NeuConnect
NeuConnect is a high-voltage direct current submarine power cable under construction since 2023 between the Isle of Grain, England and Wilhelmshaven Germany, expected to operate in 2028. It will be the first interconnector between the UK and Germany. The cost of is financed by Meridiam from France, Allianz Capital Partners from Germany, Kansai Electric Power Company from Japan, and Tokyo Electric Power Company from Japan. The Chair of NeuConnect is Julia Prescot CBE.
Project status
The main construction phase started in 2023. , operation was expected to start in 2028. On 21May 2024, Gregory Hands and Robert Habeck made a symbolic groundbreaking in Germany., subsea cabling works had started in UK waters.Route
The cable will run between a new substation on the Isle of Grain, in Kent in England to the Fedderwarden substation in Wilhelmshaven in the Lower Saxony region of Germany. Landfall will be next to Grain Coastal Park, in Kent, and at Hooksiel, near Wilhelmshaven in Germany.At in length, the interconnector will be one of the longest worldwide.
Economics
As of 2022 the project was expected to cost . The project is expected to deliver in consumer benefits to UK consumers over 25 years, and could deliver a net reduction in carbon emissions of over 13Mt in the same time.The project is privately financed by Meridiam from France, Allianz Capital Partners from Germany, Kansai Electric Power Company from Japan, and Tokyo Electric Power Company from Japan. It is planned to exchange electricity on days with excess production on one side and a deficit on the other side of the Channel, as both countries have been expanding their wind turbine capacities and production has become more volatile. Britain, a net electricity importer where 5.4 percent of its 2020 demand was covered from abroad, hopes that the connection will lead to lower electricity costs for consumers, where the price of electricity had been permanently higher than in Germany.
Technical specification
The HVDC link will consist of two main cables, each approximately long, together with a much thinner fibre optic cable for temperature and acoustic sensing for about from each landfall. The DC element will operate at 525kV, with a maximum capacity of 1,400MW.History
Mathew Brett, Andrew Newbery and Lorne Gifford were the founders of Greenage Power Limited, which originated and first developed the NeuConnect project. The NeuConnect project was conceived in 2015 and the early stage developers applied to Ofgem for an Initial Project Assessment in 2016.Historically, both countries already have had interconnectors through the North Sea with other countries. Britain as net electricity importer has interconnectors with France, Ireland and the Netherlands, and NordLink opened in 2021 between Norwegian hydropower plants and German wind power. NeuConnect will become the first direct interconnector between the UK and Germany.
Neuconnect Britain Ltd. was established in 2018 following Ofgem awarding the project in principle approval.
Public consultation events were held in July 2019.
In December 2019, the planning application was submitted to Medway Council and invitations to Tender were launched.
In January 2020, the Federal Network Agency in Germany confirmed the NeuConnect interconnector project in its 20192030 grid development plan.
In April 2020, NeuConnect completed site survey work near Grain Power Station and BritNed on the Isle of Grain.
A €1.2billion cable contract was awarded in February 2022, and substations contract in April.
In July 2022, the project reached financial close, allowing early construction works to begin later in 2022. In August 2022, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that they would be acquiring a 6.5% interest in the project through the acquisition of FI1 Limited.
In October 2022, the cable manufacturer Prysmian started production of the 725km cable.
In December 2022, early construction works commenced in Wilhelmshaven and Isle of Grain, and manufacture of the cable had started. In November 2024, subsea cabling works started in UK waters. The project is still expected to be operational by 2028.