Prysmian Group reconfirms its commitment to innovation at CIGRE 2012

Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry, will showcase its comprehensive range of products and technologies, specifically dedicated to High Voltage underground and submarine power transmission, at the 2012 Biannual Session of CIGRE (the International Council on Large Electrical Systems, one of the key worldwide bodies operating in the sector) that will take place in Paris from August 27 to 31 (Palais de Congrès de Porte Maillot, stand 260, hall 2).

Prysmian boasts a long-standing tradition of presence of highly qualified and distinguished experts in Study Committees (SC) and Working Groups (WG), and active participation in the Council through technical papers. Outstanding subjects for the 2012 edition will be «Projects BorWin2 and HelWin1. Large scale multilevel voltage-sourced converter technology for bundling of offshore wind power» in SC B4 – HVDC and Power Electronics and « The realization and commissioning of the 500 kV 1000 MW HVDC link Sardinia Island – Italian Peninsula (SAPEI)» in SC B1 – Cables. Prysmian experts will provide further insight on their technical papers presented in the SC sessions in dedicated Poster Sessions. Ultimate technologies and products for applications in the power transmission industry, both on-shore and offshore will be on display at the Prysmian booth in the Technical Exhibition.

With an extended worldwide industrial footprint of 17 plants dedicated to High Voltage cables and 3 plants fully dedicated to submarine cables, the Group can rely on the most advanced insulation and process technologies to meet the ever growing challenges of the industry. CIGRE 2012 comes at a time of important developments for Prysmian’s leadership in the industry of cable systems for power transmission, following the recent award of the Western HVDC link between Scotland and England, a strategic project for the upgrade of the entire British transmission grid. The project is a milestone not only for its value but also in terms of technological features, setting new industry records in terms of operating voltage – 600 kV, the highest ever reached by an insulated cable (to date the record is 500 kV) – and power - 2250 MW rated and a short time overload transmission capacity of 2400 MW -, implying the use of Prysmian’s state-of-the-art PPL (Paper Polypropylene Laminate) insulation technology an innovative material technology that allows reaching higher voltage classes, reduced cables dimensions for equivalent transmission capacity and optimized power losses.

These achievements again demonstrate Prysmian’s leading position and the validity of the Group’s know-how and technologies in the development of state-of-the art cables for power transmission and the commitment to support smarter and greener power grids worldwide. Among other projects in which Prysmian has recently been involved in the field of power transmission both on-shore and offshore are some of the largest and most strategic developments such as the Hudson Project in New York and the Trans Bay Cable in San Francisco. In Europe, Prysmian is playing a key role in the development of power connections for offshore wind farms, with projects either completed or ongoing in Denmark, Holland, UK and in Germany. In particular, Prysmian can boast its valuable contribution within the most important programme for the development of renewable energies in Europe launched by the German government, with multiple contracts for offshore HVDC grid connection awarded over the last 18 months, namely BorWin2, HelWin1, Helwin2 and SylWin1 .