UK based start-up Xlinks has received $37.36m in funding. The Investment comes from British utility Octopus Energy and the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) to build the world’s longest subsea power interconnector. The project would link the UK to a wind farm in Morocco.
The project will see four 3,800km cables built around the Iberian peninsula. These will run from a solar and wind farm on Morocco’s west coast, to a connection with the UK power grid in Devon, south-west England. Furthermore, the will regulate power using 20GWh/5GW of battery storage.
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The four high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables will bring 3.6GW of renewable electricity into the country. This will come via two 1.6GW grid connection, the first of which will power up upon completion in 2030.
In the latest round of funding TAQA put $31.18m into the project whilst Octopus added a further $6.23m. This meets the $37m expectation for the current funding round Xlinks gave at the beginning of April, when TAQA announced their intention to invest.
Simon Morrish, Xlinks CEO, stated: “The huge potential of the Morocco – UK Power Project will help the UK accelerate its transition to clean sources of power, increase energy security and reduce consumer bills.”
Octopus Energy initially began its support of the project in May 2022. Octopus founder and CEO Greg Jackson said: “This partnership between Xlinks, TAQA and Octopus enables us to drive forward one of the most visionary energy projects in the world. […] This is a new global industry, and the UK and our partners can do it first.”
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By GlobalDataAt the beginning of April, Octopus invested a seven-figure investment into Japanese solar power. The project aims to facilitate the country’s transition into renewables. The investment will aid the construction of 250MW of solar farms across the country.
