Bouygues UK has handed over the Translational Research Hub to Cardiff University, marking the completion of its work on the Cardiff Innovation Campus.

The Translational Research Hub (TRH) will house two world-leading scientific research establishments; the Institute for Compound Semiconductors and Cardiff Catalysis Institute.

Designed to foster collaboration, the 129,000sq ft research hub is the largest of its kind in Wales, bringing together industrial partners alongside researchers to design, develop and test new cleaner, greener products and processes using the Hub’s bespoke laboratories, offices, shared collaborative scientific spaces, ERDF-funded cleanroom and state-of-the-art microscopy suite.

Bouygues UK won the contract to build the £150m state of the art campus, part of Cardiff University’s biggest campus upgrade for a generation. The TRH is adjacent to the sbarc|spark building, which was the first building Bouygues UK completed for the University’s Cardiff Innovation Campus. It features 12,000msq of floor space across six storeys, an oculus staircase leading to commercial units and lab spaces for spinouts and start-ups as well as a public open space with a café and a flexible auditorium for TEDx-style events.

Social value was a key factor during the build of the Innovation Campus and throughout the project Bouygues UK delivered almost 6,000 weeks of employment for apprentices, trainees, graduates and previously unemployed people.

Bouygues UK’s Operations Director for Wales, Stephen Davies, said: “Handing over the Translational Research Hub to our valued client Cardiff University brings our work on Cardiff Innovation Campus to a successful completion. It has been a hugely rewarding experience for our team to be involved in such a complex and exciting project which will provide world leading science and research.

“The success of the project has been underpinned by the great teamwork from all parties involved including our design team, supply chain partners, Gleeds and Cardiff University. I am particularly delighted with our team’s commitment to social value with over 470 hours of our staff’s time donated to education and support, 26 work experience placements offered, and 60 jobs given to previously unemployed people.

“We wish to thank Cardiff University, Gleeds and all our partners for their support and commitment in helping us to deliver an exceptional project to such a high standard.”

Wales’s Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said of the project: “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.”

Professor Rudolf Allemann, Pro Vice-Chancellor, International and Student Recruitment and Head of the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, said: “TRH is a magnet for innovation. Built with industry to support cutting edge research and to strengthen the University’s interaction with industry, it will support the UK and Wales economy by building partnerships that create new products and processes. Cardiff’s leading researchers will use these fantastic bespoke facilities to work with partners across exciting sectors including energy, advanced materials, transport, communication, and healthcare creating pioneering new technologies, charting innovative research directions that lead to future funding proposals.”