The UK government announced that it has reached a new partnership deal with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation aimed at channeling major investments in clean energy and infrastructure over the next decade.
Under the new partnership, Sumitomo said that it will aim to facilitate £7.5 billion (USD$10.2 billion) of investment into key UK infrastructure and clean energy projects by 2035. Investments will be focused on key offshore wind and hydrogen projects, supporting the UK’s aim to become a clean energy superpower, the government said.
Hajime Mori, Managing Executive Officer and Group CEO of the Energy Transformation Business Group at Sumitomo Corporation, said:
“We have made active investments in several business sectors in the UK, including decarbonization and clean energy. Under the UK’s new industrial strategy, clean energy is designated as a priority sector. Through this agreement with the Office for Investment, we will continue to leverage our strengths to drive growth in the clean energy sector in the UK.”
Upon coming into power last year, the Labour government highlighted its commitment to supporting and scaling green investment, while ensuring economic growth. As such, the UK government has said unlocking new investment opportunities in Asia-Pacific is key, with the UK-APAC trading relationship now worth over £135 billion.
The government said that the new partnership will back its goal to significantly increase long-term business investment into key growth sectors, in line with the recent publication of its Modern Industrial Strategy, aimed at making it quicker and easier for businesses to invest in the UK, and its 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.
The UK’s Minister for Investment, Baroness Poppy Gustafsson, said:
“We’re serious about clean energy as a key growth sector, and deals like this create high value jobs, encourage further investment into our world-leading industry and help boost economic growth right across.”
