#hafodmorfacopperworks — Public Fediverse posts

SWANSEA: Council electricians patent lightning-protection process experts said couldn’t be done

Two electricians who met working for Swansea Council have patented a new process for lightning protection systems — after some industry experts told them it couldn’t be done.

David James and Ross Miller, founders of James Miller Solutions, developed the technique over hundreds of hours of testing — much of it, by David’s own account, in a shed.

Lightning and high-voltage earthing conductors are fitted anywhere a strike could cause damage or danger — churches, stadiums, hospitals, airports, power stations and electrical substations among them.

Joining the copper or aluminium parts of those systems has traditionally involved blow torches or high-heat chemical reactions — methods the pair say carry safety risks, can fail, and produce high carbon emissions.

Their answer is an induction-based process — using electromagnetic heating rather than open flame — which they say makes the bonding safer, more consistent and less dependent on operator skill.

The idea came on a live job in Port Talbot during Covid. “It became clear there had to be a better way,” David said. “From there, we spent hundreds of hours developing and refining the system in a shed.”

“Coming from Swansea — with its strong copper and engineering history — we’ve always understood the importance of working safely and precisely with metals,” he added.

Ross said the work “involved constant testing and refining, even when we were told it wouldn’t work”, adding: “In many ways, it reflects Swansea’s long engineering tradition — solving real problems through practical innovation.”

According to the company, independent testing at Cardiff University’s high-voltage laboratory showed the system could handle electrical loads around three times stronger than a typical lightning strike — while tests at Swansea University’s Swansea Materials Research and Testing (SMaRT) facility found it withstood up to 9,700lbs of physical force without failing.

The pair met as electricians at Swansea Council. David now teaches renewable energy at Gower College Swansea, while Ross still works for the authority — and a council secondment has allowed him to work on the technology full-time after James Miller Solutions was selected for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Regional Talent Engines programme.

“We never set out to become entrepreneurs — we were just trying to solve a problem we faced at work,” Ross said. “Along the way we’ve become inventors and business owners, which has been an incredible experience.”

The project was supported by a Swansea Council business innovation grant, funded through the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

Council leader Rob Stewart said: “It’s inspiring to see two people who started their careers with the council develop an idea that has the potential to improve safety and sustainability across the electrical industry.”

David said the approach “could significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to traditional methods” on large projects such as substations.

The company says the technology is attracting interest from electricity network operators, major contractors, universities and industry bodies, with talks under way about trials — and the pair plan to expand into infrastructure and construction projects across south Wales and beyond.

Fittingly, the pair marked the news at the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks — the cradle of the copper industry David cites — where restoration of the historic engine houses is gathering pace.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Scaffolding tops the copperworks chimneys — as engine house restoration gathers pace
The restoration under way at the site where the pair were photographed.

Two ex-Swans staff turn one billboard into a seven-screen empire in a year
Another pair of Swansea colleagues who turned an idea into a business.

“Internationally significant” discoveries shed new light on Swansea’s industrial past
The copper-processing history unearthed at Hafod-Morfa.

SWANSEA: Barges needed to build new £8m riverside cycle and walking path linking city centre to Swansea.com Stadium

A new walking and cycling route along the River Tawe has been given the green light by Swansea Council — with the project set to become one of the most ambitious pieces of active travel infrastructure the city has seen.

The path will run for a mile along the west bank of the Tawe, from a point north of the Tawe bridges through to the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks area — linking the city centre with the copperworks, Swansea.com Stadium and Morfa Retail Park for cyclists and pedestrians. It will be built in three phases and is expected to take three years to complete.

The total cost of the scheme, including design and project management, is £8.25 million. That will be funded through a combination of £6.6 million from the Welsh Government’s regional transport fund, £1.4 million from the UK Government, and a £250,000 developer contribution linked to a separate planning permission.

The council has confirmed the project will be a complex engineering undertaking. A new revetment — a reinforced structure to support the walkway along the riverbank — will need to be constructed, and sections of the work will have to be carried out from barges because of access restrictions along parts of the river corridor.

Once complete, the new path will connect with an existing stretch of shared-use path near the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks — an area undergoing a major heritage restoration that has attracted significant investment in recent years, including the arrival of Penderyn Distillery at the site. The new route will add to the 85 miles of shared-use paths already available across Swansea.

For cyclists and pedestrians, the route will offer a traffic-free connection between the city centre and a cluster of major destinations to the north — including Swansea.com Stadium, home of Swansea City AFC, and the growing Morfa Retail Park. The Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, one of Wales’ most significant industrial heritage sites, sits at the northern end of the route.

The three-phase approach to construction reflects both the engineering complexity of the project and the need to keep disruption manageable along a stretch of riverside that already attracts walkers and recreational users.

The Tawe path forms the headline project in a wider programme of cycling and walking investment confirmed for Swansea in 2026/27. Also included in the settlement is a £700,000 shared-use path linking Ffordd Beck in Gowerton to Pont Y Cob Road — a route that would finally deliver a safe connection between the two communities that has been in planning since 2022. At the moment there is no footpath between the two locations and the only provision for cyclists is a painted advisory route on a narrow main road.

A £500,000 upgrade of the existing shared-use path between Dunvant and Gowerton is also confirmed, widening the route to improve safety and capacity. Gowerton has been the focus of active travel investment in recent years — a new cycling and walking link to Gowerton station opened after significant delays, and the latest round of funding continues to build on that network.

Taken together, the three cycling and walking schemes represent a significant step forward for active travel connectivity across the western side of Swansea — connecting the city centre to the river corridor, and linking Gowerton more effectively to both Dunvant and Loughor.

Stuart Davies, Head of Service for Transport and Highways at Swansea Council, said the funding would enable the council to deliver “a wide range of transport related projects that will benefit motorists, public transport users as well as pedestrians and cyclists.”

The broader transport package for 2026/27 also includes a £750,000 e-bike hire scheme with up to 500 bikes to be made available for short trips across Swansea, further strengthening the active travel offer alongside the new infrastructure. Locations for the e-bike hire points have yet to be confirmed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

New walking and cycling route proposed between Gowerton and Loughor
The long-planned Pont Y Cob Road route between Gowerton and Loughor — now funded for construction.

Gowerton’s long-awaited cycle and walking link to station finally opens after delays
The most recent active travel milestone in Gowerton, which the new investment builds on.

Penderyn Distillery handed keys to new Morfa Copperworks site in Swansea
One of the major regeneration projects at the northern end of the new Tawe riverside path.

New images show how heritage sites at Swansea’s Strand, Hafod Copperworks and museum could be transformed
The wider regeneration vision for the area at the northern end of the new Tawe path.