£7.5 billion investment to be deployed by 2035 into UK clean energy and infrastructure, including offshore wind and hydrogen projects.
Public-private collaboration reinforces UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.
Strengthened UK-Japan trade ties, adding to a £135 billion UK-APAC trading relationship and building on prior strategic agreements.
The UK government has secured a landmark £7.5 billion ($10 billion) investment agreement with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation to accelerate clean energy and infrastructure development across Britain. The partnership, signed in Tokyo by Investment Minister Baroness Poppy Gustafsson and senior Sumitomo executives, marks a major milestone in the UK’s drive to attract long-term global capital into its key growth sectors.
“This is yet another major vote of confidence in our economy and shows international backing for our modern Industrial Strategy, which shows our Plan for Change is working,” said Gustafsson. “We’re serious about clean energy as a key growth sector, and deals like this create high-value jobs, encourage further investment, and help boost economic growth right across the UK.”
The investment will focus on clean energy infrastructure—specifically offshore wind and hydrogen projects—supporting the UK’s ambition to become a global clean energy superpower. The deal was signed with Sumitomo Corporation’s Energy Transformation Group CEO Hajime Mori and Europe CEO Hiroyuki Koike, aligning with the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy aimed at enhancing long-term business investment.
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“We have made active investments in several business sectors in the UK, including decarbonisation and clean energy,” said Mori. “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.”
Koike added: “We are inspired by the UK government’s active promotion and support of private investment which has helped to improve the business environment in many areas. We hope this comprehensive MOU will further strengthen the relationship between the UK government and Sumitomo Corporation, and contribute more to the development of the UK economy and society.”
Gustafsson described Japan as “a huge trading partner” and noted that Sumitomo has long been involved in UK energy projects. “This new agreement will really raise the bar of ambition,” she told Reuters. “Everything that we’re building… you very quickly come to supply chain constraints, and they’ve been real partners in helping unlock those constraints. So there’s real tactical examples of this capital getting deployed to build real things and supporting real projects.”
This latest commitment reinforces Britain’s standing as a top-tier destination for international investment, with Deloitte’s recent survey ranking the UK as a joint-top global investment location. It also strengthens the UK’s £135 billion trading relationship with the Asia-Pacific region and builds on earlier 2024 initiatives including the UK-Japan Industrial Strategy Partnership, Economic 2+2 talks, and CPTPP ratification—estimated to add £2 billion annually to the UK economy in the long term.
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