Italian cable giant Prysmian has received €450 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The financing will be used for the construction of new production lines for submarine extra-high voltage cables, lines for onshore high voltage cables and other technical improvements to existing lines.

This investment will allow Prysmian to double its extruded cable production capacity at its three plants in Pikkala (Finland), Pozzuoli (Italy) and Gron (France) from around 2,000 kilometres per year to over 4,000.

“Prysmian plays a key role in promoting Europe’s energy transition. We are proud that the EIB supports our efforts to help build additional capacity to meet the growing demand for clean energy across the continent,” said the CEO of Prysmian Massimo Battaini.

“The EIB shares our unwavering commitment to innovation in our products and services to drive efficiency, which is key to making the energy transition more feasible and faster to implement. This new step forward shows how the European Union recognises the essential role our company plays in achieving this transition.”

Prysmian noted that the investment would also promote the creation of new jobs, which would bring economic benefits to the countries involved.

The project would be fully aligned with the EIB’s climate action and environmental sustainability objectives and with the REPowerEU framework, which the bank has committed to supporting with €45 billion in additional investments by 2027.

Moreover, almost half of the activities covered by the agreement between the two parties will take place in cohesion regions such as Campania in Italy and Burgundy in France, thus addressing regional economic disparities and promoting more balanced and inclusive economic development.

Vice-President of the EIB Gelsomina Vigliotti said: “The EIB is the EU’s climate bank and this financing demonstrates our commitment to supporting clean energy transmission in Europe. This agreement with Prysmian will help achieve the REPowerEU objectives by mobilizing massive resources to address the most pressing energy and environmental challenges.”

Prysmian reported earlier this month that it had completed the industry’s first HVDC cable installation at a water depth of 2,150 metres.

The cable will be used for the €1.7 billion Tyrrhenian Link, awarded by Terna in 2021. Under the contract, Prysmian will design, supply and install a total of more than 1,500 kilometers of submarine cables to support energy exchanges between Sardinia, Sicily and Campania, strengthening the energy hub in the Mediterranean.

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