Qatar plans to launch a fund to invest billions of pounds in new “Green engineering” projects in UK, such as carbon capture and storage, in partnership with Rolls-Royce, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

The fund aims to create 5 unicorns, i.e. start-ups worth $1 billion, by 2030, and reach 20 companies by 2040.

The report also said Qatar plans to build a science and engineering campus in northern England to host emerging green technology companies. Noting that Newcastle is the most likely to host the project, but the location has not yet been determined, as the feasibility studies will be completed by mid-2022, as the newspaper quoted a person close to the project.

Rolls-Royce’s role in this joint initiative is focused on making its factories and laboratories available to start-up companies, as well as investing in some projects and companies emerging from the fund, which it is hoped will create 10,000 jobs in Britain over the next ten years.