According to Reuters, the United Arab Emirates is looking at chances to invest in nuclear power infrastructure around Europe, particularly in Britain.
A number of nuclear power assets are being considered for minority investment by the state-owned Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC).
The Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, the investment fund of Abu Dhabi, owns ENEC, which aims to grow globally by obtaining minority positions in nuclear projects.
The business has been in talks to invest in the United Kingdom, more precisely in the Sizewell C nuclear project, which is currently looking for more private funding after a Chinese investor withdrew.
The United Arab Emirates, like Saudi Arabia, is trying to expand its economy beyond oil, and Britain is aggressively looking for private investment to help finance its nuclear energy goals.
As part of their goal to increasing nuclear capacity by 2050, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear cooperation during the UN climate summit in Dubai in 2023.
"As part of international growth and investment plans, ENEC is working with a multitude of partners to explore collaboration opportunities in both new civil nuclear projects and civil nuclear technologies and related clean energy technologies such as clean hydrogen," the organization said in a statement that was cited by Reuters.
The Sizewell C proposal involves the French energy corporation EDF, which has not provided a statement regarding the possible investment.
By the end of 2024, the UK Government and EDF are supposedly close to securing £20 billion (€23.4 billion) for Sizewell C.
With its background in managing the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, which started producing commercial energy in 2021, ENEC may prove to be a useful collaborator in the development of new nuclear infrastructure in Europe.
Potential funding from ENEC, supported by a prosperous Gulf state, might assist in addressing these issues, but it might also run into political opposition.