Jul. 10, 2025
Sumitomo Corporation

Sumitomo Corporation Signs Comprehensive Investment Memorandum with UK Government

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Shingo Ueno) signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding ("the MOU") with the Department for Business and Trade's Office for Investment under the UK government on July 9, 2025. This MOU outlines a shared commitment whereby Sumitomo Corporation, together with its business partners, plans to participate in investment projects in the UK amounting to a total of 7.5 billion pounds (approximately 1.46 trillion yen) by 2035 – including investments already made in existing businesses. The UK government has expressed its intention to support these efforts. A signing ceremony hosted by the UK Department for Business and Trade was held yesterday at the British Embassy in Tokyo.

Photo from the signing ceremony

From Left: Hiroyuki Koike, Managing Executive Officer, General Manager for Europe, Sumitomo Corporation; Hajime Mori, Managing Executive Officer, Group CEO, Energy Transformation Business Group, Sumitomo Corporation; Baroness Poppy Gustafsson CBE, Minister of State for Investment; Martin Kent, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific

Sumitomo Corporation has engaged in a wide range of business investments in the UK, including offshore wind power, carbon capture and storage (CCS (*1)), hydrogen-related projects and railway operations. It is also actively exploring the commercialization of next-generation technologies, such as fusion energy (*2) and energy management with storage solutions. Major ongoing or planned initiatives in the UK include:

Offshore Wind Power	Galloper Offshore Wind Farm Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm, among others
CCS / Hydrogen	CO₂ storage licenses in the UK North Sea Peak Cluster CO₂ transport project Low-carbon hydrogen production project around the Bacton Gas Terminal
Railway	Operation of the Elizabeth Line on behalf of Transport for London
Fusion Energy	Collaboration with Tokamak Energy on fusion energy development
Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)	Expansion of Presidio Ventures into the UK

Sumitomo Corporation will continue to strengthen its collaboration with the UK government and further promote business investment in the UK.

Hajime Mori, Managing Executive Officer, Group CEO, Energy Transformation Business Group, Sumitomo Corporation: We have made active investments in several business sectors in the UK, including decarbonisation and clean energy. Under the UK's new industrial strategy, clean energy is designated as a priority sector. Through this agreement with Office for Investment, we will continue to leverage our strengths to drive growth in the clean energy sector in the UK.

Hiroyuki Koike, Managing Executive Officer, General Manager for Europe, Sumitomo Corporation: We are inspired by the UK government's active promotion and support of private investment which has helped to improve the business environment in many areas. We hope that this comprehensive MOU with the Office for Investment will further strengthen the relationship between the UK government and Sumitomo Corporation, and that we will contribute more to the development of the UK economy and society through our business.

Emil Levendoğlu, Chargé d’Affaires, British Embassy Tokyo: This £7.5 billion investment from Sumitomo Corporation is the latest example of the strength of UK-Japan cooperation on clean energy infrastructure. It’s also a concrete demonstration of the commitment to deepened partnership signalled by Minister Muto and Secretary of State Reynolds when they signed an offshore wind Memorandum of Cooperation at the Economic 2+2 dialogue in March this year.
Japanese investment in our offshore wind and infrastructure projects is perfectly aligned with the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, securing home-grown, clean power while creating high-value jobs in the UK and Japan, driving sustainable economic growth for both nations.

Martin Kent, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific: This new agreement with Sumitomo Corporation is a further step forward in the UK's deep and enduring partnership with Japan and the wider Asia Pacific. The UK is already a globally connected, open, and stable economy – and we are providing greater confidence and stability through our new Industrial Strategy. Our message is this: The UK is not only open for business, we are ready to build the future with the Asia Pacific.

(*1) CCS: Abbreviation for Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage, a technology for capturing, transporting and storing CO₂ emitted from industrial activities.
(*2) Fusion Energy: A fusion reaction refers to the process in which light atomic nuclei, such as hydrogen, fuse together to form a slightly heavier nucleus, such as helium, releasing a substantial amount of energy. The thermal energy generated through this reaction can be harnessed for power generation. As it offers stable fuel supply and emits no greenhouse gases, it is expected to serve as a next-generation primary energy source, alongside or in place of nuclear fission and fossil fuel power.