These orders follow the capacity reservation agreement signed in September 2023, under which Hitachi Energy was selected as the preferred supplier for four converter stations to be built at the grid connection points in Heide, Wilhelmshaven, Polsum, and Hamm. The contracts fulfill a capacity reservation agreement that forms part of Hitachi Energy's strategy to allow it to reserve and expand manufacturing resources and its workforce to deliver projects on time.
The HVDC links, known as V48 and V49, form Korridor B – a high-power transmission highway that will bring clean energy from onshore and offshore wind farms in the North, helping to replace the conventional power generation currently used to power the industrial load centers in the West.
“With Korridor B, we will make an important contribution to the security of supply in Germany and Europe in the future” said Amprion CTO Dr. Hendrik Neumann. “The project will transport green electricity to millions of households and industry in North Rhine-Westphalia from as early as the beginning of the 2030s. “We are delighted to have Hitachi Energy at our side as a reliable partner who will support us in the efficient implementation of the project.”
Korridor B comprises two new underground cable connections, each with two converter stations, which transport electricity from the North Sea coast in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony to the Ruhr region.
Each underground cable system will transmit 2 gigawatts (GW), enough to provide power to 4 million people. If needed, the transmission capacity can be increased by another 4 GW via additionally laid empty lines. The contracts also include Hitachi Energy's EnCompass offering, a long-term service agreement that underlines the company's commitment to trusted long-term partnerships and builds on its proven track record of delivering innovative and reliable energy service solutions.
“Grids are crucial to Germany's clean energy transition” added Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Business Unit Grid Integration at Hitachi Energy. “Without the grid capacity to move wind energy from the north to areas that are still highly reliant on fossil fuels in the south and west, the country cannot achieve decarbonization within the targeted timeframe. “We are proud to help Amprion support Germany's clean energy efforts with this latest project.”
Under the contracts, Hitachi Energy will supply, install, and commission two HVDC Light converter systems capable of transmitting 2 GW of power. The converters will operate at 525 kilovolts (kV), the voltage level adopted as the standard for the latest generation of HVDC links. The converter stations are scheduled to start operation in early 2030.
The latest contracts with Amprion will create several hundred jobs in Germany for project implementation and execution and in Sweden for the manufacture of power electronics solutions to support the project.
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