11/4/21 – The Prysmian Group has received a Notice to Proceed for an approximately €200 million contract to supply a submarine power cable system for the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm that will account for 134 km of power cable.

A press release said that the order is a milestone in the development of the offshore wind farm sector in the U.S. as Vineyard will include 62 wind turbines and will generate 800 megawatts of electricity annually and power over 400,000 homes. Under the contract awarded in 2019, by Vineyard Wind, LLC, a U.S. offshore wind development owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and by Avangrid Renewables (part of the Iberdrola Group), Prysmian Group will develop a submarine power cable system project which will deliver clean energy to the mainland power grid.

The Group is responsible for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of an HVAC (High Voltage Alternating Current) cable system composed of two 220 kV three-core cables using extruded XLPE insulation. The submarine cables will be produced in Prysmian Group’s centers of excellence in Pikkala, Finland, and Arco Felice, Italy. Installation operations will be performed by Prysmian Group’s state-of-the-art cable laying vessels Cable Enterprise and Ulisse. Delivery and commissioning of the project are scheduled for Q4 2023.

Prysmian will also provide PRY-CAM permanent monitoring solutions, the Group’s breakthrough technology that allows on-line, accurate and reliable in-depth information helping electric assets owners to increase uptime, asset longevity and safety, while reducing maintenance costs and risks.

“The resumption of the vineyard project confirms the acceleration of the United States towards the energy transition,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects, Prysmian Group. “Prysmian aims at playing a key role in the development and upgrade of power grid infrastructures to support the transition to renewable energy sources in the U.S. We have state-of-the-art cable technology, large production and installation assets, as well as a wide presence and track record in the U.S.”

8/9/21  Prysmian Group proudly launched their first Global eNclusion Week, a five-day digital initiative with 50+ events and 120 speakers highlighting the importance of building diverse and inclusive workspaces. The series of digital panels and workshops focused on four main themes: Gender Diversity; Diversity & Inclusion (in all forms); Inclusive Culture in the workplace; and Generational Diversity & Inclusion. Over 4,600 participants attended with almost a third of the participants joining six or more events.

The highest attended North America session was How to be a Better Ally, which featured Melissa DePino and Michelle Saahene of From Privilege to Progress. The duo shared the impactful story of the day they met – when two Black men were unjustly arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks while waiting for a friend – and the conversation that incident sparked for them and the rest of the world. Throughout the session, attendees learned about checking their unexamined biases, in the workplace and everywhere, and steps to take to become a better ally.

Other North America sessions featured Prysmian Group employees and experts from partner companies. Panels discussed supporting the LGBTQ+ community, the importance of inclusion in every employee’s day-to-day job, how the pandemic challenged the mindset of management to embrace a new approach, appreciating all generations and inclusive hiring.

The week-long event, held May 12-21, showcased education, listening and acceptance and is just one phase in the company’s overall diversity and inclusion strategy put forth by their Side by Side program. As the world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, the company accepts the responsibility to embody a more inclusive culture.

5/14/2021: The Prysmian Group will display its commitment to Diversity & Inclusion through its first Global eNclusion Week, a five-day digital event that will take place from 17 to 21 May, featuring a series of digital panels and workshops on the importance and advantages of building diverse and inclusive workspaces. The program will focus on four main themes: Gender Diversity; Diversity & Inclusion in all its forms; Inclusive Culture in the workplace; and Generational D&I.

The Global eNclusion Week opens Monday, May 17, with remarks from Fabrizio Rutschmann, Prysmian Group CHRO, followed by speeches by: Valerio Battista, Prysmian Group CEO; Mimi Kung, Prysmian Group Independent Board Member; Eric Rondolat, Signify CEO; Sabrina Ritossa Fernandez, Sycomore Asset Management; Maria Cristina Bifulco, Chief Sustainability Officer & IR Director Prysmian Group; and Massimo Battaini, Prysmian Group COO. The Global eNclusion Week will offer the opportunity to know more about how countries, companies and associations are promoting Diversity & Inclusion around the world.

To register for the event, use this address: https://twitter.com/PrysmianGroup/status/1390264163780505600/photo/1

With the participation of an international and multicultural community, this initiative will feature one week of events open to everyone, where speakers from different industries and with different background will share their knowledge and best practices related to Diversity & Inclusion.
“We strongly believe that leveraging on gender, age and cultural diversity means creating more value and we are constantly building a work environment where all our employees can feel understood, respected and included, just as they are. This event is more than an aspiration: it is a necessity, or better, a business case for a Group that has to work with customers, suppliers and shareholders with different backgrounds and cultures. In order to improve this approach, it is necessary to raise awareness and build a positive dialogue, which can contribute to advancing the Group’s corporate culture," said Fabrizio Rutschmann, Chief HR Officer Prysmian Group.

Prysmian Group's goal is to further enhance its human capital, which can be found in its some 28,000 employees worldwide. The increase in the percentage of women, both among white-collar workers and at the level of top managers, is among the sustainability parameters to which the payment of the company managers’ variable remuneration has been linked.

As evidence of the strategic importance of gender and cultural diversity, Prysmian has also set up a new global Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee, tasked with overseeing the achievement of the objectives that the Group has set itself. The Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee has the responsibility to define D&I objectives at each organizational level and support the definition of the actions to achieve and to promote a cultural change to facilitate Diversity & Inclusion within the work environment. The Committee is composed by Prysmian Turkey Human Resources Director Aysun Kalmik, acting as Leader, and Product Development Manager of the Lincoln (Rhode Island) plant Prasha Sarwate, as Deputy Leader.

In order to improve the gender balance in its workforce, the Group has committed to achieving the following Diversity & Inclusion objectives by 2022:

• Ensuring 40% of women hired (female white collars hired with a permanent contract) on total hirings (34% in 2020 compared to 30% in 2016);
• Increasing from 21.9% to 25% the percentage of women managers (from junior to top positions);
• Improving gender balance with regard to executive positions: from 6% in 2016 to 18% in 2022.

In addition, fundamental indicators (e.g., security) have been implemented in all the Groups’ 104 plants.

Prysmian Group believes in the value of individuals, backgrounds, leadership styles and attitudes because each person has the potential to generate value to the Company. Its global footprint enables the Group to promote an inclusive environment, encouraging the development of corporate culture and identity. Side by Side is Prysmian Group’s project that promotes Diversity & Inclusion across the organization.

4/6/2021: The Prysmian Group will supply 770 km of submarine telecom cables for the Norte Conectado project—awarded by RNP, Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa, a Brazilian Internet provider—that will connect the city of Macapá to Santarém and Alenquer, which are located in the north of the Amazon region.

A press release said that Prysmian will provide its widely used MINISUB of repeaterless, optic submarine cables. They have a high fiber count that will be deployed in four separated links, enabling a reliable flow of data traffic to 9.2 million households. The project will enable connectivity cross 59 municipalities in northern Brazil, and makes it possible to extend it to other Amazonian countries. The cables will be produced at Prysmian’s plant in Nordenham, Germany, and delivered in the second half of 2021.

“We are honored to contribute to this valuable project and support sustainable development by improving the data connectivity for the local communities and public institutions,” said Prysmian Group Submarine Telecom BU Director Ashutosh Bhargavas. “Prysmian has been operating in Brazil for more than 90 years and is in the unique position to serve its customers directly from there.”

Two transmission system operators—TenneT TSO GmbH and 50Hertz Transmission GmbH—have awarded contracts to the Prysmian Group and NKT GmbH to supply a total of 1,000 km of 525kV underground power cable for the 2-GW SuedOstLink transmission line in Germany.

When completed, the SuedOstLink will be the world’s first large commercial 525 kV XLPE high-voltage DC 2GW transmission line. The initiative is part of German corridor projects to significantly increase renewable energy supply in the country. The overall project, being funded within the EU’s Connecting Europe framework, will see TenneT and 50Hertz investing some €5 billion.

“The underground cables are the heart of SuedOstLink,” said TenneT Managing Director Tim Meyerjürgens. “We will use the innovative, plastic-insulated 525 kV underground cables for the first time worldwide, and will thus set new standards in technology and the reduction of environmental impact.” He noted that with the higher voltage level, the cables can transmit more power than a conventional 320 kV cable systems. “The route can be narrower and the necessary civil engineering work during the construction phase will decrease.”

Prysmian and NKT will each supply about 500 km of 525 kV cable, both using their own insulation designs, Prysmian will supply power cable with its P-laser technology while NKT will provide its XLPE technology. There is a total of five cable lots, three being provided by NKT.

Per a Prysmian press release, its contract from TenneT TSO GmbH, a Dutch-German grid operator, calls for the company to design, manufacture, supply, lay, joint, test and commission the 2GW underground cable system through the TenneT region of this first German Corridor. It will include Prysmian’s innovative P-Laser insulation technology that will help enable a transmittable power of more than 2GW on a single system for the first time. The contract is valued at approximately €500 million, depending on options.

“This prestigious award confirms our ambition to play a strategic role in the shift towards a low-carbon economy and to drive the energy transition forwards with smarter, more reliable and more sustainable solutions,” said Prysmian Group CEO Valerio Battista. “It gives us great satisfaction to be involved in the development of this vital infrastructure project and to set this milestone in the upgrading of the E.U. power transmission grid.”

Per an NKT press release, the company will deliver to 50Hertz Transmission GmbH its XLPE cable for the NKT expects to start production of the high-voltage DC power cables and accessories by the end of 2021, with installation in mid-2022 and final completion in 2025. NKT has a strong footprint in Germany, with facilities in Cologne, Nordenham and Berlin, and it has worked with 50Hertz on other projects, all of which made it an ideal choice.

“I am very pleased that we have booked our largest high-voltage DC order ever by getting a significant part of the SuedOstLink project,” said NKT President and CEO Alexander Kara. “This underlines our role as a key partner in the green transformation of Germany.”

Italy’s Prysmian Group reports that it has been awarded a major grid connection project, DolWin5, worth some €140 million, from Dutch-German grid operator TenneT.

A press release said that the TenneT project will connect multiple offshore wind farms to the German grid. It calls for “the supply, installation and commissioning of a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) 320 kV XLPE-insulated submarine and land power cable connection, with a transmission capacity of 900 MW, as well as the associated fibre optic cable system, comprising a land route of 30 km and a subsea route of 100 km.” The turnkey connections will link the offshore converter platform DolWin epsilon, located some 100 km offshore in the German North Sea, to the mainland Emden/Ost converter station, and help transmit the generated renewable energy into the German grid.

The cables will be manufactured at Prysmian Group’s plants in Pikkala, Finland, submarine, and Gron, France, land, the release said. Offshore installation activities will be performed by two Prysmian cable-laying vessels: the Cable Enterprise, for deep water installation, and the Ulisse, for shallow water activities. Completion of the project is scheduled for the middle of 2024.

“The Dolwin5 project continues our valued long relationship with the major TSO TenneT and demonstrates our ability to provide tailor-made submarine cable solutions for challenging projects, providing the offshore infrastructure needed to support the growth of clean energy in Northern Europe,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects, Prysmian Group.

The release said that the project comes “at a very important time for Prysmian,” which recently won a €200 million U.S. offshore project from Vineyard Wind, LLC.