Siemens Energy has delivered all 14 transformers that will help to power NeuConnect, the first energy link between the UK and Germany.
The seventh and final transformer was delivered to the converter station site in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, this week, following the delivery of all seven transformers to the UK site earlier this year .
All 14 were transported from Siemens Energy’s factories in Nuremberg by barge along the Rhine to Rotterdam, with seven then shipped to Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and seven to the Isle of Grain in the UK. Each of the 200-ton, 7-meter-long and 5-meter-tall transformers was then taken by road to the UK and German sites, respectively.
The 24-meter-high and 70-meter-wide converter station buildings in both countries have now reached full height, with cladding works well underway.
Furthermore, main contractor Prysmian has laid over 300 kilometers of subsea cabling in total, with all cabling now in place in UK waters and works continuing in Dutch waters. As for cable laying on the German side, works to install 12 kilometers of cabling between the North Sea coast and the converter station in Fedderwarden are nearing completion.
NeuConnect CEO Arnaud Grévoz said: “The delivery of all 14 transformers was a huge task and completes another important milestone in this vital new energy link. With the construction of our onshore buildings reaching full height, and more than 300km of cabling now laid at sea, we are making good progress and remain firmly on track.”
Led by global investors Meridiam, Allianz, Kansai Electric Power and TEPCO, 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 . The interconnector is expected to be operational by 2028.