Sumitomo Electric Industries said it has secured a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) contract from Samsung C&T Corporation to deliver a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
This is the first-of-its-kind submarine HVDC network in the Middle East (route length of 140 km) using Sumitomo Electric’s state-of-the art 400 kV DC Cross-Linked Polyethylene (XLPE) cable technology.
The initial engineering work on the $200 million project will begin under this LNTP, followed by a full contract award and financial investment decision later this year. The system operation is expected to get started in 2025.
This is part of the Project Lightning, a new submarine HVDC network for Adnoc.
The EPC consortium of Samsung C&T and Jan de Nul has been awarded the contract by a joint venture of Korea Electric Power Corporation, Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Company, Kyuden International Corporation, and Électricité de France.
The project comes in line with UAE's national goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative).
In line with the initiative, this project aims to achieve a significant reduction of CO2 emissions by supplying sustainable power from the mainland through the HVDC transmission system connecting the UAE mainland with Das Island in the Persian Gulf.
Sumitomo Electric’s innovative HVDC cable technology and significant track record in the international market were positively recognized, evaluated and considered as the main driving forces towards the issuance of this LNTP.
As per the deal, Sumitomo Electric Group will contribute to the UAE’s zero-emission goal through this project, which is an important milestone of the UAE’s decarbonization efforts, as well as to worldwide Net-zero initiatives in the coming decades.
With the rapidly growing development of renewable energies and increasing need for regional interconnectors to exchange and balance energy, the demand for HVDC XLPE cables is expected to grow further.
"It is a great honor for us to be selected as a HVDC cable supplier for this important project for UAE," stated Yasuyuki Shibata, Managing Executive Officer of Sumitomo Electric.
"As one of the leading players in the HVDC transmission industry, Sumitomo Electric is committed to supporting the creation of zero-carbon societies in the world with its extremely reliable and fault-free high voltage cable system technology," he added.-TradeArabia News Service