Top
Home About Us Advertise Contact Us

LogisticsGulf

Home / News / Full Story

Terna, STEG and Hitachi Energy: €770mn contract for ELMED Convertor Stations

| Posted by LG Content Team

This constitutes the first direct-current interconnection between Europe and North Africa

HVDC Light Valve Hall G5 [Supplied Image]
Terna, the company that manages the Italian national electricity transmission grid, led by Pasqualino Monti, and STEG, the Tunisian electricity and gas grid operator, have awarded Hitachi Energy, a global leader in electrification, a contract worth approximately €770mn for the construction of the converter stations for the Elmed project, the first electricity interconnection between Italy and Tunisia, according to a press statement.

The awarding of the contract for the converter stations marks the completion of the procurement process for the first high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine link between Europe and North Africa.

The two infrastructures now awarded will be built respectively in Italy in Partanna, in the province of Trapani, and in Mlaabi, in the Menel Temime area, in Tunisia. The link, powered by advanced HVDC technology, will have a capacity of 600 MW and will extend to about 220 km, mostly via submarine cable, reaching a maximum depth of about 800m in the Strait of Sicily.

World-leading expertise

Hitachi Energy is responsible for providing the HVDC solution that combines world-leading expertise in HVDC converter valves; its MACH digital control platform, power transformers, and high-voltage switchgear; as well as system studies, design and engineering, supply, installation supervision, and commissioning.

Other companies in the consortium, including D’Agostino Costruzioni Generali for the Partanna station and Orascom Construction SAE for the Mlaabi station, will mainly carry out civil works as well as electromechanical installations and auxiliary systems.

Elmed is a major infrastructure project for strengthening energy security and integrating electricity systems between Europe and North Africa, in line with the objectives of the energy transition and market integration defined by the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC).