South Korea’s LS Cable & System (LS C&S) announced that it has completed construction of its fifth submarine cable plant in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do, expanding its HVDC (high-voltage direct current) submarine cable production capacity by more than four times.

A press release said that with the expansion, LS Cable & System has the largest HVDC cable production facility in Asia and has greatly enhanced its competitiveness in large-scale global projects. “Combined with the recent decision by affiliate LS Marine Solution to build a dedicated HVDC cable laying vessel, the completion of this facility is expected to be an opportunity for LS Cable & System to fully establish its turnkey performance capabilities, which encompass everything from production to construction.”

The addition of a vertical continuous vulcanization (VCV) line to the fifth submarine cable plant has significantly improved production competitiveness and supply stability for submarine cables. The HVDC cable market is growing, “but due to the high level of technical difficulty and the need for large-scale infrastructure, other than LS Cable & System, there are only a few manufacturers in Europe and Japan that can supply these cables.” For long-distance HVDC construction, a dedicated cable laying vessel of 10,000 tons or more is essential, so only companies with both production and construction capabilities can meet global demand, it said.

Of note, LS C&S’s affiliate, LS Marine Solution, recently announced the construction of a dedicated HVDC cable laying vessel with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons. This vessel will allow the company not only to manufacture long-length cable in-house but also to transport and install it worldwide, a critical advantage in the global HVDC market.