Morgan Sindall will build an ‘energy positive’ industrial building after the firm has won a contract worth £7.9m. Neath Port Talbot Council has appointed the firm to take on the works for the Technology Centre which will be located at Baglan Energy Park in Swansea Bay.
The new construction of 180-acre Business Park will comprise a three-storey building in which start-up companies will open offices with a focus on innovation. Canolfan Arloesi Bae Baglan Bay Innovation Centre is located beside the new construction.
It will be one of only a few net-positive buildings in the region, creating more energy than it produces and offsetting more carbon than it produces. Neath Port Talbot Council has commissioned the new facility as part of its £58m ‘supporting innovation and low carbon growth’ programme.
Under the Swansea City Bay Deal, it will be part-funded by the £1.8bn regional investment project. It will also receive support from the European Regional Development fund. Morgan Sindall is working with design consultants IBI Group and Hydrock.
The collaboration will allow the building to achieve an energy performance ratio of 0.998 – a 281% improvement over building regulations. The tender agreement describes it as a ‘small power station’, surplus energy from the building’s solar panels and other renewable technologies.
The energy will be converted into hydrogen at the nearby Hydrogen Centre, run by the University of South Wales, and used to fuel hydrogen vehicles. Construction is scheduled to complete in late 2021.
Approximately 2,500 square metres of office and laboratory space is allocated inside that includes a reception and atrium on the first floor. There will also be a small integrated plant room and external transformer house.