Cabling giant Prysmian has begun loading the cable destined for the UK section of the first direct energy link between the UK and Germany at its factory in Italy.
Prysmian is loading the cabling onto the Cable Enterprise vessel at its Arco Felice factory which will be used for the UK section of the NeuConnect project, with cabling works kicking off later this summer.
The cable represents the first 56-kilometer cable length out of over 700 kilometers that will be used on the project in total.
UK cabling works are set to start later this year at the Isle of Grain in Kent.
NeuConnect will see the construction of new converter stations on the Isle of Grain and the Wilhelmshaven region in Lower Saxony, northern Germany, connected by subsea cables passing through British, Dutch and German waters.
With some 725 kilometers of land and subsea cables, the privately financed project will become one of the world’s largest interconnectors. Led by global investors Meridiam, Allianz Capital Partners, Kansai Electric Power and TEPCO, the link will allow up to 1.4 GW of electricity to flow in both directions – enough to power up to 1.5 million homes over its lifetime.
Construction work at the UK site on the Isle of Grain began last year , with the start of foundation works on the UK converter station starting this May . As construction also recently began in Germany , NeuConnect remains on track to be operational by 2028.