Hellenic Cables strengthens its position in UK offshore market by supplying 360 km of 66 kV XLPE-insulated inter-array cables for Sofia offshore wind farm

Athens, 16 February 2022

Hellenic Cables, the cable segment of Cenergy Holdings, has been awarded a contract by Van Oord Offshore wind UK ltd, for the supply of approx. 360 km 66 kV inter-array cables and accessories to Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the UK, one of the largest single offshore wind farms in the world.

RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind Farm is located on the Dogger Bank in the North Sea, 195 km from the nearest point of the North East coast comprising an area of approximately 593 km² roughly the same size as the Greek island of Corfu. Water depths at the wind farm site vary between 20m and 35m and the total amount of power Sofia is likely to generate would be enough to potentially provide almost 1.2 million average UK homes with their annual electricity needs. Once operational, the energy generated by Sofia’s turbines will save more than 2.5 million tons of carbon emissions per year when compared to the use of fossil fuels in the UK.

“Hellenic Cables as one of the largest cable producers plays a key role in the energy transition. We are proud to support Van Oord for a greener energy world and a sustainable life on our planet supporting the decarbonisation efforts in UK”, commented Mr. Alexis Alexiou, CEO of Cenergy Holdings and Hellenic Cables.

Under the new contract, Hellenic Cables will design, engineer, manufacture, test and supply approx. 360 km of 66 kV XLPE-insulated inter-array cables and associated accessories.

The cables will be manufactured in Hellenic Cables’ vertically integrated, state-of-the-art submarine cable production plant in Corinth, Greece, a world-class manufacturing facility for high and extra-high voltage submarine cables for offshore applications. Cable production is set to begin in 2022 and be completed in 2023.

RWE has contracted Van Oord Offshore Wind UK Ltd to provide the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the monopile foundations and the array cables at Sofia.

“We are pleased to extend our relation with Hellenic Cables and contribute to Sofia, one of the largest windfarm projects in the world. Building on the expertise and know-how demonstrated in previous projects, such as the Hollandse Kust (South) project, our goal is to successfully implement this project as well. This project strengthens our leading role in the laying and burying of offshore wind power cables. Together with our investment in the next-generation custom-built green cable-laying vessel Calypso, this highlights Van Oord’s drive to continuously reinforce its market position”, commented Mr. Arnoud Kuis, Managing Director Van Oord Offshore Wind.

Van Oord is a Dutch family-owned company with more than 150 years of experience as an international marine contractor. The focus is on dredging and marine construction, offshore wind, offshore infrastructure and infrastructure in the Netherlands. Its head office is in Rotterdam. Van Oord employs 4,400 staff, who worked in 2020 on 186 projects in 36 countries. The fleet consists of about 70 vessels and a large amount of special-purpose and auxiliary equipment. Marine ingenuity is characteristic of Van Oord. By using innovative, smart and sustainable solutions, it wishes to contribute to a better world for future generations.

The 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, sited on the shallow central area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank, is 100% owned by RWE and is the largest offshore wind project in the company’s current portfolio. Now under construction, the project is located 195 km from the nearest point on the UK’s North East coast on a site of 593 square kilometres. It will have a single offshore converter platform, with the electricity generated transported from there, via a high voltage direct current export cable, to landfall 220 kilometres away in Redcar, Teesside. It will require a new onshore converter station, and has an agreed grid connection point at the existing National Grid substation in Lackenby, Teesside, seven kilometres inland. The project will be operated out of an RWE hub in Grimsby. For more visit: www.sofiawindfarm.com.

Hellenic Cables is one of the largest cable producers, manufacturing power and telecom cables as well as submarine cables for various industries, including offshore wind and utilities, as well as undertaking turnkey power transmission and distribution projects. Through its fully owned subsidiary Fulgor, Hellenic Cables operates its submarine cables plant in Corinth, Greece, where the production and testing of some of the longest submarine cable lengths without factory joints on a worldwide basis is empowered by the Company’s state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. Since 2012, Hellenic Cables has implemented a EUR 200 million-investment plan for the production of high and extra high-voltage submarine cables at Corinth plant. Hellenic Cables represents the cable production segment of Cenergy Holdings SA. For further information, please visit Hellenic Cables website at www.hellenic-cables.com.

Cenergy Holdings is a Belgian holding company listed on both Euronext Brussels and Athens Stock Exchange, investing in leading industrial companies, focusing on the growing global demand of energy transfer, renewables and data transmission. The Cenergy Holdings portfolio consists of Corinth Pipeworks and Hellenic Cables, companies positioned at the forefront of their respective high growth sectors. Corinth Pipeworks is a world leader in steel pipe manufacturing for the oil and gas sector and major producer of steel hollow sections for the construction sector. Hellenic Cables is one of the largest cable producers in Europe, manufacturing power and telecom cables as well as submarine cables for the aforementioned sectors. For more information about our company, please visit our website at www.cenergyholdings.com.