Subsea cable firm XLCC relaunches as Aquora, focuses on installation first

January 26, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

UK-based XLCC has rebranded and relaunched as Aquora, with a focus on cable installation and manufacturing to address the “critical demand” for high-voltage cable supply in the UK and Europe.

Rendering of Aquora's proposed CLV. Source: Aquora

Aquora will focus first on installation, utilizing a new, UK-flagged cable-lay vessel (CLV), which will also provide maintenance services for critical infrastructure, and with cable supplied by Orient Cables (NBO) thanks to a strategic partnership with the Chinese company.

According to a spokesperson from the company, the new enterprise has a new, completely different strategy, seeking capital for a different business model, while the personnel, IP, and current shareholders are the same as XLCC.

The rebrand is a strategic reset conducted by the board and reflects new proposed phasing as a result of market needs, with two clear phases to the plan.

The first, set for this year, includes the launch of the project delivery and cable installation business, creating between 150-200 highly skilled jobs, with initial cable manufacturing subcontracted from NBO.

The second phase, targeting circa 2028, includes the establishment of a high-voltage DC and AC subsea and underground cable manufacturing facility in Scotland, set to employ around 800 people, and located at the brownfield site of the former Hunterston Terminal in Ayrshire.

“Securing the UK’s transition to homegrown, low-carbon power is constrained not by generation, but by lack of infrastructure. Developers need cable installation capacity now – not in a decade’s time. Aquora will meet that market demand, and by delivering at pace create a financeable path to cable manufacturing in Scotland,” said Ragnhild Katteland, Chief Executive Officer.

Over the next decade, Aquora said it expects to create around 1,000 jobs.

Lewis Gillies, Executive Chairman, said: “Aquora will protect our energy security and develop industrial capability in the UK. We will unlock a critical constraint, building strategic autonomy in a nationally significant part of the energy supply chain. I am looking forward to leading a new growing enterprise and helping to secure the UK’s clean energy future.”