National Grid Awards Contracts for Sea Link Subsea Electricity Connection
National Grid has signed two contracts for Sea Link, a proposed 140-kilometre subsea electricity connection between Kent and Suffolk. Following a competitive procurement process, Siemens Energy has been appointed to build the project’s converter stations, and Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. has been selected to supply the high-voltage cable for the connection.
The investment forms part of The Great Grid Upgrade, National Grid’s program to modernize the UK’s electricity transmission network. The program is expected to support employment across design, construction, engineering, manufacturing and the wider supply chain, and includes the development of skills such as apprenticeships at Siemens Energy’s training facilities across the UK. The Great Grid Upgrade is aiming to support up to 55,000 jobs nationally as energy demand is expected to increase in the coming years.
Sumitomo Electric’s role in Sea Link includes a £350 million investment at the Port of Nigg in Scotland to support high-voltage direct current cable manufacturing. This investment is expected to create around 150 skilled jobs and contribute to local supply chains.
National Grid is also working with Chambers of Commerce across Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk to support regional supply chains and skills development linked to the project and other planned infrastructure works in the south and east of England.
The award of contracts to Siemens Energy and Sumitomo Electric does not affect the ongoing development consent application for Sea Link. The application is currently under review by the Planning Inspectorate.
Carl Trowell, President of Strategic Infrastructure at National Grid said, “The Great Grid Upgrade is more than an energy program, it is one of the UK’s biggest engines of economic growth. By investing in skills, securing our supply chain, and working with world-class partners like Siemens Energy and Sumitomo Electric, we are supporting tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and the manufacturing capability the UK needs for the long term.”