Nexans has produced and shipped approximately half of the total fiber optic cable length from Norway to the U.S. to be integrated into the high-voltage subsea cable destined for the second Malta-Sicily interconnector.
The IC2 interconnector will consist of a new ~122-kilometer-long 225 MW HVAC electrical cable interconnection between the Terna substation at Ragusa, Sicily, and the Enemalta terminal station in Maghtab, to be laid in parallel to the existing HVAC cable link , also delivered by Nexans in 2015.
The overall interconnector cable link will be composed of a land cable in Sicily, approximately 21 kilometers long, a three-core submarine cable approximately 99 kilometers long, and a 2-kilometer land cable in Malta.
Under the contract formally signed in April in Malta, Nexans is in charge of the fiber optic production at its Rognan facility in Norway and high-voltage subsea cable manufacturing at its Charleston plant in South Carolina, the U.S.
Approximately half of the 104-kilometer total fiber optic cable length has been produced, tested, and shipped to the factory in Charleston.
To remind, IC2 obtained its final approval in January after securing the permit from the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security (MASE).
This second Malta-Sicily cable link is part of the Maltese Government’s future energy strategy for meeting the 2030 climate and energy targets and the longer-term decarbonization objectives.
The project, co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund 2021-2027, is expected to be commissioned in 2026. The ERDF funding amounts to €165 million and will cover more than half of the total investment costs.