Citing the challenge in getting the cable it needs for an ambitious project—the Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink)—the developer, Australia’s SunCable, announced plans to build its own manufacturing plant to supply cable for the solar farm, likely in Tasmania.

Per multiple news reports, SunCable has been in the news due to a split between billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest, both principals of what was called “the world’s most ambitious solar energy generation project.” The two differed over direction, and once the leadership dust settled, SunCable was bought out by a consortium led by Grok Ventures, which is owned by Cannon-Brookes. Now, the focus once again is on the AA PowerLink project that would generate solar from Australia’s Northern Territory to deliver to Darwin, and then on to Singapore.

Per press releases at the SunCable website, the project will require a lot of cable as the proposed 20 GW solar farm will need an 800-km overhead transmission line to Darwin and a 4,300 km HV cable link to Singapore and converter sites. However, all advanced HVDC subsea cable facilities are now located in the Northern Hemisphere, and to place and receive an order could take five to eight years.
SunCable wants to have its own HV cable manufacturing plant, located in Tasmania. “The Tasmania option, on paper, offers the ability to produce cables in six years’ time.” Construction of the plant would be 2025, “with the first cable produced in 2029,” with the AAPowerLink project an anchor customer.

Of note, SunCable is not entering the wire and cable industry on its own. It reported that it “is in discussions with global cable manufacturers to jointly develop, construct and operate an advanced high voltage (HV) cable manufacturing facility.” The potential site, at Bell Bay, was chosen due to its size and proximity to one of the country’s few natural deep-water ports, rail infrastructure and renewable energy infrastructure. A plant there “will help solve global supply constraints of HVDC subsea cable.”

Hellenic Cables has signed a contract with Seaway7 for the East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm which is being developed by ScottishPower Renewables (SPR).

A press release said that Hellenic Cables will be responsible for the engineering, manufacturing, testing and supply of some 275 km of 66 kV three-core inter array submarine cables and the supply of the associated accessories. Production will get underway in 2024. Once operational in 2026, it will be the second-largest offshore wind farm in the world. The cables will be manufactured at the company’s plant in Corinth, Greece.

“We are excited to have been awarded the cable supply contract ... and support the expansion of renewable energy in the UK,” said Hellenic Cables GM Konstantinos Savvakis. “We are proud to be part of this important project.”

The wind farm is located approximately 69 km NE off the Suffolk coast. Its 95 14.7MW turbines will have a combined capacity of 1,400 MW, generating enough green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 1.3 million homes.

Earlier this year, SPR awarded a contract for the high-voltage DC (HVDC) export power cable system for the East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm to NKT. The turnkey contract, with a contract value in excess of €250 million in market prices, comprises the design, manufacturing and installation of the complete 320 kV HVDC export power cable system.

SPR reports that East Anglia THREE will follow the same cable corridor as its flagship offshore windfarm – East Anglia ONE, which means that there is no need to create new cable trenches. “At ScottishPower, we’re committed to generating more homegrown green electricity in the U.K. for the U.K., and East Anglia THREE will be a huge part of that,” said Ross Ovens, managing director for the East Anglia Hub offshore windfarms.

Hellenic Cables has three cable production plants in Thiva and Corinth (Greece) and Bucharest (Romania) and two auxiliary production plants in Oinofyta (Greece) and Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria). The Corinth production unit was described as one of the largest and most advanced submarine cable plant in the world.

Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG) and ABB have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement to jointly explore service capabilities for mine hoist systems located in ABB customer sites worldwide.

A press release said that there are more than 600 active production and service mine hoists within ABB’s global installed base and now there is an opportunity with BBRG to serve these customers together. The services will include innovative approaches towards safety, availability, productivity, risk reduction and sustainability. Combining the best-in-class practices for preventative maintenance will be further enhanced by the integration of inspections, audits, and spare parts inventory optimization, for the complete hoisting system. The focus will be on Australia, Europe, China and North America.

BBRG’s VisionTek condition monitoring solution for ropes and ABB’s digital solution suite for mine hoist monitoring and optimization, ABB Ability™ Smart Hoisting, will be combined under the predictive maintenance category, bringing technologies to provide asset health and condition/performance monitoring platforms and services to mine hoist operations.

Wardwell Braiding Company announced that it has acquired Cobra Braiding Machinery (Cobra) and the assets of the U.K. business.

A press release said that Cobra, established in the U.K. in 1981, is a fourth-generation family-run company that has a strong reputation as a manufacturer of wire harness and cable harness braiding machinery. It manufactures and supplies braiding machines and equipment for a wide range of wiring harness markets that include heavy vehicles, agricultural equipment, construction and mining equipment, military and defense vehicles, marine engines and aerospace. Nearly all its braiding machines are exported overseas to countries including the USA, Mexico, Europe, China, Japan and Australia.

“Wardwell and Cobra have been friendly competitors for many years on the global market in wire and cable harnessing,” said Wardwell Vice President John Tomaz. “When this opportunity for acquisition arose, we knew it was a great fit for our company and our customers. I have the highest respect for the Cobra line of braiders and especially the company’s managing director, Neil Hyde.”

Hyde, who will remain active in the company as general manager for a period of time, saw much value in the deal. “Teaming up with Wardwell gives us the confidence that our customers will continue to receive the performance and support they are accustomed to getting from Cobra,” he said.

Wardwell is a member of Germany’s Wilms Group, which includes major equipment manufacturers around the world such as SKET, Henrich and Spirka-Schnellflechter. This global network of suppliers to the industry has improved each member’s market position. The Wardwell braiding machine offerings will now include the Cobra line, including its industry-recognized Cobra 450.

“We see the Cobra line, when joined with ours, creating a positive synergy in sales and marketing for us on a global scale,” Tomaz said.

Telxius, a subsidiary of Telefónica, a Spanish telecom company, announced that it is extending the capacity of the Tikal subsea cable so that it can connect to Mexico.

A press release said that Telxius will be extending its ultrahigh capacity subsea cable Tikal to land in Cancun, Mexico. Tikal was announced jointly with America Movil in January 2023 to connect Puerto Barrios in Guatemala to Boca Raton in the U.S. “Telxius will now lead independently, on its own, the extension project to Cancun and the related supply contract is already in force with ASN.”

Tikal’s main trunk will launch with an initial estimated capacity of 380 Tbps and will serve a key route in the Caribbean with the highest levels of service, reliability and security. The estimated Ready For Service (RFS) date is mid-2026. This next-generation cable will now land in Mexico through the extension to Cancun. There is an option to extend it further to Barranquilla in Colombia.

The Telxius network spans over 100,000 km of terrestrial and subsea fiber including seven next-generation systems: Marea, Brusa, Dunant, Tannat, Junior, Mistral and soon Tikal. Five of these land in Latin America and the other two extend the network across the Atlantic. The Telxius network has been designed to connect the main digital data hubs on both sides of the Atlantic with a multi-Terabit set of new next-generation subsea cables.