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Staying on top of the market

Staying on top of the market

Staying on top of the market

Prysmian is investing in accelerating energy transition

Prysmian’s first half of 2024 results saw its transmission business grow in both sales and profitability thanks solid project delivery and with projects with improved margins. At the same time, the backlog of projects at € 1.8 billion. In this context, Detlev Waimann, Prysmian’s Transmission segment Chief Commercial Officer shared some insight on the latest developments in the business and how Prysmian is investing to accelerate the energy transition.

“To cope with the market demand, and to keep our leadership market position, we are investing. Because of the size and complexity of the projects an integrated solution is required to reduce the risks significantly. Therefore, the integrated Engineering, Procurement, Production and Installation approach is driving additional investments”

Detlev Waimann

Detlev Waimann

Prysmian’s Transmission segment Chief Commercial Officer

Demand for Prysmian’s cable systems has increased along with the demand for interconnectors to link between energy markets across countries, and to deploy with renewable resources such as offshore wind farms. In July, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Prysmian, signed a new €450 million finance contract to facilitate electricity transmission and distribution in Europe. Prysmian will use the EIB funds to build new production lines for extra-high-voltage submarine cables, lines for high-voltage onshore cables and other technical improvements to existing lines. The EIB-financed investment will enable Prysmian to double its production capacity for extruded cables at its three factories in Pikkala (Finland), Arco Felice (Italy) and Gron (France). This will help to meet EU targets for clean energy transmission via submarine cable solutions and long-distance interconnections, improving the integration and efficiency of renewable energy.

As part of the investment the progress of the construction of the sister ship to the Leonardo da Vinci cable laying vessel, Monna Lisa, as well as another cable laying vessel and a new nearshore barge, are proceeding on time. These additional vessels will increase our fleet to 8 vessels in 2027. 
The company is at the forefront also of deep-water installation, thanks to these vessels. Its projects include the Tyrrhenian Link connecting Sicily and Sardinia with the Italian peninsula, which will be located at depths of more than 2,000 meters. The company has recently announced the successful sea trial tests at 2150 meters for the Tyrrhenian Link project.

Cable systems are becoming smarter and more intelligent, so Prysmian is adding technologies such as long-distance monitoring to reduce outages and fast reactions to repairs. “We are offering our customers integrated solutions to monitor and repair so that cable systems can be restored into operation much faster,” said Waimann.

For Prysmian, sustainability and innovation go hand in hand, making its cables more robust and developing its own materials. The growth of the market made a significant step in the technology. “For underground and submarine power transmission, we have designed new ±525 kV HVDC cable systems, qualified with XLPE and our proprietary P-Laser technology insulation, with a higher voltage capacity and with large conductor cross-sections to provide state-of-the-art technical solutions for more efficient, reliable and eco-friendly power transmission over long distances,” said Waimann.
Becoming a more fully integrated contractor helps Prysmian to stand out from competitors. “We believe in this integrated approach, and this is where we are certainly different from the market, which is giving us a competitive advantage,” said Waimann.

Prysmian’s ambition is to act as an enabler to accelerate the energy transition, while also creating business value, by supporting the development of greener and smarter power grids with innovative cable technologies. This ambition is demonstrated by our everyday business activities to provide clean energy where it is needed, all over the world.