Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (SEI) plans to establish a power cable factory in Scotland to serve the strong demand for power cable, an investment estimated to top £200 million and create 150 highly skilled green jobs.

A press release said that SEI has a proven track record of delivering power cables for offshore wind power projects around the world, including the U.K., Germany, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan’s first commercial offshore wind farms at Akita and Noshiro. Demand for more renewable energy and interconnected national and regional lines to achieve a decarbonized society has been especially strong in the European market. “In particular, the U.K. is expected to be one of the largest markets for power cables, as the country is planning a number of offshore wind power projects to achieve the Scottish government’s Net-zero 2045 and U.K.’s Net-zero 2050.”

SEI has seen a high degree of technical success with its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cross-linked polyethylene-insulated (XLPE) submarine cable system. It was used for the U.K.-Belgium interconnector (NEMO Link) and successfully completed the installation. The 400 kV HVDC XLPE cable system is the industry’s highest voltage in commercial operation even today. This has led SEI to win multiple global contracts, including a project connecting the U.K. and Ireland (Greenlink Interconnector) and one in Germany (Corridor A-Nord).

A meeting was held May 18 in Tokyo between U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Sumitomo Electric Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Matsumoto and President & COO Osamu Inoue. “I am greatly honored to hear the strong expectations of Prime Minister Sunak and U.K. government regarding our power cable factory investment in the U.K.,” Inoue said.

“I am absolutely delighted that Sumitomo Electric will be coming to Scotland,” said Neil Gray, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy. This significant announcement demonstrates the strength of confidence investors have in our vision for a net zero economy ... and be invaluable to supporting Scotland’s rapidly expanding offshore wind sector.”