BATTAINI TO BBC: “MILITARY DRONE APPLICATIONS ARE ACCELERATING FIBRE DEMAND WORLDWIDE” “WAR IN IRAN HAS UPSIDE FOR US AS COUNTRIES WANT RENEWABLES FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY”
Massimo Battaini, Prysmian’s CEO spoke to the BBC’s Today programme to reflect on submarine cables, the impact from geopolitical tensions and the year ahead for Prysmian. Here are some highlights from his interview.
On 2026 challenges given trade friction, tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, and pressures:
“We like this type of environment. It’s extremely dynamic and volatile to a certain extent, and it puts a lot of pressure. But we are the only global player, we are the main player in energy and telecom cables. And we like this continuous pressure because we can leverage our global footprint to weather the risk in some countries, and maximise the opportunity. Innovation is our main asset to make this footprint active and effective. Flexibility is extremely important these days because of tariffs and geological tension, re-shoring of manufacturing plants, data centres and AI, and by the way there is the new trend which is fibre applications for drones in military applications which has reshaped fibre demand worldwide. So things are happening very fast but we are global and we can act with a lot of agility and flexibility, and this is what characterises our company - innovation, agility and flexibility.”
On security:
“Cables are buried for security reasons. So they aren’t damaged by anchors, fishermen, it’s difficult to find where they are and more and more customers are asking us to improve the burial depth in the sea to guarantee security.”
On how to tackle inflation costs:
“We pass on the costs to customers, which is not nice I understand but it’s a temporary situation, on the other hand we work in innovation to reduce the cost for customers. A couple of weeks ago we presented a true breakthrough in energy. We developed a cable that can transmit 20% more power for the same cost.”
On increasing demand in reaction to the war in Iran:
“This is giving us an upside. People want to rely less on gas and oil coming from other regions. Geopolitical tensions are forcing every region to become more self sufficient and the main way to do it is to invest in renewables.”