TotalEnergies has invested £20m to acquire a minority stake in Xlinks First, which aims to supply green electricity to the UK through HDVC subsea cables.
The oil and gas giant joins Octopus Energy and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) in investing in the project.
Xlinks plans to develop a giant renewable scheme in Morocco combining solar and wind to supply the UK, coupled with a large battery energy storage.
Upon completion, the project is expected to deliver enough renewable, reliable and affordable electricity to power over 7m British homes.
Xlinks chief executive Simon Morrish 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.”
Senior vice president for renewables at TotalEnergies Vincent Stoquart added: “We are delighted to join the Xlinks project and its other investors to support the development of such a pioneering and ambitious endeavour.
“This innovative project will benefit from our track record in developing large and complex integrated energy projects.”