Prysmian has successfully completed the sea trial tests for a 500kV HVDC submarine cable at a depth of 2,150 metres. This is the first time an HVDC cable has been laid this deep.
The non-metallic armoured cable is designed with composite materials based on "high modulus synthetic fibres". The use of an armouring solution that can be 50 per cent lighter than steel in water, will enable the installation and maintenance of Terna’s Tyrrhenian Link at a water depth of more than 2,000 metres, by the cable-laying vessel Leonardo da Vinci.
The same armoured cable technology was used in 2019 for the Evia – Andros-Tinos interconnection at a water depth of 550 metres, and in 2020 for the Crete-Peloponnese submarine interconnection project at 1,000 metres.
The cable will be employed for the Tyrrhenian Link, a €1.7 billion project awarded in 2021 by Terna. Under the contract, Prysmian will design, supply, and install a total of over 1,500 kilometres of submarine cable to support the power exchange among Sardinia, Sicily and Campania, reinforcing the Mediterranean energy hub.
