Author: Rhys Gregory

Ahead of Earth Day this Friday (22 April), Tech Nation shares some of the best and brightest climate tech companies from Wales that are tackling the climate emergency and building towards a better future. Gerard Grech, Founding CEO of Tech Nation, comments: “Earth Day is a good time to remind ourselves that aside from the need to change our behaviours as citizens and consumers, climate technology is critical to achieving Net Zero, globally. The UK climate tech sector has seen a doubling of investment deals over the last 3 years, with acceleration in areas such as energy, agriculture, waste management…

UK public transport technology provider, Passenger has announced a major new partnership with Transport for Wales as it prepares to unveil a new bus app and website for its TrawsCymru long distance bus network. The new, multilingual TrawsCymru app and website will support the Welsh Government’s intent of achieving a bus system that boosts social equity and is capable of delivering the scale of modal shift needed to combat the climate emergency. TrawsCymru will launch on Passenger’s customer experience platform and utilise its journey planning, bus timetables and live vehicle tracking capabilities. Mobile app ticketing, complemented by ticket eCommerce on…

Hot on the heels of launching Wales’ first Aquavit, Monmouthshire-based Silver Circle Distillery recently invited a host of aspiring and professional mixologists from across the South West to come up with the perfect Aquavit cocktail – or ‘signature serve’. On April 5th, ten finalists competed in person at Lab 22 in Cardiff, a fitting venue which was recently named Best Cocktail Bar in the UK at the Top 50 Cocktail Bars Awards. Each entrant was asked to create a brand new cocktail using Silver Circle Aquavit; though traditionally drunk neat in Scandinavia, Silver Circle Aquavit is distilled with caraway, fennel, raspberry, lemon and rye, making it an…

A vital wellbeing and employment support service which helped more than 890 people across North Wales since 2019, has received a funding boost to continue operating for another 12 months. iCAN Work, led by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, is the only one of its kind in Wales and will now be able to provide specialist employment support for people with mental health needs across the six counties in North Wales until 31 March 2023. In Denbighshire, Conwy, and Anglesey the scheme is delivered by community interest company RCS, which provides employees and employers across North and West Wales with wellbeing…

New research from University of South Wales (USW) investigates how cryotherapy (cold treatments) can affect athletic performance. In recent years, Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) treatment (which involves exposure to extremely cold air of less than -100°C) has become an increasingly popular tool for athletic recovery. It has been the subject of media coverage due to the reported use of cryotherapy chambers by Warren Gatland’s Wales rugby union team and, more recently, Leicester City football team. According to press, Christiano Ronaldo spent £50,000 importing his own cryotherapy chamber. Adnan Haq, Lecturer of Sport and Exercise Science at USW, said: “It is…

The winners of the 2022 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise have been announced today (21 April), celebrating the achievements of UK businesses. Five businesses in Wales feature in the list, including 4 Mental Health, CatSci, EMPOWER Translate (Global), Purolite and Colour Tone Masterbatch. This year, 232 businesses representing every part of the United Kingdom and a range of sectors have been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen on her birthday as among the best in the country. Awards have been won in the categories of International Trade (141 winners), Innovation (51), Sustainable Development (31) and Promoting Opportunity (9). Small Business Minister…

The tour will celebrate the UNESCO world heritage status of the North West Wales slate landscape, giving Welsh audiences an opportunity to learn more about Wales’ lesser-known connections to the Atlantic Slave Trade.  Together with the Screen and Sound Archive at the National Library of Wales, Film Hub Wales (FHW) have developed a touring programme of Welsh archive shorts and feature films highlighting the history of slate mining in Wales, its impact on local communities and connections to wider colonial projects led by the British empire. The package includes a range of films from Slate Quarrying (1946) which depicts working life in the 1200 ft deep Penrhyn Slate Quarry, Bethesda, to Cut…

Wales & West Utilities has joined forces with the rest of the UK’s gas distribution networks and Fuel Bank Foundation to provide a pathway to help people living in fuel poverty. The gas emergency and pipeline service for Wales and south west England has partnered with Cadent, Northern Gas Networks and SGN in committing to providing the charity with a combined £500,000 fund over two years to support households in a fuel crisis. The money will be used to provide same or next day emergency financial support to people struggling to top-up their prepayment gas and/or electricity meters. Fuel Bank Foundation will also provide additional ongoing…

A group of students at a college in south Wales have created the first ever language app for refugees and asylum seekers. AILEM has been created to provide knowledge and education to support the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in integrating into society. The app is the result of a year-long project by students at UWC Atlantic College in Llantwit Major. Abobakar, 18, is a refugee from Afghanistan on a full scholarship at UWC Atlantic, and co-created the app with his classmate Zakarya, who is also a refugee, alongside their fellow students Lucia and Xinyao Liu. “Unemployment, discrimination, poverty…

A Mountain Ash man and woman have been sentenced after they caused their two dogs to unnecessarily suffer. Kenneth George Thomas (d.o.b 20/04/1964) and Denise Kimberley Warner (d.o.b 21/06/1973), of Hazel Terrace, Perthcelyn, Mountain Ash, appeared at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 13 April, and faced two offences under the Animal Welfare Act. Both defendants had pleaded guilty to these at the first hearing. The offences were that they caused unnecessary suffering to a brindle Staffordshire bull terrier type dog called Sheba, and also a dog called Vinnie, by failing to provide sufficient nutrition for their needs. In a witness…