Italian company Prysmian and Danish outfit NKT have been selected by TenneT and 50Hertz, respectively, to supply and install cabling for the SuedOstLink in Germany which will deliver renewable energy generated in the north to the south of the country.
Prysmian’s contract, which is valued at about €500m depending on options, covers design, manufacture, supply, laying, jointing, testing and commissioning a 250km 2GW underground cable system through the TenneT region of the link.
The company said it will deliver a ±525kV HVDC underground cable system, which will be the first HVDC link to use extruded cables at this highest voltage level.
This will be combined with large copper conductor cables and Prysmian’s P-Laser insulation technology, which allows a higher operating temperature.
Prysmian will also provide all related accessories, as well as an integrated PRY-CAM monitoring system.
Completion is planned in early 2026, the company said.
NKT’s deal with 50Hertz, also valued at €500m, comprises supply and installation of a 525kV XLPE high-voltage DC cable solution for the 275km route.
The company expects to start production of the cables and accessories at the end of 2021 with installation in mid-2022 and final completion in 2025.
Prysmian Group executive vice president of projects Hakan Ozmen said: “Our innovative and eco-friendly solutions are supporting Germany’s energy transition in a sustainable way, with the development of more capable underground cables able to cover longer distances with an increasing level of power transmission, to carry more energy from the north of the country, where renewable energy is being generated, to more southerly regions, where it is required.”
Prysmian Group chief executive Valerio Battista said: “This prestigious award confirms our ambition to play a strategic role in the shift towards a low-carbon economy and to drive the energy transition forwards with smarter, more reliable and more sustainable solutions.
“It gives us great satisfaction to be involved in the development of this vital infrastructure project and to set this milestone in the upgrading of the EU power transmission grid.”
NKT president and chief executive Alexander Kara said: “I am very pleased that we have booked our largest high-voltage DC order ever by getting a significant part of the SuedOstLink project.
“This underlines our role as a key partner in the green transformation of Germany.
“We have worked with 50Hertz on a number of large high voltage power cable projects over the years, and I am excited that our leading expertise and know-how within 525kV XLPE high-voltage DC technology is once again recognised by one of our key customers.”
SuedOstLink will connect the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria and is expected to be commissioned by 2025.