New aerial photos show progress on £2.4bn NeuConnect project

• With construction well underway, delivery of first UK-German energy link remains on track

New aerial photos released today show the latest construction progress on the £2.4bn/€2.8bn NeuConnect project – a vital new energy link between the UK and Germany that will connect two of Europe’s largest energy markets for the first time.

Led by global investors Meridiam, Allianz Capital Partners, Kansai Electric Power and TEPCO, NeuConnect will become one of the world’s largest interconnectors with some 725km of land and subsea cables forming an ‘invisible energy highway’ between the UK and Germany. NeuConnect is expected to be operational by 2028, allowing up to 1.4GW of electricity to flow in either direction, helping to boost energy security and resilience while also helping to integrate renewable energy sources in both countries.

NeuConnect will construct new converter stations on the Isle of Grain in Kent, England and the Wilhelmshaven region in Lower Saxony, northern Germany, connected by subsea cables travelling through British, Dutch and German waters. NeuConnect’s main contractors, Prysmian Group and Siemens Energy, began construction works in the UK over the summer, and the latest aerial photos taken earlier this month show key progress including:

• UK onshore drilling: NeuConnect’s cabling contractor Prysmian has started Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) works that will allow the subsea cables to be brought on-land. The first HDD pits have now been constructed at the Isle of Grain, with the HDD rig being set up and drilling to start shortly – HDD works in the UK are on track to be completed by the end of the year.
• UK Converter station works:further inland from the HDD works at the Isle of Grain, NeuConnect’s contractor Siemens Energy is making good progress on the site of a new electricity converter station. The platform for the new converter station is nearly completed which will connect to a main access road where work is well underway. The first of two attenuation ponds has also now been fully excavated, with work on the second pond starting shortly. The construction of the UK converter station will start next year.
• German site works: Alongside construction works in the UK, site works in Germany are also making good progress. Work is nearing completion on an access road that will connect to the new converter station in Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, northern Germany, with preliminary groundworks also underway. Major construction in Germany will start early next year.

NeuConnect CEO Arnaud Grévoz said:

“We have continued to make good progress since major construction work started over the summer, and these new aerial photos offer an early glimpse of the NeuConnect project beginning to take shape. With works well underway in Germany and the UK, the delivery of this vital new energy link remains firmly on track.”

The NeuConnect project is expected to be operational by 2028. For further information on NeuConnect, please visit neuconnect-interconnector.com.