The Jan De Nul Group, in consortium with LS Cable & System, has secured a contract to supply, install and test three 220kV alternating current subsea cables.

The subsea cables will facilitate the transmission of renewable energy from Princess Elisabeth Island to the Belgian high-voltage onshore grid.

The artificial energy island, currently under construction by a Jan De Nul joint venture, is situated 45 km offshore Belgium.

The electricity hub consolidates cables from the second offshore wind zone in Belgium, the Princess Elisabeth Zone, with potential future connections to other North Sea countries such as the UK and Denmark.

The island, primarily hosting transmission infrastructure, will be constructed on concrete caissons filled with sand.

The project is part of Europe's efforts to establish meshed offshore networks, with energy islands and cable interconnections as central components.

The overall capacity of the artificial energy island will be enough to meet the demands of 3.5 million Belgian households.

The partnership between the Jan De Nul Group and LS Cable & System encompasses the complete process for the three high-voltage cables, spanning a combined length of 165km, and includes design, engineering, production, transportation, installation and testing.

Installation of the cables is scheduled for 2028.

LS Cable & System will undertake their design and production at its facility in South Korea.

Jan De Nul will manage the transportation, installation and protection of the cables, utilising its versatile fleet, including the cable-laying vessels Connector and Willem de Vlamingh, and the offshore support vessel Adhémar de Saint-Venant.

Jan De Nul's trailing suction hopper dredgers will prepare the seabed for the cable-laying, showcasing the complementary strengths of the partner companies.