South Wales semiconductor cluster recognised in new UKRI national strategy
21st July 2026
Cardiff, 21-Jul-26
The South Wales compound semiconductor cluster has been featured in UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) new Strategy 2026-2031, which highlights a breakthrough in gallium oxide (Ga2O3) research at Swansea University.
The strategy showcases work at Swansea's Centre for Integrated Semiconductor Materials (CISM), which has established the first 4-inch thin film gallium oxide capability in the UK. Ga2O3 is an ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor material capable of supporting higher voltages, power densities and frequencies than conventional materials, with applications in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, 5G communications, and reducing power consumption in AI data centres.
The capability, housed in a new EPSRC-supported Oxide and Chalcogenide MOCVD laboratory at CISM, is set to become a national hub for thin film gallium oxide research, open to academic and industrial partners.
The recognition comes as Swansea University and CSconnected prepare to co-host ICSCRM 2027, the International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, in Wales, Newport, in September 2027, bringing the global power semiconductor community to Wales.
Notes to editors:
Read the full UKRI Strategy 2026-2031
About CSconnected
CSconnected is the not-for-profit organisation driving the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales. It brings together industry, academia, government and community to build a fully integrated ecosystem spanning world-class research, prototyping and global-scale manufacturing.
The cluster underpins the technologies set to define the next decade, including AI, clean energy, advanced communications and defence. Built on more than a decade of sustained investment, it represents a unique concentration of capability driving a new Welsh industrial revolution.
CSconnected works to accelerate growth, attract inward investment, and turn world-class expertise into long-term industrial and economic value for Wales and the UK, helping power the UK’s industrial future.
Website: csconnected.com
LinkedIn: CSconnected
For more information contact:
comms@csconnected.com
