HITACHI ENERGY, PETROFAC ACQUIRE 13 BLN EUROS WORTH FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) – Hitachi Energy and Petrofac, have been selected by TenneT, the Dutch-German transmission system operator, to supply multiple offshore and onshore high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter stations and associated infrastructure to accelerate the integration of bulk renewables into European power grids.

Having begun working together in June 2022, Hitachi Energy and Petrofac were awarded the multi-year framework agreement as part of TenneT’s ambitious offshore wind "2GW Program”, based on HVDC technology pioneered by Hitachi Energy.

Hitachi Energy Grid Integration business Managing Director, Niklas Persson said this innovative business model will set the course for the integration of a huge amount of offshore wind power and gives visibility of the future.

“We are proud to be part of this journey and, along with our partner Petrofac, we are setting the benchmark for deploying offshore HVDC technology at scale and with speed,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Petrofac Group Chief Executive, Sami Iskander said: “By combining Petrofac’s industry-leading EPCI expertise and Hitachi Energy’s well proven technology, we look forward to supporting TenneT to connect larger, more effective wind farms to deliver affordable clean energy for millions of European homes.”

The agreement includes an initial commitment to deploy six record-breaking renewable integration systems, five of which will connect offshore wind farms to the Dutch grid and the sixth to the German grid. Each of these connection systems has a capacity of two gigawatts (GW) and a voltage level of 525 kilovolts (kV), a world-first for offshore wind.

This landmark framework agreement is the largest ever for Hitachi Energy, allowing Hitachi Energy and Petrofac to plan in advance and increase their workforce and manufacturing capacity timely as well as train people to have the skills needed in the industry while also capturing synergies between successive projects to meet the in-service dates.

Hitachi Energy will supply its HVDC Light converter stations, which convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) power offshore and DC to AC onshore, while Petrofac will undertake the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the offshore platforms and elements of the onshore converter stations.

The first contract under the framework, for the Ijmuiden Ver Alpha project, was awarded with immediate effect, and the second, Nederwiek 1, is expected to be awarded later in the year. The framework also includes projects Doordewind 1, Doordewind 2, Nederwiek 3 and LanWin5, expected to be awarded over a 2024-2026 timeframe.

-- BERNAMA