NKT has won a long-term frame agreement with Swedish utility Ellevio to reinforce the power grid in Central Sweden, a four-year deal that calls for it to supply low- and medium-voltage power cables.

A press release said that NKT will continue its long-term collaboration with Ellevio to reinforce and expand the regional power grid in Central Sweden. The deal includes cable with voltage levels from 1 kV to 36 kV for use in projects such as replacing overhead lines with underground power cables and reinforcing the power grid in urban areas around Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

“With the new frame agreement, we continue our engagement in ensuring the grid has the capacity needed to be ready for the increased electrification driven by urbanization and the transition to renewable energy,” said Peter Marcusson, Nordic director of sales for utilities at NKT. The agreement, he said, runs until 2024, with an option to extend it for three more years.

The deal with Ellevio also includes collaboration on the development of new products and methods to future proof the power grid in the region, Marcusson said. He noted that part of the infrastructure is aging and needs to be reinforced and expanded to meet the growing demand for electricity.

A central part of the ongoing reinforcement is to weather proof the power grid by exchanging overhead lines with underground cables to minimize the risk of weather-related blackouts. In Stockholm, urbanization drives investments in the power grids as new city areas arise with roads and tunnels being built. The capacity of the power grid in the larger cities of the region also needs to take a growing number of electrical cars into account which is driving the need for timely expansion of the power grid.
Ellevio is one of the largest utilities in Sweden supplying electricity to more than 960,000 customers in Central Sweden including the Stockholm area.

The Prysmian Group reports that it has signed a preferred bidder agreement with RWE Renewables Sofia Offshore Wind Farm—the world’s second biggest offshore wind farm developer—for the development of the turn-key high voltage submarine and land export cable connection worth over €200 million for the project.

A press release said that the project will require more than 440 km of ±320 kV submarine export cables with XLPE insulation, and 15 km of ±320 kV land cables with P-Laser insulation. All the submarine cables will be produced at Prysmian Group’s Centre of Excellence in Pikkala, Finland, while the land cables will be manufactured at the Gron plant in France. The offshore cable operations will be performed using the Leonardo da Vinci, Prysmian’s new cutting-edge cable laying vessel that is the most capable in the market and is able to offer enhanced project versatility. Commissioning of the project is scheduled for late 2024.

The 1.4 GW offshore wind farm is located 195 km from the nearest point on the U.K.’s North East coast, the shallow central area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank. The project is RWE Renewables’ largest single offshore wind project under development so far, as well as the farthest from shore. Once it becomes operational in 2025, it will be able to generate enough power to supply over 1.2 million homes with renewable electricity.

“The development of grid infrastructures for the transmission and distribution of electric power from renewable sources is strategically important, and positions Prysmian as the leading company for the energy transition,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU, Prysmian.

Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) announced that it has won the contract for the Eastern Arctic Undersea Fiber Optic Network (EAUFON), a project that calls for 1,200 km of fiber optic submarine cable.

A press release said that the contract, funded by the Kativik Regional Government, (KRG), an oversight body, calls for connecting five communities in northern Québec that have been primarily dependent on satellite links. The goal is to provide a reliable, affordable and secure high-speed broadband Internet connectivity.

The EAUFON system, based on two fiber pairs and designed to offer a speed of at least 10 Tbps on each fiber pair, will be extendable in the future to connect other communities in northern Canada. The ASN system will integrate the latest versions of its subsea products, including high bandwidth repeaters, OADM Branching Units, SoftNode Submarine Line Terminal (SLTE), and modular duplicated Power Feed Equipment (PFE).

ASN President Alain Biston said that the company was honored to be selected by KRG. He noted that a key was ASN’s “previous experience in successfully installing advanced coherent submarine cable systems in the remote and harsh Arctic environment.”

ASN will manufacture the fiber optic submarine cable system at its facilities located in France and the U.K., and will deploy it using a purpose-built subsea cable ship. The system deployment will require adjusting to difficult weather conditions and complying with the regulatory, logistical, scheduling, and operational constraints associated with marine activities performed in the Hudson Bay. “This will be a real challenge, and ASN will draw upon its experience from four previous projects in the Arctic region to meet this new challenge,” the release said.

The EAUFON system is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2021. The Kativik Regional Government encompasses most of the Nunavik Region of Quebec. Nunavik is the northern half of the Nord-du-Quebec administrative region and encompasses all the territory above the 55th parallel (500,164 sq km).

Alcatel Submarine Networks, part of Nokia, notes that it has installed more than 650,000 km of optical submarine systems, enough to circumnavigate the globe 15 times.

The Properzi In House Fair 2020 will be held Monday, Dec. 7, through Friday, Dec. 11, with a range of virtual technical events and opportunities to talk to staff will be offered throughout the week.

The Properzi In House Fair 2020 will feature presentations, face-to-face meetings, videos and many other opportunities that present Properzi technical know-how. There will be a series of webinars dedicated to many facets of Properzi technology and a virtual tour of the company’s facility, where participants will be “accompanied” by the Properzi team. The schedule for each day can be seen at www.properzi.com.

Face-to-face private meeting time slots can be scheduled on Dec. 9-11. There is a limited number of slots. To arrange for a meeting contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Superior Essex Inc., the parent company of Essex Magnet Wire, and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., both specialists in magnet wire product development and custom products, announced the finalization of a global joint venture.

A press release said that the joint venture will expand upon a previous magnet wire partnership to create a global market leader, with the combined company to operate as Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire LLC, using the “Essex Furukawa” brand. It said that customers should benefit “from significant synergies, including expansion of custom product solutions, the sharing of best practices, and the ability to better service customers with additional points of shipping, expanded global sales and technical teams, increased global rod and foundry resources, and a diversified global innovation team, especially for EV/HEV developments.”

The release cited a number of advantages of the new global joint venture, as it will allow Essex Furukawa to “lead the industry in technological advancements; have market command positions in North America, Europe, Asia, and Japan; allow for strategic customer partnerships; and expedite R&D advancements. Essex Furukawa will offer the same consistent, quality products with advanced technology—especially for electric vehicles—while offering all of our customers a more robust global network on three continents.”

The release said that there will be no change to the current contracts being honored by either company due to the creation of Essex Furukawa. Of note, earlier this year, Essex Magnet Wire was recognized with a 2019 Business Partner of the Year Award from DENSO, the world’s second largest mobility supplier.