Sumitomo Electric to Establish Power Cable Factory in Scotland
Japan’s Sumitomo Electric Industries has announced a plan to establish a power cable factory in the Scottish Highlands in order to capture the increasing demand for high-end cables in the region.
In a statement on its website the Osaka headquartered firm said the move comes as the introduction of renewable energy and interconnected national and regional lines are being promoted worldwide to achieve a decarbonised society.
In the European market, where such trends are active, demand for power cables is growing. In particular, the UK is expected to be one of the largest markets for power cables, as the country is planning a number of offshore wind power projects to achieve the Scottish government’s Net-zero 2045 and UK’s Net-zero 2050.
In 2019, Sumitomo Electric delivered its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cross-linked polyethylene-insulated (XLPE) submarine cable system for the UK-Belgium interconnector (NEMO Link) and successfully completed the installation.
The 400 kV HVDC XLPE cable system is the industry’s highest voltage in commercial operation even today. This technical experience has led Sumitomo Electric to win multiple contracts in the global market, including a project connecting the UK and Ireland (Greenlink Interconnector) and a project in Germany (Corridor A-Nord).
The Company also has a proven track record of delivering power cables for offshore wind power projects around the world including the UK, Germany, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan’s first commercial offshore wind farms at Akita and Noshiro.
"Sumitomo Electric has the technologies necessary for the development of a green society and will work with the Scottish and UK governments and other stakeholders on future offshore wind power and interconnector projects in the region," said Osamu Inoue, President & COO of Sumitomo Electric.
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