by UK Government, Tata Steel, and the Port Talbot Transition Board, along with £20m awarded through the Swansea Bay City Deal.

The early stages of work comes just weeks after the approval of plans for key infrastructure in Port Talbot that will support the delivery of Tata Steel’s new electric Arc Furnace.

It also comes after an announcement from the UK Government who said they would bring in tougher tariffs on foreign steel in order to boost domestic production.