GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions businessannounced  that it has been awarded three High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) contracts for a total of approximately 6 billion euros as part of a specially formed consortium with Sembcorp Marine for TenneT’s innovative 2GW Program in the Netherlands. The contracts have been awarded as part of a five-year Framework Cooperation Agreement with the possibility to extend for another three years.

Furthermore, TenneT and a consortium formed by GE and McDermott have entered into an agreement based on which TenneT plans to award two further HVDC contracts in Germany for a total of approximately 4 billion euros to this consortium in April 2023.

The five contracts for the GE consortia are among 11 two-gigawatt (GW) contracts awarded to HVDC suppliers by the Dutch-German Transmission Systems Operator (TSO) as part of its goal to connect 40 GW of offshore wind farms to the high voltage grids in the Netherlands and Germany. TenneT’s large-scale project resulted from the Esbjerg Declaration in May 2022 at the North Sea Energy Summit, where Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium agreed to jointly install at least 65 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 – up from 20 GW today – to accelerate Europe’s energy security following recent geopolitical developments. TenneT plans to install 20 GW each in the Dutch and German North Sea.

The GE consortia projects cover the offshore converter platforms and the onshore converter stations for the two-way conversion between alternating and direct current. The converter stations are based on bipolar Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) technology – the most advanced HVDC technology – and will have double the capacity compared to previous monopole grid connection systems, resulting in fewer cables and platforms.

Tim Meyerjürgens, TenneT COO, said: “We are delighted to be working with GE and their consortium partners as part of our task to connect 40 GW offshore wind in the North Sea, one of the most important infrastructure projects of the century. TenneT has the technical know-how, scale, and geographical position to connect wind energy from the North Sea, while GE and its consortium partners have the HVDC expertise. Together, with the GE consortia and other HVDC partners we will accelerate the development of the offshore grid, thereby strengthening Europe’s energy security and putting Europe on track to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.”

Philippe Piron, CEO of GE Grid Solutions, said: “Together with our consortium partners Sembcorp Marine and McDermott, we are honored and pleased to play a key role in this critical infrastructure project for European energy security and decarbonization. These awards confirm that GE’s Voltage-Sourced Converter HVDC technology is now recognized as one of the most advanced in the world.”