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British PM Keir Starmer started a week-long trip to the Gulf on Sunday to attract investment from the UAE and Saudi Arabia into the UK, according to a government statement. Starmer met with Saudi officials yesterday and expanded in detail on two green partnerships in the works worth GBP mns in green investments.
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#1- UK’s GIM to launch graphene-enriched carbon fiber plant in KSA: The UK government announced that Graphene Innovations Manchester (GIM ) will collaborate with Saudi Arabia’s Neom to develop the world’s first commercial production plant of graphene-enriched carbon fiber, a material with lower environmental impact and higher recyclability than alternatives like fiberglass. Graphene is used in green applications, such as solar panels and battery storage. The UK government aims for the project to attract GBP 250 mn of investment for research and innovation in Greater Manchester through the project and expects it to create over 1k jobs. Producing the material at scale has the potential “to change every aspect of our lives,” GIM chief executive Vivek Koncherry told the BBC.
GIM has a presence in UAE too: The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company, Masdar City, the UAE Energy and Infrastructure Ministry, and GIGA Graphene Technologies partnered to develop GIM concrete in the UAE in December 2023. Earlier in May of 2013, the company signed an agreement with UAE’s Quazar Investment Company to establish a UAE-based JV that they said targets investments of USD 1 bn in the development and manufacturing of their products, which include graphene-based concrete and hydrogen storage vessels. The company’s graphene-enhanced, low-carbon concrete — made with recycled plastic and not requiring fresh water — would be used for bricks, pavers, and tiles in the UAE’s construction industry.
#2- Hycap is joining in, too: British green hydrogen-focused private equity fund Hycap is investing GBP 785 mn in hydrogen mobility developments in Northern Ireland and the UK in a bid to support Saudi Arabia’s hydrogen mobility, the statement added. The project — expected to offset over 25 mn tons of transport-related emissions — will produce hydrogen buses, trucks, and other hydrogen production and distribution products.
ICYMI- The company is working on a green hydrogen-focused renewable energy industrial complex in Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development announced last February. Hycap set up its first international office in the region last year to advance plans to invest in companies with net zero strategies and capitalize on MENA’s green hydrogen potential and Saudi Arabia’s commitment to mobilize USD 36 bn toward the sector by 2030.
#3- And a joint hydrogen research center: The two countries are also working on establishing The Joint International Institute for Clean Hydrogen, which will be backed by universities in both countries, including Newcastle University. A UK university delegation is set to visit Saudi in the next months to seal the agreement, the statement said.
REMEMBER- UK companies are investing in low-carbon ventures in KSA: Earlier this month, Aramco partnered with the UK’s Carbon Clean (CC) and Samsung E&A to demonstrate CC’s new carbon capture technology CycloneCC. In October, the UK industrial group Next Generation launched a joint venture focused on low-carbon concrete production with Nizak Mining Company, backed by Saudi Arabia’s City Cement. The JV is already planning a Riyadh factory, with a planned commercial production as soon as 3Q 2025 and a 350k ton targeted capacity in the first operational year, which could be doubled in the second year.
