Overview

XLCC is an independent British company founded in 2020 to address the critical infrastructure needs of the global energy transition. Our mission is to engineer, manufacture, install and maintain HVDC cable. This includes building a world-class HVDC subsea cable manufacturing facility in Hunterston, Scotland, along with the necessary marine and project management capabilities.

Gap the project addresses

There is a global shortage of HVDC subsea cable manufacturing capacity, with lead times currently ranging from 4 to 9 years depending on specifications. This bottleneck limits the pace and scale of renewable energy and grid integration projects. XLCC aims to address this by significantly expanding manufacturing and installation capacity in the UK. By leveraging scale and innovations in cable design, materials, and production technology, XLCC will deliver HVDC cables at the volume and cost needed to accelerate a wide range of renewable energy and transmission projects

Ownership model

XLCC is a private limited company.

Policy and funding

XLCC is backed by public and private capital—including the Scottish National Investment Bank, National Wealth Fund, and private investors. In addition, XLCC has received grants from Scottish Enterprise, reflecting its strategic focus on sustainable economic growth in Scotland. The company also benefits from Scotland’s strong skills development programmes, which support workforce training critical to the success of XLCC’s factory and commercial operations.

Impact to date

• Job creation: The project will create ~1,200 high-skilled jobs and 200 apprenticeships across Scotland.
• Economic impact: £2 billion injection into the Scottish economy, adding £5.8 billion to UK GDP by 2040; 9,000 FTE (full-time equivalent) jobs overconstruction/operation
• Green credentials: First dedicated UK HVDC factory, allowing Government to meet offshore clean energy targets
• Education & skills: The project will train ~200 cable jointing apprentices, and is working with Skills Development Scotland and Ayrshire College to upskill from local communities.
• Local supply chain: We are working with local suppliers where possible to reduce our carbon footprint.

Contribution to just transition

XLCC aligns closely with the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Outcomes:

• Jobs, Skills and Education – the project will create ~1,200 high-quality jobs, including 200 apprenticeships. XLCC is actively working with Ayrshire College to support local recruitment, particularly from disadvantaged communities. Because there is currently no established cable manufacturing industry in Scotland, XLCC is committed to training the majority of its workforce from the ground up. This includes a robust in-house and partnered training programme, such as our jointer training initiative, to upskill local talent in industrial and engineering disciplines. We also welcome individuals from the oil and gas sector, whose leadership, industrial process management, quality assurance, and project execution skills are directly transferable and highly valued at XLCC.
• Community Benefits – XLCC is committed to active community engagement, hosting regular public consultations, information events, and forums. We also support local causes through a volunteering policy that offers paid time off for employees to participate in charitable activities in the area.
• Equity and Skills – our investment in STEM outreach, particularly for women and underrepresented groups, reflects our commitment to fair work practices and inclusive hiring. Programmes include school presentations, academy tours, and an apprenticeship-first hiring model, all designed to foster a diverse and skilled workforce for the future.
• Environmental Sustainability – XLCC’s HVDC cable infrastructure supports the integration of renewable energy into transmission networks, helping to reduce global reliance on fossil fuels and enabling the transition to a net-zero future.
• Decarbonisation and Fair Distribution of Benefits – XLCC’s core value lies in its contribution to the acceleration of renewable energy generation and transmission in the UK, Europe, and globally. Our products play a critical enabling role in lowering carbon emissions by connecting clean energy sources with demand centres. In doing so, we help address the broader challenge of climate injustice — reducing the gap between those most responsible for climate change and those most vulnerable to its effects. XLCC’s work directly supports a fairer, more sustainable global energy system.

Local and regional industrial heritage

Hunterston is a former Peel Ports coal yard near the retired Hunterston B nuclear power station, which linked local land use to national energy production. XLCC is repurposing this brownfield site into a green energy manufacturing hub, echoing the region’s shift from fossil to clean energy—turning a coal legacy into a sustainable powerhouse. The project honours the area’s industrial past while pointing to its energy future.

Benefits to the local area

The project brings the following benefits to the local area:

• Economic revitalisation – £2 billion inward investment and 1,200 jobs, as well as thousands more indirect jobs, revitalizing former industrial land in North Ayrshire.
• Skills & education uplift – Through our apprenticeship scheme, as well as school outreach, we will produce long-term workforce impact
• Community empowerment – Regular local liaison events, donations of paid working hours for community work, plus STEM exposure for youth.
• Environmental gains – Enabling renewable integration nationally and internationally; carbon-emission reductions through rail logistics, material sourcing, offsets
• National strategic capability – Anchoring the UK’s sovereign HVDC cable supply chain aligns with grid resilience and energy security goals.

Lessons learned

A key learning has been the strength of public sector collaboration in Scotland. We’ve been consistently impressed by the support and strategic engagement from the Scottish Government and related agencies, which have played a vital role in shaping and enabling our development plans. The alignment of public policy with industrial needs—particularly through skills development and funding mechanisms—has created a strong foundation for success.

We’ve also recognised the importance and value of early and meaningful stakeholder engagement. Our active consultations with the local community have not only built trust and ensured planning success but also generated strong interest in employment opportunities—demonstrated by our cable jointing apprenticeship programme, which continues to receive far more applications than available places.

Challenges

The project faces a significant market failure: investors require customer orders before committing capital, but customers (such as transmission operators or developers) require proof of manufacturing capability and product validation before placing orders. This circular challenge—common in capital-intensive green infrastructure—delays investment and risks prolonging supply chain shortages. In the meantime, developers must rely on an international supply chain that demands high reservation fees, which many pre-financial-close projects cannot afford.

Government intervention is essential to break this cycle and create the conditions needed for timely delivery of UK HVDC capacity.

Scaling and replication

The project can absolutely be replicated and scaled up. The economic viability of expanding or duplicating, and the location of those future facilities, are heavily influenced by the decisions that the UK and other European governments make regarding their support for renewable energy generation and infrastructure buildout in the next decades. XLCC would love to expand its capacity and contribution to the energy transition, but the right commercial environment must be in place, which will largely be driven by government policy.

Working conditions and fair work practices

Featured organisations and initiatives were asked to supply the following information regarding working conditions:

• Alignment with Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria
• If they have gone beyond Fair Work First by incorporating broader values on fair work
• For larger organisations, whether a union recognition agreement is in place.

This did not apply to co-operatives structures and membership-based initiatives, though all projects and initiatives were given room to provide any detail on fair work practices deemed relevant.

• The following information was provided:
• We pay real living wage for all employees and apprentices
• We provide channels for workers to use their voices and have signed a VRA with GMB Scotland.
•  We prioritise apprenticeships to build a skilled, local workforce.
•  We use inclusive hiring practices to reach disadvantaged groups.
•  We support community engagement through paid volunteer days.
• We promote a culture of equity, ESG alignment, and long-term job quality, which will be reflected as we grow our team and policy library.

Case study showcase

Some projects were selected for more in-depth profile through examples that showcased their impact on communities, businesses and workers.

The researcher spoke to Sebastian and Adam, two apprentices at XLCC.

Sebastian, 24 years old and Adam, 20 years old are cable-jointer apprentices for XLCC, training to become certified high-voltage-direct-current (HVDC) jointers. They are two of the first six apprentices brought on by XLCC in 2023. Their time at XLCC highlights important aspects of just, fair employment and green skills.

Both Sebastian and Adam are motivated by XLCC’s investment into their employees. They are trusted with advanced kit and in their first year were given the opportunity to travel to Germany to train for two months with professionals for live tests. Sebastian emphasises that “We’re using high-end, expensive equipment. You wouldn’t get that anywhere else.” Access to the best quality equipment – and trust to utilise this – makes them feel valued.

Though neither have heard of the term ‘just transition’, through XLCC, both Sebastian and Adam are learning what they value in good and just employment. Both underline fairness and worker voice as key components of what they look for in a job, as well as access to good training, equipment, PPE and other health and safety protections. Both feel they had the skills to move into other industries, giving the example of the tight tolerances they are trained to in cable cutting, which requires incredibly precise measurements. This exemplifies the high standards they have been trained to that go beyond that required by other workplaces.

To both Adam and Sebastian, XLCC stands out because the work itself is exciting, highly specialised and interesting. Hands-on-work is complemented by knowledge of theory, creativity and problem solving. It is also the bigger vision that appeals. Sebastian reflects that, “it’s clear the world needs to transition to green energy”. He feels that at XLCC they are learning important skills that will be useful in the future. In Adam’s words, “Younger me wouldn’t have thought I’d be part of a big project that would affect the world.”