NeuConnect completes first phase of UK construction keeping first UK-German energy link on track

• NeuConnect confirms latest construction milestone as UK and German Governments announce new “UK-Germany Energy and Climate Partnership”

The £2.4bn/€2.8bn NeuConnect project today announced that the first phase of UK construction works have been completed on schedule, keeping the delivery of a vital new energy link between the UK and Germany firmly on track. The construction milestone comes as NeuConnect Chair Julia Prescot today joined the signing of a new “UK-Germany Joint Declaration of Cooperation on Energy and Climate” by the UK and German Governments.

Led by global investors Meridiam, Allianz Capital Partners, Kansai Electric Power and TEPCO, NeuConnect will become one of the world’s largest interconnectors with 725km of land and subsea cables forming an ‘invisible energy highway’ to connect two of Europe’s largest energy markets for the first time. NeuConnect will allow up to 1.4GW of electricity to flow in either direction, helping to boost energy security and resilience in the UK and Germany while also helping to integrate renewable energy sources in both countries.

New converter stations on the Isle of Grain in Kent, and the Wilhelmshaven region in northern Germany, will be connected by subsea cables travelling through British, Dutch and German waters. NeuConnect began major construction in the UK this summer, with contractor Prysmian starting Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) works that will allow the subsea cables to be brought on-land and which have been selected to help minimise the impact on the local environment. This week, Prysmian installed the last of three underground ducts with an overall length of more than 1.2km, completing this important first phase of construction on schedule. The works were carried out by Prysmian and sub-contractor HDI (Horizontal Drilling International) with an exemplary safety record throughout over 12,000 construction hours. The works will allow Prysmian to begin onshore and offshore cabling in 2024.

This latest construction milestone was announced today by NeuConnect Chair Julia Prescot who attended the signing of a new “UK-Germany Energy and Climate Partnership” by UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho and Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Change Dr Robert Habeck (further details here).

Julia Prescot, Chair of NeuConnect, said:

“NeuConnect is not only the single-largest Anglo-German infrastructure project but will also create an important symbolic link between both countries, so we warmly welcome the new UK-Germany bilateral cooperation on energy and climate signed by both Governments today. NeuConnect demonstrates the huge opportunities for the UK and Germany to work together on energy resilience and net zero, and with the first phase of NeuConnect’s construction now completed in the UK, the delivery of this vital new energy link remains firmly on track.”