Italian company Prysmian is investing €120m in its Pikkala facility in Finland to expand the production capacity of its 525kV high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) submarine cable systems.

The investment is expected to support the growing demand for the cable systems due to the need for the development and upgrade of power transmission grids to facilitate the global energy transition.

The investment will support the vertical continuous vulcanisation (VCV) lines which are anticipated to more than double the production capacity of 525kV extruded submarine cables and 400kV AC cables at the plant by 2026.

The 525kV submarine cable is the company’s latest product, which has been designed to support energy transition.

It enables an increase in transmission capacity to 2GW.

Prysmian Group Finland CEO Ferdinando Quartuccio said: “This investment confirms the strategic importance of the Pikkala plant, which is already considered the Group’s energy transition flagship factory.

“Thanks to its switch to green energy sources, this plant is to date the first cable plant in the world to have achieved the net-zero goal.

“All construction operations are compliant with the most stringent environmental requirements, ensuring that environmental impacts are minimised, and the needs of all local stakeholders involved are respected, while also creating significant new job opportunities.”

The Pikkala facility is a centre of excellence where high-end cables for land and submarine interconnections are produced.