Sumitomo Electric Industries has completed two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector cable projects using crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) insulated cables.
The first project was the construction of a 400-kV HVDC XLPE cable system, the highest voltage in the world for an HVDC-XLPE cable system, for NEMO Link, connecting the United Kingdom and Belgium.
Sumitomo Electric has also completed construction of the Hokuto-Imabetsu HVDC Link with 250-kV HVDC XLPE cable, which will increase transmission capacity between Honshu (Japan’s main island) and Hokkaido (Japan’s northern island) along with the existing circuit for the Hokkaido-Honshu DC Interconnector that started commercial operation in 2012. The route length of this HVDC cable system is the longest in the world for an inter-strait tunnel.
In addition to these recently-completed HVDC projects, Sumitomo Electric is currently constructing the first HVDC cable system in India.