Rolls-Royce has announced a new green tech partnership which could lead to 1,000 new jobs and at least another 10,000 in related companies.
The Derby-based engineering giant, which also has a base in Filton, South Gloucestershire, announced the plans at the COP26 United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow which it said would help make it a leading innovator in climate-centred technologies.
The business has established a partnership with the Qatar Foundation – a state-led non-for-profit group – which it said would create new jobs in two new centres in the UK and Qatar. It said the UK centre would be somewhere in the north of England.
Together they hope to support the creation of five new tech "unicorns" by 2030 and 20 by 2040. Unicorns are businesses which quickly reach a value of a billion-dollars – or £730 million.
Rolls-Royce is expected to provide engineering and high-end manufacturing support. The Qatar Foundation will provide the resources needed to create the two new campuses as well as ongoing financial support for a further 20 years.
Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East said: “Rolls-Royce has pioneered power since its inception and we are already playing a key role in accelerating the energy transition in some of the hardest sectors to decarbonise.
“For us, the transition to net zero is both a societal imperative and an excellent commercial opportunity.
“This partnership with Qatar Foundation will enable us to accelerate progress in clean energy, including by allowing us to fully take advantage of nascent technologies that could have a significant impact on tackling climate change.”
Backing the plans, PM Boris Johnson said: "This partnership fuses the outstanding British engineering of Rolls-Royce with the vision of the Qatar Foundation, confirming the UK’s position as a science superpower and hub for investment.
"This will not only strengthen ties between our two countries but will help facilitate the climate-tech innovations we need to tackle climate change headfirst, delivering green jobs and green growth.”
A spokesperson for Rolls Royce said: “We don’t know where the campuses will be situated at the moment.
“A feasibility study will be completed to finalise the detailed design of the centre and select the locations in the North of England and in Qatar.
“This study is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2022.”
