5/4/2022 -

NKT has finalized the repair of the 285 kV HVDC power cable system Kontiskan 2 that connects the power grids of Sweden and Denmark.

A press release said that NKT was awarded the repair contract after the Kontiskan 2 interconnector—operated by Svenska Kraftnät and Energinet—suffered a fault due to external impact at the end of January 2022. Roughly eight weeks after the fault occurred, the 285 kV mass impregnated (MI) HVDC power cable system was back in full operation. The actual repair operation took only 12 days. 

NKT performed the initial fault finding from shore identifying that the damage was located offshore. The damaged cable section was located 33 km from the converter station in Billdal, Sweden, after further pinpointing with a third-party vessel. NKT completed the repair operation within only 12 days after the mobilization of a third-party repair vessel. Following the operation, NKT buried the power cable at safe water depth to mitigate the risk of external impact.

 The Kontiskan 2 was energized shortly after the repair bringing the power cable connection back in full operation. The interconnector was installed in 1988 as an addition to the Kontiskan 1 from 1969 to support the exchange of energy between the Nordic countries by connecting the national power grids in Denmark and Sweden.

“Once again, we demonstrated that we are among the fastest companies in the market when it comes to offshore repairs,” the release said.

5/4/2022 -

U.K. metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has secured $125 million in new financing for Liberty Steel, a manufacturer of steel wire rod in the U.S.

In an article in The Wall Street Journal, Liberty Steel USA reported that it has been given funding from Eclipse Business Capital, a U.S. lender. It replaces an existing loan with Wells Fargo. The deal provides financial relief to a part of Gupta’s global empire amid a wider restructuring following the collapse of specialty lender Greensill Capital. Terms of the loan were not released, but the article described Eclipse as a Chicago-based lender to midsize companies.

Gupta owns Liberty Steel USA through his GFG Alliance group of companies, which have more than 200 manufacturing assets in 12 countries. In the U.S., Liberty Steel manufactures wire rod and has operations in states including Illinois and South Carolina. Those include the Georgetown mill that Liberty purchased in a shuttered state from ArcelorMittal in December 2017, and reopened seven months later.

The prospects of GFG’s steel operations have been at risk for months following the unraveling last year of specialty finance firm Greensill Capital. Greensill and GFG were closely intertwined, with Greensill supplying the Gupta family’s steel, aluminum and energy businesses with their main source of funding.

5/4/2022 -

Wind, a Dutch subsea cable specialist, has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Waterson Terminals to establish a new cable storage yard in Rhode Island.

A press release said that the cable storage yard, to be located at ProvPort in Providence, is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of the third quarter of this year. It added that there was also the possibility of expanding capacity into other facilities of Waterson Terminals as the business grows and more space is required. The Providence yard will provide all cable and accessories storage and handling, while the project management will be carried out from Wind’s headquarters in Alkmaar in the Netherlands.

“Waterson Terminal Services is thrilled to partner with Wind as we work to provide a high level of port logistics and stevedoring service to the US offshore wind supply chain,” said Waterson Terminal Services general manager Chris Waterson.

Wind’s clients include Prysmian, which chose it for the transport, handling and temporary storage of a ±150 km array cable for the Hollandse Kust Zuid Offshore Wind Farm.

5/4/2022 -

The Prysmian Group reports that it is keeping pace with executing its plan to invest some €1 billion by 2024, mainly targeted at developing businesses that support the energy transition.

A press release said that global trends for creating more power through renewable resources were fueling the company’s investment plans. “Development of the trans-European power grid plays a strategic role in decarbonization and in the transition to renewable sources, as well as in improving EU energy autonomy — an urgent need that has returned to the fore with the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” said Prysmian Group CEO Valerio Battista. “As a global leader in the cable industry, we have decided to increase investments chiefly in support of energy interconnection projects and connections for renewable sources.”

The investment plan seeks to consolidate the company’s approximately 35-40% share in the high voltage submarine and underground cable market, which per 2025 forecasts is projected to top  €8 billion a year in terms of projects awarded. In 2021, Prysmian acquired projects worth €4.8 billion.

The Group is accelerating its plan to build the first high-voltage submarine cable facility in Massachusetts, USA, which with an investment of approximately €200 million will be a hub of strategic importance for the development of the offshore wind power industry in the country.

Significant investments will be made in expanding the production capacity and technological equipment of the key excellence centers for power transmission submarine cables. An investment of over €80 million will go to the Arco Felice (Naples) plant, which will be expanded, including in view of the execution of the Tyrrhenian Link interconnection. An investment of over €100 million will go to Pikkala (Finland) center of excellence for Northern Europe, particularly focused on offshore wind farm cabling projects, as well as to the Gron plant in France for the production of the German HVDC cable projects. The current submarine cable production structure is rounded out by the plants in Nordenham, Germany, and Drammen, Norway.

Another investment was in the Leonardo da Vinci, the world’s largest cable-laying vessel, which required an investment exceeding €170 million. Built by the Vard Group (Fincantieri), the vessel will expedite the time needed to complete submarine interconnection projects, while also decreasing their environmental impact. The Group’s fleet of cable-laying vessels also includes in addition to the new barge Barbarossa. Moreover, in addition to the Arco Felice (Naples) base, it can also count on the Middlesbrough operating base in Great Britain.

In terms of technical advances, Prysmian notes that its 525 kV P-Laser cable system, offers unparalleled efficiency in energy transmission and an innovative aramid-armored cable for submarine depths of up to 3,000 meters. Another innovation has been the development of digital devices for power grid monitoring, an area in which Prysmian is on the cutting edge with the PRY-CAM technology. Following the integration of the acquired Omnisens with Prysmian Electronics, the Group created the new EOSS Division with the objective of further developing this promising niche market capacity expansion at the Italian, Finnish and French plants.

5/4/2022 -

Per a report in The Times of India, RR Kable plans to invest more than 1,000 crore (one crore equals approximately $131,000 as of April 16). “We are having major expansion plans at our facility in Vadodara and Silvassa. The manufacturing capacity will be ramped up and new facilities will also be set up,” said Shreegopal Kabra, group president and managing director, RR Kabel. He added that about Rs 650 crore will be invested in wire and cable, Rs 200 crore in lighting and fan, and the rest in the production of switchgear. He said that the company will also increase its employee strength amid the expansion.

“We will hire about 2,500 employees in the next three years. Our current employee strength is 5,000 employees and we plan to take it to 10,000 in the next few years,” Shreegopal told TOI. The company has also set up a new plant in Waghodia where it will manufacture an entire range of switch products. Their exports currently stand at 27% of their production. The management also said that it will increase the number of women employees from the current 9% to 25% in the next five years. Established in 1986, RR Kabel currently has Rs 9,000 crore of annual turnover. They recently announced the acquisition of Luminous Home Electrical business from Schneider.

“This acquisition will further strengthen the company’s consumer electrical business,” said the release. noting that the transaction is expected to close in May this year. RR Kabel is the flagship company of RR Global and it is among the leading wire and cable manufacturers in India.