UK-based XLCC, founded in 2020, has secured £20 million (almost €24 million) from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) that will be invested in the development of the UK’s first HVDC cable factory, located in North Ayrshire, Scotland, with an option for a further £67 million (approximately €80.3 million) upon the company achieving specific development and funding milestones.
UKIB is a policy bank launched in June 2021 with a mission to partner with the private sector and local government to increase infrastructure investment to help tackle climate change, as well as support regional and local economic growth through better connectedness, opportunities for new jobs and higher levels of productivity.
The investment is intended to support the project development stage enabling XLCC to continue building out the expert team and plans for the Hunterston factory, also supporting the company to crowd in further private capital required for construction, expected to begin in 2025.
John Flint , UKIB CEO, said: “Industry projections indicate that demand for subsea cables will soon exceed existing supply chain capacity. Our support for XLCC is intended to provide confidence to the market, crowding private investment into this sector to boost production capacity in an industry set to have a significant impact on the UK‘s transition to net zero.”
Once completed, the factory will have the capacity to produce thousands of kilometers of HVDC cable each year. The UKIB commitment is said to be complemented by additional investment from existing and new investors, incremental to the funding of over £40 million raised by XLCC to date, to design the product, complete detailed design activities for the factory and to achieve full planning permission at the site.
The Hunterston factory will create around 900 permanent jobs including over 200 apprenticeships.
“XLCC’s mission is to provide critical elements of the infrastructure that is essential to the energy transition and will reduce project costs to the benefit of the UK consumer. The creation of the Hunterston facility in Scotland brings significant investment to the UK, creating highly skilled jobs in advanced manufacturing and project management for decades to come,” said Ian Douglas , XLCC’s CEO .
“We welcome the foresight of UKIB and our other investors in recognising the opportunity to create a new force in HVDC cables to address both domestic and global requirements.”
To remind, the Scottish Enterprise supported XLCC with a £9 million grant for the facility at the end of 2023.
The first order for the new factory is for four 3,800-kilometer-long cables for the Xlinks Morocco-UK power project , while additional Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have been secured for domestic projects.