XLCC, which provides the connectivity resources required for renewable power, recently signed the UK Steel Charter at an event in Parliament — alongside representatives from politics, business and the trade union movement.

This will see XLCC create a new export-led HVDC cable-manufacturing industry for the UK, nearly doubling the world’s current production. The company, which aims to support renewable energy projects with the first factory planned for Hunterston, Scotland, will deliver its first project for the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project.

This will comprise four 3,800km-long sub-sea cables, with the first phase between 2025-2027 connecting wind and solar power generated in Morocco exclusively to the UK in Devon.
Signing the UK Steel Charter shows a commitment to supporting existing and future jobs within the sector and the supply chain.

Along with strengthening UK-based business, sourcing steel locally will cut transport emissions and seek to support decarbonisation in a sector ‘dedicated to finding ways to minimise the environmental impact of steel use’.

Alan Mathers, XLCC project director, said: “Signing the UK Steel Charter is an opportunity to show our resolve to find more environment-friendly solutions throughout all our operations. The Charter aligns with our values of keeping emissions as low as possible as we support global renewable projects, and we are pleased to publicly support a vital domestic industry and its workers.”

Gareth Stace, UK Steel’s director general, added: “We are delighted to welcome XLCC as signatories to the UK Steel Charter. As a forward-looking business seeking to provide low-emission energy to the UK, sourcing steel from domestic suppliers fits with its core mission. XLCC and businesses like it will secure jobs for the future and allow this strategically vital industry to flourish for decades to come.”