NKT has been awarded its largest order ever – over €1 billion – by TenneT and TransnetBW. The contracts comprise the supply and installation of a 525 kV XLPE high-voltage DC onshore cable system with a route length of approximately 750 km for the German SuedLink corridor.
The SuedLink corridor comprises two power cable systems, and NKT has been awarded the 2 GW cable link, which will be the world’s largest and longest high-voltage DC underground interconnector. The SuedLink line starts in northern Germany, where it connects to power from offshore wind farms and to the Nordlink interconnector, which brings hydropower from Norway to Germany via a 525 kV high-voltage DC offshore power cable system also provided by NKT. In May, NKT announced that it would also deliver the majority of the 525 kV XLPE power cable system for the SuedOstLink corridor in Eastern Germany.
“The order for the SuedLink corridor project underlines NKT’s position as a major partner in Germany’s transition towards increased use of renewable energy and in connecting the national grids,” says Alexander Kara, president and CEO of NKT.
“Our power cable systems will ensure that wind and hydropower can be transported all the way from the North Sea and Norway via the NordLink and SuedLink interconnectors to Southern Germany. These large-scale interconnectors represent a significant market opportunity for NKT. As a provider of high-voltage DC technology we are positioned to be part of future projects supporting the green transformation of societies,” he adds.
NKT expects to start production early 2022 on its plants in Cologne, Germany, and in Karlskrona, Sweden, with expected project completion in 2026.
SuedLink is one of three long-distance high-voltage DC power transmission lines in Germany to transport renewable energy from the northern parts of the country to the south, and it links the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Baden-Württemberg. In total, the three transmission lines will cover a significant proportion of the country’s power supply and are key to realize ‘Energiewende,’ Germany’s long-term strategy for switching to renewable energies by 2050.
The power cable systems from NKT not only make the renewable power transmission possible, but the cables themselves are also sustainably produced in plants running on 100% green electricity.
