Danish cable manufacturer NKT has secured an order from Belgian transmission system operator (TSO) Elia Transmission Belgium (ETB) to supply 545km of high-voltage cables for grid upgrades.
ETB, Belgium’s national transmission system operator (TSO) which is part of the Elia Group, manages the country’s high-voltage transmission grid.
Its network includes 9,000km of overhead lines and underground cables, all critical for the distribution of electricity across the country.
The order falls under an existing framework agreement between NKT and ETB, further extending a recent 72km cable supply deal.
The power cables for the grid upgrade will be manufactured at NKT’s facilities in Cologne, Germany and Velke Meziříčí, the Czech Republic.
The delivery and installation of the cables are scheduled between 2025 and 2027.
The demand for medium and high-voltage power cables is expected to rise sharply as transmission and distribution system operators across Europe seek to upgrade and expand their grids.
In response to this increasing demand, NKT is investing in enhancing its production capacity and capabilities at its factories in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
The expanded capacity will become operational progressively from 2025 to 2027.
ETB chief executive Frederic Dunon stated: “With this order, we take an important step towards meeting our customers’ demands.
“Each step that will be taken in the coming years will be crucial and enormous. The broad scope of this order is the best testimony to this.
“We are therefore delighted with our continued collaboration with NKT, a partner with whom we are used to working and who has demonstrated unfailing reliability and expertise.”
In August 2024, NKT began casting concrete for a third extrusion tower at their offshore high-voltage cable plant in Karlskrona, Sweden.
The development addresses the growing demand for power cables essential for the shift to renewable energy.
