CESI SELECTED BY GERMAN TSOs

CESI has been selected as one of the contracted testing centers by the four German transmission companies to test both the reliability and safety of the three electricity corridors’ cable systems that will connect the significant wind potential of the North and Baltic Sea to the big cities and to the vast industrial complexes of Ruhr and the south of the Country.
Germany is leading the energy transition through both its total renunciation to nuclear power and the pursuit of a strong decarbonization of its power plants. The will to satisfy 80% of its domestic electricity demand only by renewable sources is engaging the country’s electricity system in an important challenge. To bring energy where needed, it is necessary to connect the significant renewables potential of the North to the south of Germany. This requires the design of one of the longest electricity spines in the World. Three corridors, a sort of about 2,000 km of electric motorways, capable of delivering electricity up to 15 million of German families, by 2030. A colossal strategic project that will be crucial to the energy sector of the entire European continent.
“Checking both the integrity and the adequacy of power cables and their related accessories is critical to limiting the risks – says Matteo Codazzi, CEO of CESI –  Nobody can make mistakes. A failure on high power cables can cost up to millions of euros a day. Thirty years of operations will be simulated in our Mannheim laboratory – continues Codazzi – During one year of testing, these elements will be subjected to electrical stress at the limit of their physical capabilities. Only after the accomplishment of the tests,  the systems will be ready to be installed. Thanks to its new laboratories, CESI is able to simulate a HVDC cable system in its entirety and in environmental conditions similar to those that it will face once in operation. From a technological point of view, for the German projects – says Codazzi – the innovation of our tests is both in the tested objects and in the test configuration. The extruded HVDC cable systems will be the first of their kind to be able to withstand tensions of 525 kiloVolt, which is 65% higher than the actual state of the art with this kind of cables”.