The UK’s National Wealth Fund has announced that carbon capture, hydrogen, energy storage, and steel are among the 10 sectors it will focus on over the next five years to rebuild the country’s economy.
This is according to the fund’s new strategic plan, published on January 28.
The fund is to allocate £5.8 billion to the ten sectors over the strategy period, subject to investment proposals and progress in supporting policies.
This is accompanied by 15 other sectors in which the National Wealth Fund will seek investment opportunities targeting high-tech, innovative projects and enterprises, as well as accelerating the creation of basic infrastructure. These include artificial intelligence, semiconductors, defense, offshore wind energy, solar energy, critical minerals, and modernization.
As noted, through its investments, the fund will seek opportunities to overcome market weaknesses and attract private financing, supporting these key sectors and helping to accelerate the implementation of high-impact projects that align with the priorities of local, devolved, and national governments.
“We will move further and faster to inject over £100 billion into the economy, fully deploying our capital over the next five years to help stimulate economic growth, accelerate the transition to clean energy, transform communities through local investment, and strengthen our self-sufficiency, security, and resilience,” said Oliver Hallborn, CEO of the National Wealth Fund.
As a reminder, at the end of last year, the UK began its second round of carbon capture licensing in history. The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) is offering 14 sites in Scottish and English waters for exploration and evaluation, which could potentially store up to 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide.