RTE and the Chantiers de l'Atlantique – Hitachi Energy consortium sign a €4.5 billion contract for the construction of three offshore direct current platforms and three onshore converter stations for the Normandy (Centre Manche 1 & 2) and Oléron Island offshore wind farms

From left to right: Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry and Energy, Laurent Castaing, Managing Director of Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Xavier Piechaczyk, Chairman of the Management Board of RTE, Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Grid Integration business, and Bruno le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty

Thursday May 2, 2024, in the presence of Bruno le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty and Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry and Energy, Xavier Piechaczyk, Chairman of the Management Board of RTE, Laurent Castaing, Managing Director of Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Grid Integration business, have reached a historic agreement for the construction of the first offshore direct current platforms and onshore converter stations for the Normandy (Centre Manche 1 & 2) and Oléron Island offshore wind farms.

This contract, of an unprecedented scale for RTE, marks an acceleration in the development of offshore farms and positions France among the few European nations building large offshore high voltage direct current converter stations.

These platforms, with a higher power (1250 MW) and a larger size than the alternating current ones, equipping the first French offshore wind farms, underscore the scale up needed in the production of offshore renewable electricity.

The new generation of offshore wind farms is more powerful and located further away from the coast, taking advantage of stronger and more favorable winds. In order to connect these offshore farms to the onshore electricity grid, it is necessary to use direct current, a technology capable of transporting electricity over very long distances. In Normandy and Oléron, the high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Hitachi Energy will enable the integration of more than 3.5 GW of renewable energy into the RTE network.

Following an international call for bids, RTE, the project owner of the connection of offshore wind farms, has selected the Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Hitachi Energy consortium to carry out the execution of offshore and onshore conversion stations for the future offshore wind farms in Normandy and Oléron.

With more than a dozen offshore platforms built for wind farms in France and throughout Europe, Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a leader in the manufacture, construction, integration and turnkey delivery of the largest maritime structures.

Hitachi Energy's expertise in HVDC technology is recognized globally and has been selected for the IFA2 and Bay of Biscay interconnections, between Great Britain and France as well as Spain and France.

With a total amount of €4.5 billion euro, this contract highlights RTE's industrial strategy and supply policy, which will be at the core of its future strategic network plan for the next 15 years. It demonstrates RTE's capacity, through its investments in the national electricity transmission network, to support employment and value creation in France and Europe. Almost all of the economic benefits from the construction of these platforms will thus take place in Europe, including almost half in France, particularly within Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the largest shipyard in Europe.

For the construction of the three offshore platforms to be built in Saint-Nazaire, Chantiers de l'Atlantique will double its production capacity for electrical platforms, investing nearly €100 million in this expansion. Especially, it will acquire Europe's largest paint cell, with a total area of 4,600m², and capitalize on its state-of-the-art industrial facilities, including its slipway equipped with gantry cranes lifting up to 1,400 tons.

Together, the expertise of RTE and the Chantiers de l'Atlantique – Hitachi Energy consortium makes an essential contribution to offshore wind projects and the achievement of carbon neutrality in 2050.

"We're proud to continue our long-standing collaboration with RTE to help bring renewable power to the French grid", said Niklas Persson, Managing Director at Hitachi Energy's Grid Integration business. "The multi-project business model enables us to focus on our core technology and reflects our strategy to secure clear visibility of the future and, based on this, we are already hiring to expand our global delivery capacity."

"Our core business, the construction of major maritime assemblies, and our know-how, constantly consolidated by our quest for progress, enable us to meet industrial challenges", said Laurent Castaing, Managing Director at Chantiers de l'Atlantique. "Today, we are ready for the construction and installation of the DC platforms. This project of unprecedented scale is a major shift in the long history of our shipyard. We would like to thank RTE and Hitachi Energy for their trust."

"The electricity transmission network is the backbone of the energy transition", said Xavier Piechaczyk, Chairman of the Management Board at RTE. "On the road to carbon neutrality, significant investments will be made in the grid in the coming years. This contract is a major step forward, which reflects a real change of scale, especially for offshore wind power. I'm particularly pleased that this translates into the development of the manufacturing industry in France and Europe.

About RTE

RTE, manager of the French electricity transmission network, carries out a public service mission: guaranteeing the supply of electricity at all times and with the same quality of service on the national territory thanks to the mobilization of its 9,500 employees. RTE manages electricity flows and the balance between production and consumption in real time. RTE maintains and develops the high and very high voltage network (from 63,000 to 400,000 volts) which includes nearly 100,000 kilometers of overhead lines, 7,000 kilometers of underground lines, 2,900 electrical substations in operation or co-operation and a fifty cross-border lines. The French network, which is the most extensive in Europe, has 37 interconnections with its neighboring countries. As a neutral and independent industrial operator of the energy transition, RTE optimizes and transforms its network to connect electricity production installations regardless of future energy choices. RTE, through its expertise and its reports, informs the choices of public authorities.

About Chantiers de l'Atlantique

Thanks to the expertise of its teams and its network of subcontractors, associated with its first-rate industrial facilities, Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a key leader in the fields of design, integration, testing and turnkey delivery of cruise ships, naval vessels, electrical substations for offshore wind farms and services to the fleets. The company is at the core of the challenges of tomorrow, designing and building today ships whose environmental performance exceeds the most drastic standards, as well as equipment for offshore wind power that make it a major player in the energy transition.

About Hitachi Energy

Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We are advancing the world's energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure and we collaborate with customers and partners to enable a sustainable energy future – for today's generations and those to come. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries, serving customers in utility, industry, transportation, data centers and infrastructure sectors. With innovative technologies and services including the integration of more than 150 gigawatts of HVDC links into the power system, we help make the energy value chain more efficient, making electricity more accessible to all. Together with stakeholders across sectors and geographies, we enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 45,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of around $13 billion USD.
https://www.hitachienergy.com

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the 3 business sectors of "Digital Systems & Services" – supporting our customers' digital transformation; "Green Energy & Mobility" – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and "Connective Industries" – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company's revenues as 3 sectors for fiscal year 2023 (ended March 31, 2024) totaled 8,564.3 billion yen, with 573 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 270,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.