Nexans confirms its commitment from its plant in Mohammedia

On Wednesday December 7, 2022, Ryad Mezzour, Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, and Christopher Guérin, CEO of Nexans Group, inaugurated the Nexans photovoltaic power facility in a ceremony held on the group’s site in Mohammedia, in Morocco.

The facility is installed on the roof of the Mohammedia plant, comprising 4,640 photovoltaic panels – for an installed capacity of 2.5 MWp – that cover a total surface area of 12,166 square metres. It will produce more than 3,927 MWh of electricity annually, a capacity that will guarantee a substantial reduction of more than 2,850 tonnes per year in CO2 emissions, and cover 19% of the plant’s energy needs.

“Under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, our country has been a pioneer in the development and use of renewable energies which today present an alternative. It is thanks to this alternative that manufacturers can both reinforce their competitiveness, reduce their energy bill and contribute to mitigating the impact of climate change,” said Mr. Mezzour. He went on to specify that “the energy transition is now an industrial imperative that must be approached as an opportunity to be seized.”

For Christopher Guérin, this inauguration lies at the heart of Nexans’ agenda, which has made the climate emergency a priority, with a firm commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 4.2% per year by 2030.

For her part, Selma Alami, Nexans Managing Director for North and West Africa, stressed the importance of the inauguration’s context. “Morocco is moving up a gear in the development of renewable energies in order to guarantee its energy security while positioning itself as one of the most attractive global destinations in terms of green industrialisation.”

Nexans has been awarded the contract for the Celtic Interconnector developed jointly by the Irish and French Transmission System Operators (EirGrid and RTE – Réseau de Transport d’Electricité). This 700 MW capacity project is the world longest XLPE interconnector to be built and the first subsea link for direct electricity exchange between France and Ireland.

The Celtic Interconnector is recognized as a project of common interest (PCI) by the European Union. It will allow the exchange of electricity between Ireland and France, supplying power to approximately 450,000 homes, and is key in developing an integrated energy system in Europe. Such a system will speed up the European energy transition by fostering the development of renewable energy resources. The project will further help the European Union achieve its energy policy and climate objectives of affordable, secure and sustainable energy for all.

The interconnection between France and Ireland will use HVDC 320 kV technology. It includes 500km subsea cable route, 40km underground route in France (Brittany), 35km underground route in Ireland (Cork County). The 400 kV HVAC 10km connection to the Irish grid is also part of the project awarded to Nexans.

The cables will be produced in Nexans’ state-of-the-art facilities. The 1,000km of subsea cables will be manufactured in Halden (Norway) and the 180km underground cables will be manufactured in Charleroi (Belgium). Accessories will be manufactured in Cortaillod (Switzerland). Proven project delivery model along with the newly built Nexans Aurora Cable Laying Vessel and key subcontractors will ensure the highest installation and protection delivery standards. The project includes the innovative bundle lay of the two HVDC power cables along with full data capacity repeated fiber optic system.

Expected to be built and energized by 2026, this major project is an important milestone in Nexans’ goal of becoming a pure electrification player. The Group keeps implementing this strategy by working on projects like the Celtic Interconnector, demonstrating its expertise and strengthening its position as a leader and an electrification pure player.

• Nexans receives final order from Equinor/bp joint venture for U.S offshore wind export cables turnkey contract for Empire Wind 1.
• The project is part of the larger Empire Wind offshore wind farm that will generate enough renewable energy to energize over one million homes in New York State. Over 500,000 of those homes will be powered by the cables from this contract for Empire Wind 1.
• Equinor and bp’s Empire Wind 1 project is a significant achievement that anticipates the State’s growing need for energy and contributes to its carbon reduction roadmap.
• The cables will be manufactured at Nexans’ facilities in Charleston, South Carolina, and Halden, Norway and will also be installed by Nexans.

Nexans, a global organization and key driver for the world’s transition to a more connected and sustainable future, today announced the execution of a significant contract for phase one of the Empire Wind Project being developed by a 50-50 partnership between Equinor and bp. This signature follows the Preferred Supplier Agreement signed in March 2021 which prompted several months of collaborative work to negotiate a turnkey contract, covering the design and manufacturing, as well as the laying and protection of export cables for the project.

The Empire Wind lease area for the first phase of the overall 2.1 gigawatt project is located about 20 miles (33km) south of Long Island and east of the Rockaways. Nexans will install the export cables over 93 miles (150km) from the offshore substation for Empire Wind 1 to landfall at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

The Empire Wind 1 project, when completed, will deliver electricity to over 500,000 homes of the eventual over 1 million homes that will be powered by the entire Empire Wind project.

Key stakeholders discussed offshore wind farms and U.S. energy independence

• Nexans hosted its third annual Climate Day in New York City on September 21 as part of Climate Week NYC.
• Executives from the energy sector debated the future of offshore wind in the U.S. and how to build a supply chain that can support the energy transition.
• Actor and environmentalist Adrian Grenier opened the event with a fireside chat on ocean conservation.

Nexans hosted its third annual Climate Day in New York City this afternoon with executives from the energy space including Siemens Gamesa, the American Clean Power Association (ACP), Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), Equinor, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Ørsted, Marmen, and the Business Network for Offshore Wind (BNOW).

In a world where energy has been at the center of the conversation, this event in which ideas could flow freely, was crucial to the development of actionable solutions to the energy crisis.

One key takeaway highlighted by Nexans CEO Christopher Guérin was that “The reserves for raw materials are not infinite. The consumption of copper in the world went from 9 million metric tons to 21 million metric tons in the last 25 years. With the world becoming more electrified than in the past and because of the addition of electric vehicles, in 10 to 15 years, the demand will increase to 35 million metric tons. The only way to support to support investments in sustainable energy is through the recycling of raw materials and to increase innovation.”

The event also featured a fireside chat about ocean conservation with actor and environmentalist Adrian Grenier and remarks from Congressman Andrew Garbarino (NY) and Senator Ed Markey (MA), as well as panels debating whether offshore wind can help solve the energy crisis and what the supply chain will look like in the United States for more sustainable sources of energy.

Some key takeaways from the day include:

• We can only achieve our goals if companies, policymakers, and governmental agencies work together with one objective: to make change and move toward a more sustainable future, today. These are challenges we face together, and we must culminate our individual efforts to ensure change while keeping costs low.
• Elected officials hope to localize the supply chain to meet their sustainability goals, create jobs and support the local economy while at the same time ensuring the security of the electrical grid. The Inflation Reduction Act empowers businesses to make decisions that are necessary to expand offshore wind operations in the United States.
• Actor, filmmaker, and environmentalist Adrian Grenier noted that, “There’s an artificial timeline that has been imposed. We need to be reliant and take responsibility to make these positive changes. Let’s put more resources, more minds, and more energy into what we can build without the constrains of fear and time.”

A full video of Nexans’ Climate Day with more insights from panelists is available to stream.

• Nexans will deliver subsea export cables for Revolution Wind Farm, the second delivery of Nexans’ framework agreement to supply Ørsted and Eversource in the US. This award follows the cable installation contract announced in March 2022.
• Ørsted-Eversource is developing the Revolution Wind Farm that will generate clean energy to power more than 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
• Local construction will begin in 2023 and the project is expected to be fully operational in 2025.
• The contract is signed while Nexans has organized a day of key conversations focused on sustainability for Climate Week in New York and this contract shows its commitment to developing electrification that serves the local community.

Nexans, a global organization and key driver for the world’s transition to a more connected and sustainable energy future, today announced the finalization of a second U.S.-based contract with Ørsted and Eversource to supply the export cable system for the Revolution Wind Farm. Located more than 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast and 32 miles east of the Connecticut coast, the project will connect the wind farm to the onshore grid.

The 704 MW Revolution Wind Farm will help both states achieve their ongoing commitments to develop offshore wind and address their energy needs, delivering electricity to more than 350,000 homes. By eliminating potential future emissions, the historic project will replace close to one million metric tons of carbon pollution – the equivalent of taking more than 200,000 cars off the road annually.

Revolution will be the 3rd project to be delivered from our continuously expanding Charleston, South Carolina facility confirming Nexans leadership in the US market.

The agreement was signed in December 2019 to accelerate the energy transition in North America by bringing Nexans’ industry-leading subsea cable technology to the U.S.

• Nexans will partner with Tesmec Australia to connect a major Glenrowan solar farm to the Victorian Transmission Network.
• Nexans will provide cable and accessories, installation and design services to power over 45,000 Australian homes.
• A key player in the energy transition across Australia and internationally, Nexans is supplying specialised cable solutions for the rapidly expanding MW scale solar industry.

Nexans announces it will work in consortium with Tesmec Australia for the connection of a major solar farm at Glenrowan to the Victorian Transmission Network. With this contract, Nexans is positioned as a key partner for delivering this turnkey project connecting the solar farm to the Glenrowan terminal station (GNTS) of Victoria Transmission network, and ensuring access to sustainable electricity to over 45,000 Australian homes.

As part of this turnkey project, Nexans and Tesmec Australia consortium have been appointed by AusNet Services (AusNet) to support connection of the 130MW project, offering mechanised cable installation and design services, which are value-added to customers.

AusNet has been appointed to connect the solar farm to the grid. AusNet, together with its construction partners will design, build, own and operate the transmission assets for the solar farm.

Nexans will build on its deep knowledge of cable systems and installations to optimise cable system design and provide 33kV cables and cable accessories. Tesmec Australia will bring its expertise in the automated trenching and laying of long lengths of single-core cable. The integrated approach optimises the Medium Voltage system design, trench cross-sections, and selection of cables and accessories for the project.

The 33 kV power cables will be manufactured at Nexans’ Yanggu Plant in China, while the cable accessories will be manufactured at Nexans’ Australmold in Australia. The mechanised cable will be commissioned by the first half of 2023.

A key role in Australia’s energy transition

In 2021, renewable energy sources generated 32.5% of Australia’s total electricity, an increase of almost 5% compared to 2020. Small-scale solar led this growth and large-scale sector also had a bumper year in 2021, adding 2.95GW across 27 projects which included Australia’s three largest solar farms and two of the country’s three largest wind farms.

As a leader in Australia’s energy transition, Nexans promotes the growth of renewable energy by supplying innovative cable solutions for the country’s solar farms. Nexans is fully committed to supporting the Australian energy transition, by working closely with developers, installers and operators.

• Nexans has been awarded a turnkey contract for the manufacturing and installation of the record length direct current (DC) subsea and land cables for BorWin 6 by TenneT.
• The 235-kilometer-long 320 kV direct current connection will transmit up to 980MW from the BorWin cluster.
• The BorWin cluster will have a transmission capacity of nearly 4GW when finished, enough to supply around 5 million German households and is a key enabler of Germany’s Energy transition – Energiewende.
• The contract further solidifies Nexans as a leader in the global transition to clean energy.

The German energy transition is one of the largest projects that Germany has undertaken. The country, striving towards energy independence, wants to move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable sources of energy, fundamentally changing the energy supply. Germany has invested heavily in renewables such as offshore wind energy, generated far out at sea, which is expected to be an essential building block for the energy supply of the future. Germany is seeking to increase offshore wind capacity, targeting 30GW, by 2030 and for their energy mix to consist of 80% renewable energy in the same time frame. The BorWin6 project will help Germany achieve these milestones. By 2027 the thirteen, then completed, DC grid connections in the North Sea will have a transmission capacity of over 10.5 GW, enough to supply around 13 million households in Germany with renewable energy.

To electrify the BorWin6 project, Nexans will manufacture, install and protect 320 kV DC XLPE 1 core cables to our customer, TenneT. The subsea part, manufactured in Nexans’ flagship site in Halden, Norway will be 2x190km and the land part, manufactured in Nexans’ site in Charleroi, Belgium, 2×46 km. The HVDC-link will be a 320kV in a bipol bundle. The contract includes full Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) turnkey offering.

BorWin6 is TenneT’s last 320kV HVDC project to connect the remaining almost 1GW from BorWin Cluster in the German North Sea to the onshore grid. The project is included in German Area development plan (FEP from BSH) and will start operations in 2027.

The commitment to innovation and sustainability, focus on electrification and our recent investments (Aurora cable laying vessel, expansion of Halden plant) dedicated to HVDC projects position Nexans as a major player of the energy transition.

BorWin6 will have an output of 980 megawatts off the coast of Borkum. With 190 kilometers of submarine cable, it will be the longest submarine cable route to date of TenneT’s grid connections. On land, the cable will be laid parallel to the routes of the HelWin1+2 and SylWin1 projects, whose onshore converters are also located in Büttel.

• 235 kilometer long connection using high-voltage direct current transmission technology (HVDC) with a maximum transmission capacity of 980 megawatts
• 45 kilometers of land cable, 190 kilometers of submarine cable
• Grid connection point: Büttel (Schleswig-Holstein)
• Planned commissioning 2027.

Nexans has signed a three-year partnership agreement with Eiffage. The Group has been approved to supply charging stations for electric vehicles at Eiffage’s 1,000 French sites, representing more than 4,000 charging points.

After 20 years of successful collaboration, Eiffage renews its trust in Nexans for the supply of charging stations.

Nexans’ AGICITY range, produced at its Donchery site in the Ardennes region of France, offers compact charging stations that can be customized for indoor and outdoor car parks, including numerous services and options for integrating high-performance digital solutions.

The AC and DC charging stations supplied by Nexans operate at between 22-50 kVA, allowing two cars to charge at the same time. A 45-minute charge gives up to 80% of the electric range, depending on the vehicles and the power of the station.

An initial project overseen by Nexans to equip the Eiffage head office in Vélizy Villacoublay with 200 charging points was successfully completed in 2021.

With these developments, Nexans is once again displaying its industrial agility and its capacity to support its customers in their energy transition.

Since 2014, Nexans has been designing and manufacturing electric vehicle charging stations that integrate management and supervision services. It has already delivered more than 20,000 charging points in France, supporting the collective effort to reduce CO2 emissions.

Nexans hence confirms its broader goal of creating the electricity of tomorrow and being a player in the construction of a low-carbon Europe.

This ambition follows on from actions already undertaken with Eiffage, in particular in the development of solar energy – an area that has seen continual growth since the inauguration of the Cestas photovoltaic power plant in 2015, the largest in Europe at the time (300 MWc of installed power producing the equivalent annual consumption of 150,000 households).

Given that 40% of global energy-related CO2 emissions come from the electricity sector, primary energy sources must move towards renewable energy. Solar power, for example, currently accounts for around 2% of the French energy mix. However, this sector is expected to see exponential growth, and is now a priority investment for the planet.

Nexans is also working to bolster the competitiveness, reliability and sustainability of solar power – one of the key solutions for the electrification of the future, as well as the use of electric vehicles.

• A symbol of Nexans’ ambition to become a pure player in electrification, AmpaCity brings approximately 100 engineers, researchers and technicians together to work on the electrical technology of the future.
• Nexans invested €20 million in this new 6,000 m2 R&D site.
• With new digital services, data tools, and the integration of recycled materials, this hub brings together diverse minds to develop innovations for safer, more sustainable and decarbonized electricity.

Nexans has been operating in Lyon, France for 120 years and today inaugurates AmpaCity, its new global innovation hub dedicated to low-carbon electrification.

This is where the Group is developing a portfolio of nearly 1,800 patents, with 80 filed every year. Nexans is one of the most innovative European companies in its sector, recognized as such by its customers and partners, present today in Lyon.

AmpaCity demonstrates the Group’s ambition to become a pure player in electrification and to meet the challenges of an electrified world that will require:

1. An increase in the distribution of electricity where demand could rise by up to 40% by 2040;
2. Improving reliability, resilience, and security of electric grids to better sustain the increase of demand, many of which date from the 1950s-1960s;
3. Accelerating installation projects and guaranteeing competitiveness and accessibility of electricity by developing networks and interconnections between countries;
4. Reducing the impact on the environment and the promotion of decarbonization in order to combat global warming and act as a responsible partner, in particular through the continuous use of innovative materials.

The 6,000 m² site, which includes 4,500 m² of laboratories, received 20 million euros in investment and brings together around a hundred experts in electrical insulation performance, developing materials with a reduced environmental impact, cable systems that limit fire risks, and digital solutions for monitoring electrical networks. The teams are international, with eight different nationalities represented.

At AmpaCity, Nexans is inventing new, efficient, sustainable, and recyclable materials. The Group has made a firm commitment to recycling 100% of its production waste by 2030, while increasing the quality, properties, and longevity of the materials used.

In terms of fire safety, Nexans is developing electrical cables for the buildings of the future that are more fire-resistant than today, more efficient and with better functionality, with exposure to more than 1000 degrees Celsius, and is continuing to supply safety devices such as alarms, fire doors and emergency lighting for fires.

Another major innovation presented today is Nexans’ superconductor cable. It’s powerful and discreet, measuring less than 20 centimeters in diameter and can carry up to 3 GW of electricity, i.e. the equivalent power of 3 nuclear reactors.

Nexans is the first cable and solutions provider to have combined its expertise with that of asset management professionals. Thanks to the digital and smart tools implemented by the Group, operators can anticipate risks and monitor the state of networks from anywhere, avoiding blackouts and other major failures, particularly in cities and at stations and ports.

This event dove into future of electricity, with numerous demonstrations organized in the presence of public figures and partners, including Microsoft and Cosmo Tech. Fabrice Amedeo, French skipper of the Vendée Globe Challenge 2021 who participated in the last double handed Transat Jacques Vabre and recently returned from the Vendée Arctique, also highlighted his scientific and oceanographic project development with the help of Nexans.

• An unprecedented partnership with France’s State-Owned Railway Company (SNCF Réseau): these will be the first superconducting cables in France, and the first of their kind to be integrated into a rail supply network anywhere in the world.
• Nexans’ superconducting cables will help secure the electricity supply to the Paris Montparnasse sector.
• Drawing on their unrivalled experience in this field, the Nexans teams will design the cable that will be tested in the SNCF Réseau laboratory in Vitry-sur-Seine before installation at Montparnasse next year.

Together with its partners, Nexans won a project from Bpifrance (French Public Investment Bank) under the “Investissements d’Avenir” (Investments for the Future) initiative coordinated by SNCF Réseau for the installation of two superconducting DC cables near Montparnasse station in Paris. This is the first time that cables of this type will be integrated into a rail network and is set to be the first permanent installation in France on any network. With their revolutionary technology, these power cables will help secure the network at a time when rail traffic is constantly growing in mega-cities.

Built in 1840 in Paris, Montparnasse is France’s fourth-largest train station, with more than 50 million passengers annually and more than 90 million expected in 2030. SNCF Réseau will thus need more power to run an ever-increasing number of trains. And superconductor cable technology will help provide the increased electrical power required to meet the needs of this growing rail traffic.

In this key project for SNCF Réseau, superconducting cables will make use of Montparnasse station’s infrastructure by installing the cables in existing conduits. Only a superconducting cable can combine a reduced diameter and exceptional power to deliver the performance required by SNCF Réseau: 5.3 MW per conduit, or 3,500 A to 1,500 VDC. This also enables our customer to save on substantial implementation costs related to infrastructure modification, avoid potential disruptions to rail and road traffic, and limit risks in terms of execution time and the commissioning date.

Superconducting power cables offer unparalleled advantages. As they have zero resistance, they transport electricity with minimal power loss and thus contribute to making the world more sustainable. This project illustrates perfectly how their compact nature enables them to transport very high power through a limited space. A single superconducting cable can replace multiple copper cables. Also, it has a minimal footprint, making high-capacity 1,500 V connections possible, which in turn improves the safety of the stations’ power supply.

Two cables connecting the Vouillé substation to the overhead lines of the tracks serving Montparnasse will be commissioned in 2023. The main stages of this project will be the design and manufacturing of the Nexans components in Bourg-en-Bresse, Calais and Hanover for a prototype loop (cable, joint, terminations) which will be tested in the SNCF Réseau laboratory in Vitry-sur-Seine, followed by the manufacturing of the two cables and their installation in the existing conduits.

This superconducting cable is the result of Nexans’ innovation capabilities in the fields of electricity and global sustainable electrification – an approach that has been part of the company’s history and DNA for more than 120 years. The Group continues in this vein in the field of electricity: on 29 June in Lyon it will inaugurate its new global innovation hub, “AmpaCity”, aimed specifically at decarbonised electrification.