Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) said Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, agreed to invest £85mln in million in Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR), its project to build smaller nuclear reactors.
With the SMR technology, a single power station will occupy just a tenth of the size of a conventional nuclear generation site and power around a million homes, Rolls-Royce said in a statement.
It said the SMR power station will generate up to 470MW of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines.
QIA joins Rolls-Royce, BNF Resources UK Ltd and Exelon (NYSE:EXC) Generation Ltd as shareholders in Rolls-Royce SMR, taking a 10% share of the equity.
The UK government announced last month that it would commit £210mln to the project.
Rolls-Royce SMR is now fully funded, having secured £490mln in commercial equity and UK Research and Innovation grant funding. The development of SMRs is a core part of the UK government's 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution.
READ: Rolls-Royce says market recovery and cost savings fuel improved performance
Warren East, CEO of Rolls-Royce, said: "I am tremendously pleased to announce that we have further strengthened our relationship with Qatar, through QIA's investment in the Rolls-Royce SMR business.
“We have successfully raised the capital we need to establish Rolls-Royce SMR and it is encouraging to confirm that the business is now set up to succeed."
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added: "This investment is a clear vote of confidence in the UK's global leadership in nuclear innovation and follows the £210mln of government investment in the development in Small Modular Reactors.
"It represents a huge step forward in our plan to deploy more home-grown, affordable clean energy - ensuring greater energy independence for the UK, highly skilled jobs and bringing cheaper, cleaner electricity to people's homes."
Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said: "Although the COP26 Summit ended last month, the work to reach Net Zero and build back greener from the pandemic goes on.
"Investment will play an important role in this. By investing millions into innovative green tech, like Small Modular Reactors, not only are we working hard to end our contribution to climate change, but we are securing thousands of highly-skilled jobs."