The Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult (CSAC) will open its first Innovation Centre in Wales in early 2019. (csa.catapult.org.uk)

The announcement — made by Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns last month — also confirmed that the UK’s newest Catapult will receive £51 million of grant funding.

With analysts predicting that the world market for compound semiconductors will increase from $66 billion to over $300 billion by 2031, the Catapult will ensure that the UK is a major player in the industry.

Mr Cairns said: “This investment in the CSAC cements Wales’s reputation as a leader in advanced electronics.

Bringing together academics and businesses to develop new technologies will support areas of our daily lives, from the next-generation 5G mobile-phone network to improving scanning at airport security.

Our investment in this technology will help Welsh businesses exploit a hugely lucrative global market and ensure that Wales continues to lead the world in science and innovation, creating vital new jobs along the way.”

CSAC CEO Stephen Doran said: “Our Catapult is a UK-wide centre, based in Wales. With immediate effect, this grant funding will allow it to create a critical mass of industry-leading expertise at the heart of the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales.

“The transformative potential for compound semiconductors to meet the challenges of the future has never been higher, and our new Innovation Centre will make sure that Wales is at the forefront of this revolution.

“So far we have had contact with more than 150 businesses from around the UK.

“That has allowed us to develop an in-depth understanding of the compound semiconductor market and to create a strategy that will help us to support and collaborate with industry.”