• Siemens Energy delivers first of 7 transformers that will help to power vital new UK-German energy link

• NeuConnect continues to make good progress in onshore construction works and subsea cabling installation

NeuConnect has reached another key milestone at its UK construction site with Siemens Energy delivering the first transformer that will help to power the vital new energy link between the UK and Germany. The news comes as NeuConnect continues to make good progress in onshore construction activities, and in offshore subsea cabling works in UK waters.

Led by global investors Meridiam, Allianz, Kansai Electric Power and TEPCO, the £2.4bn/€2.8bn NeuConnect project will be one of the world’s largest interconnectors – new Converter Stations being built on the Isle of Grain in Kent and Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany will be connected by 725km of subsea cables, forming  an ‘invisible energy highway’ between two of Europe’s largest energy markets. The new link will allow 1.4GW of electricity – enough to power up to 1.5 million homes – to flow in either direction, helping to boost energy security and integrating UK and German renewable energy sources.

The huge NeuConnect project is now entering its third year of major construction in the UK, and has seen a range of key progress and milestones in the last few weeks including:

First transformer delivered to UK site

• At NeuConnect’s Converter Stations, a series of transformers are needed to help convert the flows of high-voltage direct current(HVDC) power so that it can be connected into the UK and German electricity grids
• At NeuConnect’s UK Converter Station, the first of 7 transformers has now been successfully delivered by main contractor Siemens Energy – the transformer was taken from Siemens Energy’s factories in Nürnberg, Germany and delivered by barge along the Rhine River to Rotterdam, before being shipped by sea to the UK and then taken by road to the Isle of Grain site
• The huge transformer measures 7 metres long by 5 metres tall and weighs over 200 tonnes – the equivalent weight to a passenger train or a large house. Further transformers will be delivered to the UK over the coming months

UK Converter Station structures take shape

• New photos have also shown the continued construction progress on the main Converter Station structures in the UK
• ‘Super structure’ works have now reached full height on the 24 metre-high, 70 metre-wide Converter Hall buildings, with cladding works well underway

Subsea cabling works resume in UK waters

• Following the winter break, NeuConnect’s offshore works have now been resumed in UK waters by cabling contractor Prysmian
• The world’s largest cable laying vessel – Prysmian Leonardo da Vinci – is now in UK waters where it will install more than 140km of subsea cabling over the coming months
• This latest phase of works will see cabling completed in UK waters and start to move into Dutch waters as NeuConnect’s vast cabling programme moves towards Germany

NeuConnect CEO Arnaud Grévoz said: “We have made a strong start to 2026 in our construction works, and the arrival of the first transformer in the UK marks another important milestone as we take delivery of key equipment that will help to power this vital new energy link. With our Converter Stations taking shape and cabling work continuing in UK waters, we remain firmly on track.”