Hitachi Energy has secured contracts worth more than €2bn from German transmission system operator (TSO) Amprion to deliver four converter stations for the Korridor B high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project.
The Korridor B project comprises two HVDC underground links, V48 and V49. These are designed to transport renewable energy from onshore and offshore wind farms on the North Sea coast in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony to the Ruhr region.
The contracts follow a capacity reservation agreement signed in September 2023. Under this agreement, Hitachi Energy was named the preferred supplier for the converter stations at grid connection points in Heide, Wilhelmshaven, Polsum, and Hamm.
Each underground cable system in Korridor B will transmit 2GW of electricity, enough to power around four million households.
The system also has the potential to increase capacity by an additional 4GW through the installation of supplementary cables.
As per the terms of the contract, Hitachi Energy will supply, install, and commission two HVDC Light converter systems, each operating at 525 kilovolts (kV), the standard for next-generation HVDC links.
The contracts include Hitachi Energy’s EnCompass long-term service offering, which reinforces the company’s commitment to delivering reliable and innovative energy solutions.
The converter stations are scheduled to begin operations in early 2030.
Hitachi Energy grid integration business unit managing director Niklas Persson said: “Grids are crucial to Germany’s clean energy transition.
“Without the grid capacity to move wind energy from the north to areas that are still highly reliant on fossil fuels in the south and west, the country cannot achieve decarbonisation within the targeted timeframe.”
Amprion’s Korridor B project is said to be a key component of Germany’s clean energy transition, aimed at replacing conventional power generation with renewable energy sources.
The project is also expected to generate several hundred jobs in Germany for project execution and in Sweden for the manufacture of power electronics solutions.
Amprion chief technology officer Hendrik Neumann said: “With Korridor B, we will make an important contribution to the security of supply in Germany and Europe in the future.
“The project will transport green electricity to millions of households and industry in North Rhine-Westphalia from as early as the beginning of the 2030s.”
