TenneT Gathers Eight-Strong Team for 525 kV Cable System

TenneT has contracted eight cable suppliers to develop and test a 525 kV HVDC subsea cable system. The offshore grid operator plans to have the new cable system certified in spring 2022.

The companies that will jointly develop the new cables system are: Hellenic Cables, LS Cable & System, Nexans Norway, Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables, NKT HV Cables, Prysmian Powerlink, Sumitomo Electric Industries, and Zhongtian Technology Submarine Cable (ZTT).

“It is very positive to see that multiple international cable suppliers are participating in this programme. It shows that the sector is keen to innovate together to produce a new standard for submarine cable systems substantially reducing cost for society”, said Marco Kuijpers, Director Offshore Projects at TenneT.

The 525 kV HVDC extruded submarine cable system with a 2 GW capacity is currently not implemented in any project worldwide, TenneT states. The grid developer will install the new system for the planned 2 GW offshore grid connections in the Netherlands and Germany.

The grid connections first to feature the 525 kV system are IJmuiden Ver in the Netherlands, and BalWin and LanWin in Germany. Future projects with the same power output and voltage will also use the new cable system.