Hitachi Energy has secured a contract worth approximately €770 million for the construction of converter stations for the submarine power interconnection between Italy and Tunisia.
The Elmed project will be the first direct current connection between Europe and Africa and will run from the Partanna electrical substation in Sicily and the Mlaabi substation on the Tunisian Cap Bon peninsula, for a total length of 220 kilometers, of which 200 is undersea cable.
The bi-directional link will have a capacity of 600 MW and a maximum depth of approximately 800 meters, along the Strait of Sicily.
Hitachi Energy will construct two converter stations, one in Italy in Partanna, in the province of Trapani, and the other in Mlaabi, in the Menel Temime area, in Tunisia, as well as deliver system studies, design and engineering, supply, installation supervision, and commissioning.
Other companies in the consortium, including D’Agostino Costruzioni Generali for the Partanna station and Orascom Construction SAE for the Mlaabi station, will mainly carry out civil works as well as electromechanical installations and auxiliary systems.
Italy’s transmission system operator (TSO) Terna and Tunisian counterpart STEG selected Prysmian for the construction of the submarine power interconnection in September 2025, with the cable laying vessel (CLV) Monna Lisa to carry out the installation.
Of the total €1,420 million investment for the electricity link, €307 million has been allocated by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant program managed by CINEA. This marks the first time the European Union has financed a project involving a non-member country.