Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co., Ltd. (Orient Cable NBO) has become part of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, an ambitious renewable energy initiative that will send wind and solar energy generated in Morocco to the U.K.

Per multiple news reports, Orient Cable NBO invested approximately £5 million on January 22. It joins existing investors in the project: Abu Dhabi Power Corporation-owned Al Maqam Energy Holding, UK-based Octopus Energy and TotalEnergies Renewables UK. Of note, Orient Cable NBO also announced that it planned to buy 8.5% of XLCC, a U.K.-based company that produces standardized 525 kV submarine cables, for £10 million. XLCC is developing the U.K.’s first HVDC cable factory, located in North Ayrshire, Scotland, which will deliver 3,800-km-long cables for the Morocco-UK Power Project. Last November, XLCC reported that it received a £9 million grant from Scottish Enterprise to further develop the North Ayrshire plant located in Hunterston.

“As we continue to work towards building a greener future for Scotland and the wider U.K. ... this grant (puts our new plant project) on the best footing,” said XLCC CEO Ian Douglas. “Green energy is the future, and we want to empower Scotland to be part of the transition.”

Work on the £1.4 billion Hunterston cable manufacturing facility will start this year, with cable production slated for 2026. The first order is for four 3,800-km-long cables for the Xlinks Morocco-UK power project, while additional Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have been secured for domestic projects.

Prysmian reports that it has finalized a contract worth approximately €1.9 billion for Eastern Green Link 2 Limited (EGL2), a project that will deliver power generated in Scotland to England.

A press release said that the EGL2 connection— partners of the project—SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, the U.K. electricity transmission network owners—will form a vital electricity transmission link between Scotland and England. It is one of the first cable systems contracted in the U.K. that will use 525 kV HVDC technology with extruded XLPE insulation. Prysmian will design, manufacture, install, test and commission the required HVDC cable system that will have a power transmission capacity of 2 GW.

“We are very proud to have the opportunity to play our role in the development of such a strategic infrastructure for U.K.,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Transmission BU, Prysmian. “Once completed, the electrical ‘superhighway’ cable link will unlock the rich renewable energy capacity of Scotland and significantly increase the UK’s capacity to deliver clean energy for around two million homes in the U.K.”

The award follows the earlier selection of Prysmian last year as the exclusive preferred bidder, with a commitment made to assure its continued capacity availability for the project. The new connection is due to be operational in 2029. See p. 18 for related news item.

India’s HFCL Limited (HFCL) announced that it plans to make a strategic expansion into Europe by setting up an optical fiber cable (OFC) manufacturing plant in Poland that will serve the increasing demand for OFC in European markets such as the U.K., Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, etc.

A press release said that HFCL aims to ramp up its share of exports in its OFC vertical revenue from the current 30% to 70% within the next four to five years. It noted that Europe has promising growth prospects as its OFC market is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.5% over the next five years with expected demand of 90 million fiber (mf) km by 2028. The FTTH Council estimates that some 308 million homes in the EU region will have FTTH connectivity by 2028, speeding up deployment by three to five years. “This signals a rapid expansion of FTTH networks in these areas which will lead to increased demand of OFC.”

Poland has become a favored European nation, primarily due to its attractive market access to other European nations for incentive programs and cost competitiveness. The country’s strong connectivity is further enhanced through its well-developed ports. The availability of specialized skills at relatively lower labor cost than other European nations further enhances its attractiveness of being a premier manufacturing destination.

HFCL’s plant in Poland will begin with a capacity of 3.25 mf km and be scalable up to 7 mf km, with an initial capital outlay up to about $22 million. This strategic move will enhance HFCL’s agility and reduce transit times by approximately six weeks, thereby enabling an increase in order fulfillment capacity. The operation will be incorporated via a new stepdown subsidiary in Poland under HFCL B.V.

Including its subsidiary, the company will have three modern manufacturing plants in India with annual capacity of 25 mf km. “With this strategic expansion, we are poised to align with Europe’s vision, which anticipates gigabit connectivity as a cornerstone of its future,” said HFLC Managing Director Mahendra Nahata. He noted that the venture “marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey toward global leadership in telecommunication solutions.”

NKT announced that it has won an order worth some €2.2 billion for two power cable projects and that it plans to invest in additional high-voltage capacity in Germany.

A press release said that NKT has been awarded two onshore power cable projects by Amprion, a German transmission system operator (TSO). The order calls for NKT to provide high-voltage AC and DC onshore power cable systems for the ongoing expansion of the German power grid. With the award of these two specific turnkey projects, NKT will design, manufacture and install the high-voltage power cable systems with voltage levels of 110 kV, 380 kV AC and 525 kV DC. With a combined value of approximately €1.2bn, NKT continues the positive development from 2023 and increases the high-voltage order backlog to approximately €12 billion.

The projects include Korridor-B V48, an onshore corridor project with a route length of approximately 430 km of 525 kV HVDC power cables; and Rheinquerung, which will require approximately 20 km of 380 kV AC and 50 km of 110 kV AC power cables for extension of the onshore power grid in Germany. The two projects, expected to be commissioned from 2029 to 2031, were described as “a key element in the acceleration of the Energiewende, Germany’s long-term strategy for the transition to renewable energy by 2045.”

“Contracts like the one with NKT are fundamental to driving forward the energy transition,” said Amprion CTO Dr. Hendrik Neumann. “Only if we can procure the necessary resources on the market in time, we stay on schedule and on course for project success. Korridor B in particular plays an important role in achieving our climate targets.”

Based on demand, NKT has decided to invest approximately €100 million for additional capacity at its existing factory in Cologne. The added capacity is planned to be gradually operational from 2027 and is expected to support NKT’s medium-term financial ambition of delivering RoCE above 20%.

The majority of the power cables for the two projects will be manufactured in Cologne, which is operating on renewable electricity and is located close to the installation sites in Germany. The local footprint will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the power cable systems, help create and maintain highly qualified German jobs supporting the transition to renewable energy in general and Germany’s leading position within this transition.