First ever UK-Germany energy link construction enters next phase

Phase two development of the UK-Germany energy link has recently kicked off as the foundational ground works are currently being laid with a new converter station to be built in the UK.

Construction Cost

NeuConnect project pushing the funding envelope of €2. In order to meet the increasing needs of its population of 8 billion, is fast becoming an even greater player who – after constructing the converter stations on the Isle of Grain in Kent and in the Wilhelmshaven region of northern Germany – has decided to go ahead and build more liquid natural gas terminals in Hull and Sassnitz in eastern Germany. Embracing this bold enterprise, we will create a 725-km-long cable, linking these two sides of continents for the first time, and using both ground and subsea cables.

NeuConnect project targets to run seamlessly bio-directional flow of almost 1. 4 GW of electrical power, which translates into the energy security and resilience enhancement of and at the same time facilitating the harmonization of renewable energy consumption in both Britain and Germany. Like every good the project’s initial phase was devoted to major construction activities which took kicked off in the UK late in the summer of 2023. Remarkably, Prysmian, an impressive Italian cable production company, highly contributed to the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) required in order to connect the subsea cables to land. This first phase was ended successfully and in agreement with the planning by the year-end which was 2023.

Construction phases

At the same time, joint with Prysmian team, ‘Siemens Energy’ company recently finished the construction phase of UKs converter station, they being the main contractor. This some-sort of overall accomplishment announces the beginning of the next phase of construction which covers the test piling operations to verify the beyond foundations for the new converter station built. Indeed, there is an ongoing complicated task at the UK converter station for the first ten trial piles, whereas drilling data will be collected and used as a basis for the main foundation works. Finally, to be followed by the test piling analysis will be the main foundation works slated for June, with additional rigs to be trucked to the site for the piling process mobilization.

Moreover, apart from the conversion station activates, the National grid has initiated preparatory construction in the new sub-station building that will perform as a node joining the NeuConnect and the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS) which is Great Britain’s electricity grid, spreading the electricity generated by NeuConnect to all the other electrical network facilities.

As well as Ut selecta is the work in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, where major projects should start this month. Arnaud Grévoz, CEO at NeuConnect, said they believe that the project will be noteworthy as the UK converter station site is opened for construction and said that this is the biggest benchmark. Pointing out that the major works that construction would entail is only few months away, Richard stressed that it remains possible for UK to Germany Energy Link to be completed by the first half of the year.