ITALY’s PRYSMIAN has secured a key cable supply-and-install contract for the $5.5 billion Marinus Link power interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria.
Prysmian will deploy its most advanced vessel, Leonardo da Vinci, for the 255 kilometre undersea component of the laying of the 750 megawatt high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables between Gippsland in Victoria and Heybridge in Tasmania.
The contract – the value of which was undisclosed by Marinus Link but announced as €600 million by Prysmian – ensures the design, manufacture, supply and installation for Stage 1 of the interconnector project, which is jointly owned by the Tasmanian, Victorian and federal governments.
Marinus Link CEO Caroline Wykamp said the Italian company is the largest cable manufacturer in the world.
“Prysmian has proven and global expertise in delivering projects like Marinus Link,” Ms Wykamp said.
“Marinus Link will enable Tasmania to import excess supply of solar and wind produced interstate, while reserving its hydro and storing the extra energy. Clean hydropower can then feed the national grid when it is needed most, acting as a large battery for the nation.”
The project’s cables span 345 km. This includes the 255 km of undersea cables across Bass Strait and 90 km of underground cables in Gippsland. Leonardo da Vinci is expected to begin work in August 2025.
Originally envisaged as a dual-cable project the scope has been wound back due a doubling of the estimated cost, but is has also been classified as “urgent” in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s national energy plan and is a cornerstone project of the Australian Government’s Rewiring the Nation Plan.
Marinus Link said yesterday [5 August] that in order to align with key project milestones and the execution of the cable and converter contracts, it had revised the timing for the project’s Stage 1 Final Investment Decision to May 2025.
“The revised approach does not impact the project’s construction schedule, and the expected completion date of 2030 remains unchanged,” the company said. “Aligning FID to resequenced milestones ensures greater certainty of key project aspects, such as procurement, environmental permits and land access.”
