EARLIER this week, Marine Energy Wales brought together senior representatives from national and devolved finance institutions with developers, ports and supply-chain companies operating across Wales’ offshore renewable energy sector for a dedicated finance roundtable in Pembroke Dock. Attendance was limited to premium MEW members to allow for frank, focused discussion.

The session was intentionally designed to be different.

Rather than relying on formal presentations or sales pitches, the roundtable created a facilitated, closed-door space for open dialogue. Finance organisations were able to explain clearly how they operate, what types of projects they can support, and where constraints still exist. Industry participants, in turn, set out the real-world challenges they are facing across tidal energy, floating offshore wind, port infrastructure and supply-chain development.

What emerged was more than information sharing—it was a clearer, shared understanding of how decisions are made on both sides.

From siloed conversations to shared problem-solving

A consistent theme from the discussion was that significant public and institutional finance is now available to support clean energy projects. However, navigating that landscape remains complex, particularly for early-stage developments, smaller supply-chain businesses and emerging technologies.

By bringing the right people into the room at the same time, the roundtable helped to:

• demystify how different finance bodies assess risk, scale and project readiness
• highlight where policy ambition, market signals and investment criteria are not yet aligned
• identify opportunities where better sequencing and coordination of funding could unlock progress
• establish direct relationships that will support follow-up conversations beyond the room

The discussion also surfaced where gaps remain. In particular, the need for clearer market signals and more tailored support for tidal stream and other early-stage marine technologies was repeatedly raised. These are challenges that are difficult to address in isolation, but far more productive to tackle collectively.

The value of convening

For Marine Energy Wales, the roundtable reinforced the importance of our role as a neutral convener for the sector.

Members consistently tell us that access to finance is one of the most significant barriers to progress—not only in terms of capital availability, but in understanding how to engage effectively with funders. At the same time, finance organisations are keen to deepen their understanding of project development timelines, technology risk and the scale of Welsh supply-chain ambition.

Creating space for those conversations is where real value is added.

This is not about Marine Energy Wales brokering individual deals. It is about building shared understanding, reducing friction, and helping to align finance, policy and industry around credible pathways to delivery.

What comes next

This roundtable was not a one-off.

Marine Energy Wales is committed to continuing this work, developing structured and trusted forums where finance, industry and government can engage early, openly and constructively. As Wales moves from ambition to delivery in offshore wind and tidal energy, these relationships and conversations will be critical to ensuring projects are investable, deliverable and anchored in Welsh economic benefit.

We will continue to work with our members and partners to identify priority issues, convene the right voices, and help turn opportunity into tangible outcomes on the ground.

SPECIAL REPORT – How latest lunar plans are a truly an international effort

THE SPACE RACE is back — but forget Apollo’s flag-planting sprint. NASA’s Artemis programme is a marathon of supply chains, standards and long-term presence. As NASA’s massive Artemis II rocket slowly rolls out to the launch pad today (Sunday) this isn’t just about who plants a flag first. It’s about who builds the infrastructure, sets the rules, and sustains influence in the next era of lunar exploration and beyond.

On the surface, Artemis looks like an American show: a Florida launchpad, NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, an Orion spacecraft. But peel back the layers and it becomes obvious this is a genuine coalition effort — one where the United Kingdom, and increasingly Wales, has a meaningful supporting role in the rules, the hardware and the industrial backbone that will define deep-space missions for decades.

The UK is not a passenger

Britain isn’t supplying the giant rocket, running the launch, or leading the programme overall. Yet the UK is embedded in Artemis through three critical dimensions: diplomatic frameworks, essential hardware and specialist capability.

First, the UK signed the Artemis Accords in October 2020. That sounds like paperwork, but it matters. In a future of frequent missions, lunar bases and commercial activity, the real competition will be over behaviour, interoperability and trust: who shares data, who can work safely together, and who helps shape the norms that govern activity beyond Earth. The Accords are the scaffolding for all of that — and signing them puts Britain inside the tent as the rules of the next space era are written.

Second, the most tangible proof that Artemis is international is bolted directly to the spacecraft. Orion relies on a European Service Module delivered through the European Space Agency, with Airbus as prime contractor. This module isn’t a decorative “European contribution”. It provides the unglamorous essentials that make the mission possible: electricity, propulsion, thermal control, and key life-support resources such as air and water. Without it, the spacecraft cannot operate as intended.

Third, that European contribution draws on a distributed industrial chain — the modern reality of spaceflight. The UK’s space sector matters because it is strong in the behind-the-scenes work: high-reliability engineering, advanced electronics, precision materials, software and testing. These are not headline-grabbing roles, but they are the difference between a mission concept and a mission that flies.

So where does Wales fit?

To be clear and honest about scale: Wales isn’t designing the SLS rocket, selecting the crew, or dictating mission timelines. But Wales is demonstrating real relevance in the technologies the long-duration exploration economy will depend on — and that is what “powered by Wales” should mean.

Cardiff-based Space Forge is the standout example. At the end of 2025, the company successfully generated plasma aboard its ForgeStar-1 satellite — describing it as a world-first capability for commercial orbital semiconductor manufacturing. In plain English, it showed that the extreme conditions needed for processes like gas-phase crystal growth can be created and controlled autonomously in low Earth orbit.

Why does that matter to a Moon programme? Because better semiconductor materials and tougher high-performance components can mean more efficient power systems, more resilient communications, and hardware that survives harsh environments for longer. These are the incremental gains that ripple through satellites today and, in time, through the systems needed for sustained lunar operations tomorrow.

This is not isolated innovation, either. Wales is building the kind of ecosystem that turns a clever demonstration into a supply-chain advantage. The Wales Space Cluster Catalyst Fund — backed by the UK Space Agency in partnership with Space Wales and the Welsh Government — is designed to unlock opportunities for Welsh businesses and researchers, building skills and collaboration across the sector.

In the new space race, that ecosystem-building is not window dressing. It is how places secure a future share of contracts and talent. You do not have to own the rocket to benefit from the industry — but you do have to be ready when primes and agencies decide who they trust to deliver.

Why the international angle matters — especially for Wales

The new Moon race isn’t just prestige. It is strategic: presence, influence, and economic leverage in a domain where China is advancing its own lunar ambitions and partnerships. America’s answer is not isolation, but alliance — spreading cost and risk, and building legitimacy through international cooperation.

For the UK, Artemis offers leverage: a voice in standards, industrial participation through ESA-linked hardware, and the technology spillovers that come with serious programmes. For Wales, the opportunity is more specific: to become known for specialist capability — in advanced manufacturing, materials, electronics, and the research-to-industry pipeline that turns prototypes into products.

The real prize isn’t the first set of footprints. It is the long tail: sustained supply-chain roles, industrial growth and well-paid skilled jobs.

This isn’t about waving a flag at a distant launch. It is about doing what Wales has always done best: building clever, reliable things the world increasingly needs — and making sure Wales is on the supply lists when lunar exploration stops being a spectacle and becomes routine.

A NEW digital toolkit developed in Ceredigion is being hailed as a potential game-changer for small businesses in rural Wales, as artificial intelligence reshapes how customers discover local services online.

Created by Antur Cymru Enterprise, the SMART Busnes programme is giving Welsh SMEs an early foothold in Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) – a rapidly emerging discipline focused on how businesses appear within AI-generated search responses.

As AI-driven tools increasingly replace traditional search results with instant, conversational answers, SMART Busnes – supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – has launched one of the first practical AEO toolkits available in Wales.

The initiative is being led by Digital Business Advisor Lynne Rees and centres on a new insight framework known as Agentic AEO. The approach is designed to help rural and micro-businesses remain visible online as search engines and AI platforms prioritise structured, easily interpreted information over conventional keyword-based webpages.

Kevin Harrington, Project Manager for SMART Busnes, said the shift represents a fundamental change in how businesses need to think about their online presence.

“AI search is here to stay, and our Agentic AEO insight series isn’t a tweak – it’s a reset,” he said.

“It’s about helping Welsh SMEs show up wherever customers search: on Google, on social media, and increasingly within AI-generated answers. This gives rural businesses access to the kind of digital advantage that large brands often pay thousands of pounds for.”

Traditional search engine optimisation is already being overtaken by AI-led systems such as Google’s Search Generative Experience and tools like ChatGPT, which provide direct responses rather than lists of links.

For small businesses, this presents a growing risk. If online content is not structured in a way AI tools can understand, businesses may fall below the point where potential customers ever see them.

Agentic AEO focuses on improving clarity, structure and user intent across websites, social media platforms and Google Business Profiles. By presenting information in formats AI systems can easily process, businesses can improve both visibility and credibility within automated responses.

The SMART Busnes AEO Insight Series provides practical support, including step-by-step guidance on restructuring webpages, examples of effective layouts, and tailored AI prompts to help business owners produce optimised content quickly and affordably. Even modest changes – such as a website review, targeted content update or short advisory session – can influence how a business appears in search results over the coming year.

Antur Cymru chief executive Bronwen Raine said the programme was designed to help businesses adapt to long-term change.

“SMART Busnes was created to support small businesses through change, not simply to chase trends,” she said.

“The Agentic AEO insight series shows how Shared Prosperity Fund investment is driving genuine innovation, building confidence, skills and sustainability across local economies.”

With many SEO providers in Wales still focused on older techniques, SMART Busnes is positioning Ceredigion and the wider Mid and West Wales region at the forefront of AEO adoption.

By translating emerging digital theory into accessible, practical support, the programme aims to strengthen resilience among rural enterprises and ensure they remain visible, trusted and competitive in an AI-led future.

More information about SMART Busnes and the support offered by Antur Cymru Enterprise is available via the organisation’s website.