Siemens Energy has delivered the first of seven transformers that will help to power NeuConnect, the first energy link between the UK and Germany.
The transformer was taken from Siemens Energy’s factories in Nürnberg, Germany, and delivered by barge along the Rhine River to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, before being shipped by sea to the UK and then taken by road to the Isle of Grain site.
The structure is 7 meters long, 5 meters tall and weighs more than 200 tons. Further transformers will be delivered to the UK over the coming months.
NeuConnect CEO Arnaud Grévoz said: “We have made a strong start to 2026 in our construction works, and the arrival of the first transformer in the UK marks another important milestone as we take delivery of key equipment that will help to power this vital new energy link. With our Converter Stations taking shape and cabling work continuing in UK waters, we remain firmly on track.”
Led by global investors Meridiam, Allianz, Kansai Electric Power and TEPCO, the 725-kilometer NeuConnect will create an “invisible energy highway” capable of transferring 1.4 GW of electricity, enough to power 1.5 million homes, in either direction, with converter stations on the Isle of Grain in Kent and Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany.
Construction work at the UK site on the Isle of Grain began in the summer of 2023 , with construction in Germany following in May 2024 .
Onshore in the UK, ‘super structure’ works have reached full height on the 24-meter-high, 70-meter-wide converter hall buildings, with cladding works well underway. As for work offshore, Prysmian’s cable laying vessel (CLV) Leonardo da Vinci is in UK waters, where it will install over 140 kilometers of subsea cabling over the coming months.
This latest phase of works will see cabling completed in UK waters and start to move into Dutch waters.