NKT reports that the company was named the preferred bidder to provide the 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power cable system for the interconnector Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL3).

A press release said that the joint venture project announced by SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission will link the power grids in Scotland and England, with a route length estimated to be about 680 km. The EGL3 project will connect Scotland and England, and benefit Wales by reinforcing the resilience and flexibility of the wider Great Britain grid that operates across all three nations.

The long-distance subsea link will also help move clean power from areas of rich renewable generation, furthering the U.K.’s transition to a lower-carbon future. “Appointing NKT as preferred bidder ... marks a significant milestone for EGL3,” said EGL3 Deputy Project Director James Johnson. “The project will be vital in unlocking Scotland’s vast renewable energy resources, ensuring they can reach homes and businesses across Great Britain, while strengthening the resilience of the transmission network. This announcement is another important step as we work to deliver a network for net zero.”

Denmark’s NKT has signed a contract with Energinet to deliver an HVDC power cable system for the offshore interconnector linking the Bornholm Energy Island to the power grid on Zealand.

A press release said that Energinet, a Danish transmission system operator (TSO), selected NKT to provide the 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) on- and off-shore power cable systems for the Danish connection to the Bornholm Energy Island. The contract, valued at approximately $757 million, includes the design, manufacture and installation of a power cable system that includes a 200 km offshore route and a 16.8 km onshore route.

NKT will produce the power cables at its high-voltage factory in Karlskrona, Sweden, and is located close to the installation site. Bornholm Energy Island is a landmark renewable energy project located in the Baltic Sea, designed to receive up to 3.8 GW of offshore wind power from planned offshore wind farms. The energy will be transmitted to Germany and Denmark via two HVDC offshore interconnector systems.

With this award from Energinet, NKT will connect the energy island to both the Danish and German power grids. This follows the turnkey contract awarded to NKT in 2023 as part of a large framework agreement with German TSO 50Hertz to connect the island to the German grid.

“Bornholm Energy Island is a key project for Europe to enhance energy security and the exchange of renewable energy,” said NKT President and CEO Claes Westerlind “With this award, we reaffirm our strong commitment to building the sustainable and secure energy infrastructure Europe needs, and demonstrate our proven high-voltage power cable capabilities.”

Offshore installation is planned to be carried out by the new vessel, NKT Eleonora, which is currently under construction. Once operational in 2027, the vessel will be one of the most advanced and fuel-efficient cable layers in the industry.

NKT has been awarded two turnkey projects in Germany under the existing multi-year framework agreement with TenneT, a Dutch-German transmission system operator.

A press release said that the projects are part of TenneT’s 2GW Program, which is considered a very ambitious infrastructure initiative in the energy transition of Europe. It calls for NKT to provide TennetT with 525 kV XLPE high-voltage direct current (HVDC) on- and offshore power cable systems for the two projects: LanWin7 and a part of the NordOstLink.

The two projects, expected to be completed in 2026-27, have a total value topping €1 billion. That price includes engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI). A total of five projects have now been awarded to NKT under the framework agreement, which runs until 2028 with possible extension until 2031.

“We are thrilled to once again be selected as a key partner for TenneT’s ambitious 2GW Program,” said NKT CEO Claes Westerlind. “We look forward to applying our advanced power cable technology to these two additional projects in Germany, which will enable the energy transition in Europe by facilitating the efficient transport of wind power from the North Sea to the onshore grid.”

The LanWin7 route project, which includes an on- and offshore 525 kV XLPE HVDC power cable system, is 320 km. It is one of the offshore grid connection systems planned to connect to the multi-terminal hub in the area of Pöschendorf, Schleswig-Holstein. This so-called NordHub will integrate multiple direct current (DC) and AC connections, facilitating the efficient transport of wind power from the North Sea to the onshore grid.

The NordOstLink (partial) project involves laying additional cables to enhance the capacity and flexibility of the grid. The onshore 525 kV HVDC power cable system length is 65 km. The contract calls for work to be activated in 2026-27, with commissioning completed in 2033-34.

NKT has made a framework supply agreement with Dutch distribution system operator Enexis, which earlier this year announced that it would be “scaling up” its cable suppliers from three to eight to assure its cable needs can be met for its ambitious power grid projects that will collectively cost an estimated €2.3 billion.

A press release said that one of Enexis’s projects will require several thousand km of underground power cables to expand the power grid in the Dutch provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Brabant and Limburg to prepare for an increasing amount of renewable energy. The agreement with NKT calls for it to deliver approximately 600 km of power cables per year over the next eight years for that project.

The majority of the medium-voltages power cables will be produced at NKT’s factory in Asnaes, Denmark, with shipments starting in 2025. The plant is being expanded in the coming years as part of NKT’s announced investments across three medium-voltage manufacturing sites.

Enexis reports that it will need more than 76,000 km of power cables over the next 12 years, as part of its reinforcement of the Dutch power grid. That will include some 40,000 km of medium-voltage cables and more than 36,000 km of low-voltage cables needed for the reinforcement and expansion of neighborhood grids.

To make this possible, Enexis is scaling up from its base of three cable manufacturers: Prysmian Netherlands, TKF (BV Twentsche Kabelfabriek) and Waskönig+Walter Kabel-Werk GmbH u. Co. KG. It plans to add five suppliers. In addition to NKT, those include Tele-Fonika Kable, Hellenic Cables, KLZ Vertriebs and GM Products.

NKT will deliver 545 km of onshore power cables to transmission system operator Elia Transmission Belgium (ETB) for a major grid upgrade.

A press release said that the order for the cable will strengthen Belgium’s transmission grid, and was received under an existing framework agreement between NKT and ETB., which manages the high-voltage transmission grid that has some 9,000 km of overhead lines and underground cables. The latest order is related to a prior order of 72 km of 380 kV AC onshore power cables recently awarded under the same agreement.

“This is one of the largest orders in the segment 70 kV and 150 kV AC onshore NKT has ever received and shows the importance of the lower high-voltage levels in the transmission grid,” said Lukas Sidler, EVP, HV Solutions Cologne. The cables will be produced at NKT’s Cologne, Germany, and Velke Meziříčí, Czech Republic, factories, with delivery and installation planned from 2025-2027.

In Belgium, electricity consumption is expected to rise by 50% by 2032 while renewable energy sources are adding more power to the system. In 2023, Belgium generated a record-breaking 21.5 TWh (a 23% increase compared with 2022) from wind and solar generation, making up 28% of the country’s electricity mix.

In other news, NKT reported that it is expanding its operations in Alingsås, Sweden, to boost the production capacity of high-voltage accessories. The company is currently constructing a new hall in Alingsås for testing power cable accessories up to 525 kV that is needed to meet what the company described as the growing demand driven by the transition to renewable energy. Besides boosting the production capacity of high-voltage accessories, with the new hall NKT is seeking to enhance its research and development efforts.

“With our new high-voltage test facility, we’re meeting NKT’s strong growth in the global market. This investment in Alingsås enables us to support the renewable transition by supplying complete power cable systems for on- and offshore wind parks and interconnectors,” said John Sjöström, Head of Operations at NKT in Alingsås.

NKT reports that construction has started on the company’s cable extrusion tower in Karlskrona, Sweden, for what it said will be the world’s largest factory for high-voltage offshore power cables.

A July 31st press release said that the slipform casting of concrete had started for the site’s third extrusion tower, which will become the second tallest tower in Sweden. Over the coming months, a truck per hour will supply concrete to the tower, ensuring its rapid ascent to 200 meters to stand as a landmark of NKT’s ongoing investments in production capacity and capabilities. “The beginning of the slip forming is a major milestone in the expansion of the factory in Karlskrona,” said Darren Fennell, executive vice president and head of HV Solutions Karlskrona in NKT. “The ongoing investments ... prepares us for the positive development we expect in the high-voltage power cable market.”

The extrusion tower is crucial in adding insulation to the high-voltage power cables produced at the Swedish facility. The construction of the tower is part of a larger investment program in NKT’s high-voltage power cable business, which also includes a second cable-laying vessel, set to be operational from 2027 alongside the factory expansion. As part of this growth, NKT plans to recruit over 500 new employees by 2027 and is on track with the hiring process in Karlskrona.

NKT has confirmed that it will be a partner for two Scottish power cable projects with SSEN Transmission.

A press release said that last August, NKT had confirmed that it had reserved production and offshore installation capacity for a venture of Scottish transmission system operator (TSO) SSEN Transmission. The company plans to build two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission links running from the Western Isles to the Scottish mainland, and from Spittal in Caithness to Peterhead.

NKT has now signed a framework agreement with SSEN Transmission, and the parties have agreed to proceed with initial work for the two interconnectors issued under the framework agreement. The project will support the decarbonization of the power system in Great Britain.

The limited notice to proceed with the projects reflects the exceptional collaboration with SSEN Transmission on interconnector projects like the Caithness-Moray HVDC Link and the ongoing Shetland HVDC Link, said Darren Fennell, EVP & Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona in NKT.

The Western Isles and Spittal-Peterhead offshore HVDC transmission links are part of The Pathway to 2030 Holistic Network Design (HND) which is a major upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain. SSEN Transmission plays a central role in executing on the HND, supporting the journey to meet UK and Scottish Governments 2030 renewable energy and climate change targets. The HND sets out a single, integrated grid design that supports the large-scale delivery of electricity generated from offshore wind.

The Western Isles cable route is approximately 160 km of 525 kV HVDC with a transmission link capacity of 1.8 GW. The Spittal-Peterhead cable route is approximately 220 km of 525 kV HVDC with a transmission link capacity of 2.0 GW. Both projects include on- and off-shore route length, and are scheduled for completion in the first half of 2026.

NKT reports that it will deliver 1,300 km of 20 kV cables to distribution system operator (DSO) Tauron to support a stronger, more robust power grid in Poland.

A press release said that with more than 400 employees in Poland, NKT is committed to the country and supporting its power grid upgrade projects. It noted that renewable power is playing an increasingly important role in Poland’s energy mix with a goal of it making up more than 30% of the country’s energy mix by 2030. This will include a significant increase of installed capacity in solar power of approximately 5-7 GW in 2030 and between 10-16 GW by 2040.

The 20 kV power cable will be delivered throughout 2024-2025 to the Tauron Group, which was described as the largest electricity distributor in Poland. The Tauron Group supplies 51.6 TWh of electricity over an area of 57,000 sq km, serving 5.8 million customers in Southern Poland.