Nexans and Terna announce a major contract of more than 650 million euros for the first HVDC interconnector between Sardinia and Sicily, driving sustainable energy and strengthening the energy hub in the Mediterranean

• Nexans will provide 500km of 500kV HVDC mass impregnated subsea cable link for the Tyrrhenian Link project to build a new electricity corridor connecting Sicily and Sardinia to Italy’s mainland.
• The cables supplied for the Tyrrhenian link project will improve electricity exchange capacity, facilitate the development of renewable energy sources, and improve the reliability of the grid at the center of Mediterranean.
• Nexans will manufacture the cables in its Halden plant in Norway and the cables will be installed by Nexans’ ground-breaking new advanced cable laying vessel, Aurora.

Paris, November 30, 2021 – Nexans has been awarded a frame contract for more than €650m with Terna, supplying interconnector cabling solution for its Tyrrhenian Link in Italy. As part of the contract, Nexans will manufacture and install 500km of a 500kV mass-impregnated (MI) cable and Fiber Optic (FO) cable at more than 2,000m water depth, the deepest depth ever for a subsea power cable in the Mediterranean.

The Tyrrhenian Link is a significant milestone in the much-needed development of the electricity grid in Europe. It creates a new electricity corridor between Sicily, Sardinia and Campania that will allow the first loop to be established between the two islands and the Italian mainland.

The project will help increase electricity exchange capacity and support the development of renewable energy flows. In addition, it will strengthen network stability and security as well as increasing competitiveness for producers in the local electricity markets.

This frame contract showcases the success of Nexans’ unique subsea deep-water know-how and full-turnkey approach, notably combining manufacturing and installation with excellence in risk management. Also, it demonstrates the Group’s key role as a major player in the electrification of Europe and signals its critical role in improving grid infrastructure across the Mediterranean, with more projects in the region expected to be announced further.

For the Nexans installation of the interconnector cable, Nexans’ will use the recently launched cable laying vessel “Nexans Aurora”, which can install deep water cables in water depth of over 2,000m and supports 10,000ton cable payload.