The UK government has signed a partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation’s which will facilitate a £7.5bn ($10.2bn) investment into the country’s offshore wind and hydrogen projects by 2035.
This will significantly increase long-term business investment into key growth sectors following the publication of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.
This latest commitment comes following a Deloitte survey, which ranked the UK among the world’s top destinations for global investment.
“The UK is a top investment destination for Japanese businesses. 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. 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 the UK,” said the UK’s minister for investment, Poppy Gustafsson.
The investment will be focused on key offshore wind and hydrogen projects, supporting the UK’s aim to become a clean energy superpower.
“We have made active investments in several business sectors in the UK, including decarbonisation and clean energy. Under the UK’s new industrial strategy, clean energy is designated as a priority sector. Through this agreement, we will continue to leverage our strengths to drive growth in the clean energy sector in the UK,” added Hajime Mori, Sumitomo group CEO.
This new collaboration also adds to the strong trade and investment partnership the UK already shares with Japan, building on the Industrial Strategy Partnership and Economic 2+2 established earlier this year and CPTPP ratification, which is estimated to boost the economy by £2bn a year in the long term.
The current trade between the UK and the Asia Pacific region is already worth over £135bn, even without all these new partnerships.
