General – Finance
The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) has today announced an investment in subsea HVDC cable manufacturer XLCC to develop a new world-leading factory in Hunterston, Scotland.
The funding consists of an initial £20m from the UKIB with an option to invest a further £67m upon XLCC achieving specific development and funding milestones.
This investment demonstrates the Bank’s commitment to working with private investors to support the Government’s Clean Energy Mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower and accelerate to net zero. Strengthening homegrown supplies of components and parts essential for net zero such as HVDC cable is fundamental to achieving this mission.
The Bank’s financing will help XLCC develop its factory in Hunterston, Scotland, which once completed will have the capacity to produce thousands of km each year of leading edge HVDC cable. The UKIB commitment is complemented by additional investment from existing and new investors.
This is incremental to the funding of over £40m raised by the company to design the product, complete detailed design activities for the factory, and achieve full planning permission at the site.
Subsea HVDC cables built at Hunterston will be capable of transporting energy over long distances with significantly increased efficiency. As such, they will play a fundamental role in the upgrade of the grid required for the energy transition. This will enable the connection of renewables at scale and allow the clean energy produced by wind farms in the North Sea to be transported to homes and businesses around the country – strengthening our energy security as well as supporting decarbonisation.
