Sumitomo Electric with consortium partner Van Oord and in collaboration with client SSEN Transmission has announced the signing of a Capacity Reservation Agreement (CRA) encompassing the supply and installation of a second 525kV HVDC cable link between Shetland and Scotland.

Feb 7, 2025

Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited, together with consortium partner Van Oord and in collaboration with client SSEN Transmission, have signed a Capacity Reservation Agreement (CRA) encompassing the supply and installation of a second 525kV HVDC cable link between Shetland and the Scottish mainland.

The signing of the CRA marks a significant new chapter in not only Scotland but the UK, with planned cable for the project to be delivered from Sumitomo Electric’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, currently under construction in Nigg, northeast Scotland.

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Cables of this type and technology have never been previously manufactured in the UK and the announcement is a significant step towards realizing substantial benefit for the local area and the country as a whole.

It follows the announcement in May 2024 that SSEN Transmission had selected Sumitomo Electric and Van Oord as preferred bidder for the Shetland 2 project, a crucial milestone underpinning Sumitomo Electric’s investment in its new cable manufacturing facility.

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The Scotland factory is set to become Sumitomo Electric’s flagship for offshore cabling in the UK and Europe, with construction of the EUR 350 million facility now well underway after ground was officially broken on May 15, 2024. The site, spread in an area of approximately 150,000m2, is progressing in accordance with the anticipated program with piling works nearing completion and factory foundations now well underway. Following the completion of the foundation work, the steelworks and factory fit-out are scheduled to take place in 12-15 months.