National Grid has selected Sumitomo Electric as preferred bidder to supply and install the subsea cable for its 2GW Sea Link project between Kent and Suffolk.
The 138km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) connection will run mostly under the sea, helping increase grid capacity and enable more renewable and low-carbon electricity to flow across the UK.
Sumitomo will deliver the cables from a new £350m factory under construction at the Port of Nigg in Scotland, marking the first time in two decades that HVDC transmission cables will be manufactured in the UK.
National Grid said the project will support 150 jobs at the Nigg facility and contribute to wider UK supply chain development.
Sea Link is part of National Grid’s broader strategic infrastructure programme, which it said will support around 55,000 jobs across the UK by 2030.
Zac Richardson, chief engineer and offshore delivery director at National Grid, said: “The selection of Sumitomo Electric as preferred bidder, and the use of UK-based cable manufacturing for the first time in decades, is a major step forward. It will bring real investment in UK jobs, skills and industrial capability.”
Sumitomo Electric managing director Masaki Shirayama said the company plans to manufacture and supply 525kV HVDC cable from the new UK facility.
“We are committed to deliver the project in timely manner with the highest standards of safety and quality,” he said.
UK energy minister Michael Shanks said the deal demonstrates the opportunities created by the government’s clean power mission.
He added: “By working together across the UK, we unlock the full potential of clean power and deliver the economic benefits for every part of the country.”
Sea Link will run through the Thames Estuary and the southern North Sea, connecting converter stations in Kent and Suffolk. Siemens Energy has been selected to deliver the converter station construction.