Germany’s Leoni AG reports that the May 21 announced sale of its Business Group Automotive Cable Solutions business to Thailand’s STARK Corporation Public Company Limited (STARK) has been upended.

A press release said that the buyer, STARK, “unexpectedly demanded very significant amendments to the purchase agreement.” It added, “Despite willingness to compromise on the side of Leoni, STARK refused to agree and will not perform the closing.”

Leoni said that it sees the actions as a breach of the contract, and will “take all measures to enforce its rights against STARK.” It noted that the sale was important as it is the basis for the financing of the Leoni Group until the end of 2025. Leoni has signed a comprehensive contractual documentation of the refinancing plan with its syndicate banks and borrower’s note holders on the basis of the agreement in principle reached in July 2022. An essential prerequisite for its implementation, however, is a partial repayment of financial liabilities with proceeds from the sale. As a result of the non-performance of the contract by STARK, the refinancing plan cannot be implemented for the time being.

The release did not state what changes STARK requested. STARK is a private organization which focuses on investment in manufacturing and services in the industrial sector. It has been registered as a public organization since 2019 and mainly runs the business of Phelps Dodge International (Thailand) Limited. In 2020, it partnered with Thai Cable International, a leading manufacturer and distributor of copper and aluminum conductors in Thailand, and Thinh Phat Electric Cable Joint Stock Company, a major wire and cable manufacturer from Vietnam.

STARK did not respond to a WJI request for comment.

NKT reports that the company is ready to design, produce and install a 1 kV cable using low-carbon aluminum and polyolefins in the Swedish power grid.

A press release said that the initiative will reduce the carbon footprint of the power cable significantly and is part of NKT’s ambition to become a net-zero emissions company. The cable has been developed in close cooperation with the Swedish power grid company Ellevio, which will also be the first customer to use it. Below, NKT spells out how the cable will achieve that goal.

The conductor is made from Hydro REDUXA low-carbon aluminum with 4.0 kg CO2e per kg of aluminum, less than a quarter of the global average. For insulation and jacketing, the company is using Bornewables™ material from Borealis that has -0.5 kg CO2 eq/kg. per kg of polyethylene (PE), which represents a reduction of at least 130% compared to conventional fossil-based polyethylene. Finally, the cable will be made with lean production processes that use 100% renewable electricity.

The cables will be manufactured with low-carbon aluminum and polyolefins at the NKT factory in Falun, Sweden, which is running on 100% renewable electricity. For NKT, the project is yet another important step in reducing the carbon footprint of its power cable solutions after also having announced the production of the world’s first HVDC power cable using low-carbon copper.

“This is a game changer in the development of an energy infrastructure built with innovative, low-carbon solutions,” said NKT Executive Vice President and Head of Applications Will Hendrikx. “We see a growing market demand for more environmentally friendly products and solutions and are proud to be among the first to deliver an innovative low voltage cable after a close collaboration with our customers and suppliers.”

Karolina Viksten, sustainability manager at Ellevio, said that cables and overhead lines account for some 60% of their emissions, and this new cable will be a big help.

Italian carrier Unidata has chosen Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to supply a new subsea cable system, Unitirreno, that will connect Sicily with two cities on the Italian mainland, Rome and Genoa.

A press release said that the project will be the first 24-fiber pair open cable system in the Mediterranean region. There will also be a 16-fiber pair from a branch to Fiumicino near Rome, where Unidata is building a green data center hub. Cable performance will be capable of 20 Terabit/sec x fp -> 480 Terabit/sec. The layout represents the shortest, quickest path to Northern Europe from Sicily via Genoa/Milan: 9 msec. Latency will be half that or less than alternative domestic terrestrial backbone solutions.

Unitirreno will be 890 km long. It will connect Mazara del Vallo on the western tip of Sicily with Genoa on the mainland, and it will include a junction point near Rome. It will include stubbed branching units to allow future landings in Sardinia and/or Palermo.

“ASN will design, manufacture, and deliver the Unitirreno system with the state-of-the-art technology that has made ASN a leader in the telecommunications submarine industry,” said Paul Gabla, ASN’s chief sales and marketing officer.

The Prysmian Group announced that it has seen its “B” rating improve to an “A-” in terms of its CDP (carbon disclosure project) ranking for a covered period (2021 versus 2019) the company saw its Scope 1 & 2 emissions decrease by more than 22%.

A press release said that the improvements cited in its score for the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) stemmed from reduced consumption, electrification and the use of renewable energy. In 2021, Prysmian recorded a 3% reduction despite the acquisition of four new production sites through focused actions (e.g., LED lights, biomass boilers and replacement of old machinery versus more efficient ones). It also installed several solar farms in its factories and aims to expand the amount of self-generated energy with renewables significantly in the coming years.

“Climate is the most urgent pillar of sustainability and we must deliver results quickly in order to guarantee a better future for next generations,” said Maria Cristina Bifulco, who is the chief sustainability officer and investor relations vice president for the Prysmian Group. “The A- ranking in the CDP Questionnaire confirms that we are on the right path in the decarbonization process and that our commitments are solid and recognized. The recent confirmation of Prysmian in the DJ World Index and the excellent results achieved further confirms how sustainability represents a key priority for the group.”

In 2021, the Prysmian Group launched its Climate Change and Social Ambition in 2021, which aims “to make the Group one of the leading technological players in the transition to low carbon energy and decarbonize its operation by 2035 (Scope 1 and 2) and be net-zero across the whole value chain by 2050 (Scope 3).”

In related news, Prysmian Australia has been awarded NBN’s ‘Protected Environment’ Award for 2022. Prysmian has had a longstanding partnership with NBN Co., locally manufacturing and supplying the optical ribbon cable integral to NBN’s national network as well as being its exclusive supplier of copper cable. All NBN cables are manufactured in Prysmian’s Dee Why, Sydney plant.

Prysmian’s ability to innovate saw the optimization of the 12-fiber stranded feeder cable to NBN. The local team worked closely with NBN’s engineering design team to challenge the existing cable design and develop a smaller and lighter cable without compromise to the mechanical, environmental and optical performance. After several iterations of prototyping and testing, the final design was a reduction in weight of 21% (which is mostly plastic material), a 27% reduction in size and a doubling of cable length on the existing size drum, with no change to the cable performance characteristics or handling methods.

In 12 months, there were significant benefits to material usage and carbon emissions, namely, it reduced: use of plastics by 129 metric tons; use of timber by 87 metric tons (1400 wooden drums) due to ability to supply longer lengths of cable on the same drum; carbon emissions by 1,175 metric tons; and emissions from logistics as 1400+ drums were taken off the road.

“We are delighted that our long-term strategy to manufacture locally, with a commitment to innovation and sustainability, continues to be of significant value to our customers” said Prysmian Oceania CEO Hama Shroff.