UK's first subsea power cable factory opens at Port of Nigg

Overview

Updated 54 minutes ago

The UK's first domestically built high-voltage subsea cables will soon roll off a production line at a Highland port. Sumitomo Electric opened its £350 million HVDC cable factory at the Port of Nigg on October 19, the first facility of its kind in the UK.

The plant makes 525kV subsea cables that carry Scottish offshore wind power to demand centers across the country without the energy loss of alternating current lines. Until now, the UK was the only G7 country without domestic high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable manufacturing, importing what it needed from Europe and Japan. It creates about 200 direct jobs and hundreds more through the supply chain.

The factory sits inside the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, with first contracts for SSEN Transmission's Shetland 2 link and National Grid's Sea Link project between Kent and Suffolk. Scottish First Minister John Swinney said the UK government must speed up grid-connection decisions or risk starving the plant of orders. Production is scheduled to begin in July 2027.

Why it matters

The UK was the only G7 country unable to build high-voltage subsea cables; this factory ends that dependence as offshore wind scales.

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Key Indicators

£350M

Total investment by Sumitomo Electric

Construction of the Nigg factory and its production lines.

200+

Direct jobs created at the factory

Sumitomo says up to 250 direct roles, with hundreds more through the supply chain.

525kV

Voltage of HVDC cables the plant will make

Long-distance subsea power transmission cabling on a 58,000 sq m site.

£24.5M

Public funding from the Scottish Government

Part of the package that secured the investment in the Highlands.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Douglas Alexander

Secretary of State for Scotland

UK government minister responsible for Scottish affairs

John Swinney

First Minister of Scotland

Leader of the Scottish National Party

Masayoshi Matsumoto

Chairman and chief executive, Sumitomo Electric Industries

Leads the Osaka-based conglomerate behind the Nigg plant

Miatta Fahnbulleh

UK Energy Secretary

Leads the UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Organizations Involved

Sumitomo Electric Industries

Multinational manufacturer (Japan)

Owner and operator of the Nigg factory

Osaka-based Sumitomo Electric built and runs the Nigg factory, its European HVDC subsea cable hub.

SSEN Transmission

Electricity transmission network operator

First customer for the Nigg factory

SSEN Transmission owns Scotland's high-voltage grid and signed the factory's first cable supply deal.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Regional development agency

Helped secure the Sumitomo investment

Highlands and Islands Enterprise assembled the public funding package that brought the factory to Nigg.

Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport

Freeport zone

Host site for the factory

The green freeport around Inverness hosts the Port of Nigg and offers tax relief and customs benefits.

Timeline

April 2023 October 2026

4 events Latest: 7 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
UK's first HVDC cable factory opens
Latest Milestone

Sumitomo opens the factory with First Minister Swinney and UK ministers in attendance.
7 days ago
May 2024
Construction begins at Nigg
Construction

Building starts on the 15-hectare factory site at the Highland port.
May 2024
2024
SSEN signs Shetland 2 cable deal
Contract

SSEN Transmission agrees to buy 525kV cables for the Shetland 2 subsea link.
2024
April 2023
Sumitomo announces Nigg cable factory plan
Announcement

Sumitomo Electric unveils a £350M HVDC subsea cable plant at the Port of Nigg, its first in Europe.
April 2023

Scenarios

Factory ramps to full production on schedule

Likely Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: Energy Voice; SSEN Transmission; company executives at the opening

Sumitomo begins making 525kV cables in July 2027 as confirmed by chairman Masayoshi Matsumoto. The first Shetland 2 cables ship to SSEN, the factory staffs its 200-plus roles, and the plant becomes the standard supplier for British offshore wind connections.

ScotWind grid delays starve the factory of orders

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: John Swinney, Scottish First Minister

Swinney warned the UK government's slow grid-connection decisions on delayed ScotWind offshore wind projects could leave the factory without enough demand. If approvals stall, the plant completes Shetland 2 and Sea Link but wins no further UK work, underusing its capacity.

Factory wins European export contracts and expands

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: Masayoshi Matsumoto, Sumitomo Electric CEO

Matsumoto said the Nigg plant will target markets across the UK and Europe as the company's continental subsea cable hub. Successive export orders — North Sea interconnectors or European offshore wind links — would justify expanding output beyond the two secured contracts.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1986

UK–France Cross-Channel interconnector (1986)

In 1986 the first high-voltage direct current submarine cable under the English Channel began carrying power between Britain and France. The 2,000-megawatt link used technology and equipment built entirely by overseas manufacturers.

Then

Proved HVDC interconnectors could trade electricity across the Channel reliably.

Now

For the next four decades the UK bought every large HVDC cable it needed from foreign suppliers in Japan, Denmark, and Sweden.

Why this matters now

Nigg is the first domestic alternative to that four-decade import reliance, which is why the opening is a national step rather than just a Highland one.

1954

Gotland HVDC link, Sweden (1954)

Engineers switched on the world's first commercial high-voltage direct current link in 1954, running a 96km submarine cable between the Swedish mainland and the island of Gotland.

Then

Demonstrated that DC could move power long distances undersea with far lower losses than alternating current.

Now

Countries with domestic manufacturers, led by Sweden's ABB, built the global HVDC industry that later supplied every British offshore wind connection.

Why this matters now

It shows how owning production capacity lets a country scale its HVDC grid, exactly what the UK is now trying to replicate at Nigg.

2023

Viking Link, UK–Denmark (2023)

The Viking Link, a 1.4-gigawatt HVDC cable between the UK and Denmark, began operation in December 2023. Its cable was manufactured by Danish firm NKT in Sweden, not in Britain.

Then

Expanded cross-border power trading but deepened UK reliance on foreign-made subsea cable.

Now

The link became a symbol of a gap: Britain used high-voltage subsea cable constantly but built none of it domestically.

Why this matters now

Nigg closes exactly that gap, producing at home the kind of cable the Viking Link had to import.