Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co., Ltd. (Orient Cable NBO) has become part of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, an ambitious renewable energy initiative that will send wind and solar energy generated in Morocco to the U.K.

Per multiple news reports, Orient Cable NBO invested approximately £5 million on January 22. It joins existing investors in the project: Abu Dhabi Power Corporation-owned Al Maqam Energy Holding, UK-based Octopus Energy and TotalEnergies Renewables UK. Of note, Orient Cable NBO also announced that it planned to buy 8.5% of XLCC, a U.K.-based company that produces standardized 525 kV submarine cables, for £10 million. XLCC is developing the U.K.’s first HVDC cable factory, located in North Ayrshire, Scotland, which will deliver 3,800-km-long cables for the Morocco-UK Power Project. Last November, XLCC reported that it received a £9 million grant from Scottish Enterprise to further develop the North Ayrshire plant located in Hunterston.

“As we continue to work towards building a greener future for Scotland and the wider U.K. ... this grant (puts our new plant project) on the best footing,” said XLCC CEO Ian Douglas. “Green energy is the future, and we want to empower Scotland to be part of the transition.”

Work on the £1.4 billion Hunterston cable manufacturing facility will start this year, with cable production slated for 2026. The first order is for four 3,800-km-long cables for the Xlinks Morocco-UK power project, while additional Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have been secured for domestic projects.

Prysmian reports that it has finalized a contract worth approximately €1.9 billion for Eastern Green Link 2 Limited (EGL2), a project that will deliver power generated in Scotland to England.

A press release said that the EGL2 connection— partners of the project—SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, the U.K. electricity transmission network owners—will form a vital electricity transmission link between Scotland and England. It is one of the first cable systems contracted in the U.K. that will use 525 kV HVDC technology with extruded XLPE insulation. Prysmian will design, manufacture, install, test and commission the required HVDC cable system that will have a power transmission capacity of 2 GW.

“We are very proud to have the opportunity to play our role in the development of such a strategic infrastructure for U.K.,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Transmission BU, Prysmian. “Once completed, the electrical ‘superhighway’ cable link will unlock the rich renewable energy capacity of Scotland and significantly increase the UK’s capacity to deliver clean energy for around two million homes in the U.K.”

The award follows the earlier selection of Prysmian last year as the exclusive preferred bidder, with a commitment made to assure its continued capacity availability for the project. The new connection is due to be operational in 2029. See p. 18 for related news item.

India’s HFCL Limited (HFCL) announced that it plans to make a strategic expansion into Europe by setting up an optical fiber cable (OFC) manufacturing plant in Poland that will serve the increasing demand for OFC in European markets such as the U.K., Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, etc.

A press release said that HFCL aims to ramp up its share of exports in its OFC vertical revenue from the current 30% to 70% within the next four to five years. It noted that Europe has promising growth prospects as its OFC market is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.5% over the next five years with expected demand of 90 million fiber (mf) km by 2028. The FTTH Council estimates that some 308 million homes in the EU region will have FTTH connectivity by 2028, speeding up deployment by three to five years. “This signals a rapid expansion of FTTH networks in these areas which will lead to increased demand of OFC.”

Poland has become a favored European nation, primarily due to its attractive market access to other European nations for incentive programs and cost competitiveness. The country’s strong connectivity is further enhanced through its well-developed ports. The availability of specialized skills at relatively lower labor cost than other European nations further enhances its attractiveness of being a premier manufacturing destination.

HFCL’s plant in Poland will begin with a capacity of 3.25 mf km and be scalable up to 7 mf km, with an initial capital outlay up to about $22 million. This strategic move will enhance HFCL’s agility and reduce transit times by approximately six weeks, thereby enabling an increase in order fulfillment capacity. The operation will be incorporated via a new stepdown subsidiary in Poland under HFCL B.V.

Including its subsidiary, the company will have three modern manufacturing plants in India with annual capacity of 25 mf km. “With this strategic expansion, we are poised to align with Europe’s vision, which anticipates gigabit connectivity as a cornerstone of its future,” said HFLC Managing Director Mahendra Nahata. He noted that the venture “marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey toward global leadership in telecommunication solutions.”