TotalEnergies invests £20 million in developing Xlinks

The investment from TotalEnergies represents another significant step in Xlinks’ plans to develop a 11.5GW capacity renewable energy facility in Morocco and connect it to Devon in the UK.

Xlinks will gain from the significant knowledge and expertise at TotalEnergies for developing and managing multi-billion-dollar projects, particularly in the offshore energy sector.

The UK Government has recently classified the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is developing an Outline Business Case for the project. This represents the most detailed phase to-date of the UK Government’s appraisal and evaluation process, assessing the merits of the project and its potential contribution to the UK’s long-term energy security.

This project will rely on the proven Moroccan renewable energy expertise and investment framework. It will support the creation of more than 10,000 jobs in Morocco during construction and lead to significant industrial investments, fostering the deployment of the Moroccan renewable energy industry.

Simon Morrish, CEO of Xlinks, said:

“We are excited to welcome Europe’s largest energy company to be a part of our ambitious vision to foster long distance power exchanges through this iconic partnership with the UK and Morocco. TotalEnergies’ investment goes far beyond capital, providing a rare combination of expertise in areas that meet the unique challenges we face. This marks a highly successful end to 2023 and will give us an even greater impetus to achieve our goals as we enter 2024.”

Vincent Stoquart, SVP Renewables at TotalEnergies, said:

“We are delighted to join the Xlinks project and its other investors to support the development of such a pioneering and ambitious endeavor. This innovative project will benefit from our track record in developing large and complex integrated energy projects.”