Rolls-Royce and Qatar set to launch multibillion fund for UK green engineering firms

Oct 31, 2021 | News

Rolls Royce and Qatar have joined forces to launch a fund to inject billions of pounds into UK green engineering startups in a move that could create up to 10,000 UK jobs in the next few years.

In what would represent one of the biggest-ever inward investment projects in the UK, the gas-rich state is planning to build a new science and engineering campus in the north of England, for startups to test and develop new green technologies, such as extracting carbon dioxide from industrial emissions.

The goal of the project is to create five green engineering “unicorns” – startups worth $1bn and above – by the end of the decade, and up to 20 by 2040.

Free Webinar: The Future State of M&A: Gaining the Competitive Edge with Digitalization

Learn More
  • Common barriers GPs face during the M&A process
  • How AI and machine learning can optimise the M&A process
  • The outlook for M&A in 2022

Qatar is targeting a pool of billions of pounds to fund the project, and preliminary talks are understood to already be underway with venture capital and private equity firms to co-invest, the Times first reported.

A source close to the process told City Am that while Qatar will be heavily involved in the funding of the project, Rolls-Royce’s role in the project is as a provider of research, engineering and manufacturing support.

The British aero-engines giant will also capitalise on the facilities and financing of the new campus to work on developing its own nascent climate tech technologies.

Rolls Royce declined to comment.

Source: City A.M.

Can’t stop reading? Read more