Sustainable future demonstrated at Tata Steel site

A unique centre which will develop and demonstrate ultimate low-carbon, low-energy sustainable construction technologies, has been opened by the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones at Tata Steel’s Shotton site.

Known as the Sustainable Building Envelope Centre (SBEC), the Centre is a result of a collaboration between the Welsh Assembly Government, the Low Carbon Research Institute (LCRI) and Tata Steel.

The building will be a showcase for sustainable products and used to test and monitor new integrated heating, energy and ventilation systems on the fabric of the building. At SBEC, a team of researchers and technologists will create building façades – the walls and roofs – capable of transforming buildings from being energy consumers into energy generators.

Launching the facility, the First Minister said: “This Centre will showcase practical solutions for a sustainable future. It shows how we can optimise Wales’s strengths in research and development in engineering and technology, and also in the manufacture of steel products for the vital construction sector. It is good to see this development in North Wales turning sustainable ambition into reality.”