South Korean subsea cable manufacturer LS Cable & System has completed the construction of what it says is the largest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable production facility in Asia.
LS Cable & System announced on July 16 that it had completed the construction of its fifth submarine cable plant in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do, more than quadrupling its HVDC cable production capacity.
The expansion includes the addition of a vertical continuous vulcanization (VCV) line, enabling the production of ultra-long-distance high-voltage cables with enhanced insulation and reliability.
“ The global HVDC cable market is expected to grow to approximately KRW 40 trillion by 2030,” LS Cable & System said. “Along with this facility expansion, we will actively pursue joint participation with LS Marine Solution in the West Coast HVDC Energy Highway project being promoted by the Korean government.”
The West Coast HVDC Energy Highway is a large-scale grid connection project proposed to be built in South Korea by 2040 to transmit 20 GW of offshore wind, expected to be installed in the country by that time, to key industrial areas. If approved to go ahead, the construction of the project would start by 2030.
Of note, LS Marine Solution recently announced it was investing KRW 345.8 billion (approximately €221 million) in a cable laying vessel (CLV) with a load capacity of 13,000 tons, to be built at Türkiye’s Tersan Shipyard .
When announcing the investment, the company said the vessel was being built to strengthen its technological capabilities in response to the West Coast HVDC Energy Highway, for which the new CLV is the only alternative among domestic vessels capable of long-distance, continuous cable laying.
Also worth mentioning, LS Cable & System is among the ten suppliers chosen by the UK National Grid as part of a £59 billion HVDC supply chain framework , setting the stage for the delivery of the required works and equipment for key energy projects across the UK.