Xlinks First Ltd. has closed an early development fundraising round of £30 million ($37 million), which will be used to lay the world’s longest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables between the United Kingdom and Morocco.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), one of the largest listed integrated utility companies in the Middle East and North Africa region, contributed £25 million ($31 million) of investments and Octopus Energy Group added the other £5 million ($6 million).
Under the Morocco — U.K. Power Project, electricity will be generated in the Guelmim Oued Noun region of Morocco by a 10.5-gigawatt facility of solar and wind farms, supported by 20 gigawatt hours of battery storage. The four 3,800-kilometer (2,361-mile) subsea HVDC cables, which will be manufactured in the United Kingdom, will pass Portugal, Spain and France. The project will supply the United Kingdom with 3.6 gigawatts of renewable energy–sourced electricity, amounting