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Hellenic Cables announced it has been awarded an EPCI contract for the grid interconnection of the Western Offshore Substation of Gennaker Offshore Wind Farm in the Baltic Sea, off Germany.

A press release said that Hellenic Cables, the cables segment of Cenergy Holdings, won the contract—worth approximately €400 million—from 50Hertz Offshore GmbH. It calls for the turnkey delivery of two export cable systems for the interconnection to the German grid of the Western Offshore Sub Station of Gennaker, an offshore wind farm with capacity of approximately 927 MW located in the German Baltic Sea.

Hellenic Cables will design, provide, install and commission the two export cable systems that will connect a new onshore substation. The site is located close to Gnewitz in Northern Germany, to the Western Offshore Sub Station of the wind farm. The order calls for 80 km of 220 kV submarine and 210 km of 220 kV underground cables as well as related accessories. They are expected to be installed and delivered in 2027.

The submarine cables will be manufactured at Hellenic Cables’ manufacturing plant in Corinth, Greece, and the underground cables will be manufactured at the company’s plant in Thiva, Greece.

Last modified on October 4, 2023

 SubCom announced that it will manufacture and install a regional subsea cable that will branch from the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable system, and will significantly enhance the data exchange capabilities of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

A press release said that Al Khaleej will stretch 1,400 km, connecting Bahrain to regional countries that include Qatar, UAE and Oman. The customer is Batelco, part of the Beyon Group, a telecom solutions provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Al Khaleej, to be made at SubCom’s plant in Newington, New Hampshire, will substantially boost the capabilities and strengthen regional connectivity. It will branch from the SEA-MEWE 6 cable, a 21,700 km-long subsea telecom data cable system.

“Our congratulations to Batelco on the launch of the Al Khaleej regional cable system,” said Benoit Duguet, SubCom project manager. “Our organization is already at work manufacturing the cable and equipment necessary to complete one of the more extensive cable projects ever commissioned. We are grateful to the entire SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium for entrusting SubCom with this critical project, and to Batelco in particular, for giving us the opportunity to build a branch that will have such a positive impact on the region’s connectivity”

Batelco joined the SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium in February, which includes Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), Bharti Airtel Ltd. (India), Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun Public Limited Company (Dhiraagu Maldives), China Unicom (China), Djibouti Telecom, Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Orange (France), Singtel (Singapore), Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, Telin (Indonesia) and Trans World Associates (Pakistan).

The SEA-ME-WE 6 cable system will have the capability of transferring more than 100 terabits per second. The new subsea cable will create a layer of network diversity and resilience for the heavily used routes connecting the Middle East towards Europe and Asia.

SubCom is a leader in high fiber count cables, The SEA-ME-WE 6 subsea cable connectivity to Bahrain and Al Khaleej Cable are expected to be completed by Q2 2026.

Last modified on October 4, 2023

Republic Steel ordered by judge to pay some $4.6 million for trucking services

Republic Steel, which in August announced it would close two of its U.S. plants and move production to Mexico—which is home to its parent company, Grupo Simec—has been ordered to pay trucking company Beemac nearly $2.6 million for failing to pay for trucking services.

Per multiple reports, a federal district judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania has entered final judgment against Republic Steel in August. Beemac, the trucking service provider, had filed a lawsuit in September 2020 claiming Republic Steel failed to pay more than $2.2 million for transportation services it provided.

The amount was in dispute, with Republic Steel claiming it owed only $1.2 million. Beemac received a partial summary judgment in January. In July, a federal jury returned the verdict against Republic Steel. It awarded nearly $2.5 million in favor of Beemac Inc., doing business as Beemac Trucking, and nearly $2 million for Deemac Services, both of Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Those findings were upheld by U.S. District Court Judge William S. Stickman IV in August.

Last modified on October 4, 2023

The below piece ran in the Asia Focus section of WJI's October issue

The search for a room-temperature superconductive material has long been pursued, but so far it has remained a scientific theory. There is widespread interest in recent claims from South Korean researchers who believe that LK-99 could be for real. While further assessment of K-99 may well show that it is not “for real,” that possibility is hard to ignore.

Word that a new superconductor—LK-99—can work at room temperatures or higher, and at ambient pressure, recently fueled an online frenzy that led to much discussion as to whether it could for real. By press time, the story that broke in July and was abuzz in early August may not just be yesterday’s news, but yesterday’s news refuted, as there are many questions about the concept from Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim, and colleagues, of South Korea’s Quantum Energy Research Centre.

Per Wikipedia, LK-99 is a potential room-temperature superconductor with a gray-black appearance that is said to have a hexagonal structure that is slightly modified from lead‒apatite by adding small amounts of copper. In 1999, a Korea University team led by Lee and Kim claimed that the material acts as a superconductor at temperatures below 400 K (127°C/260°F) and at ambient pressure. Not much happened until recently, when a July 22 technical paper by Lee and Kim (their names led to the LK-99 tag) jolted the technical field as they implied that room-temperature capability may be possible.

On Aug. 4, 2023, a report sent to SBS News said that high-quality LK-99 samples may exhibit diamagnetism 5,450 times greater than graphite, while low-quality samples may demonstrate an effect up to 23 times stronger. The only way that could be, the report said, is if the substance is a superconductor.

A recent story in BusinessKorea said that the Korean Superconductivity Society recently established a committee of experts to verify LK-99, a room-temperature superconductor developed by Korean researchers affiliated with the Quantum Energy Research Center (QERC) among others. The society said it plans to provide samples produced by the QERC for testing.

While LK-99 would be a stunning advance if it was found to be scientifically verified, several wire and cable manufacturers have been working on them, albeit with technology that does not work at room temperatures.

In 2021, South Korea’s LS Cable & System developed a next-generation 23 kV triaxial superconducting cable and obtained an IEC on the product. Currently, only three companies in the world can make superconducting cables, and LS Cable & System notes that it is the only one that established an international standard for a triaxial superconducting cable.
WJI asked LS Cable & System whether it was involved in any way with the research into LK-99, and got the following reply. “The superconducting cable commercialized by LS Cable & System is a product with a different technology from LK-99, which has recently become an issue.”

That response did not state that South Korea’s LS Cable & System was not interested in the potential of LK-99, only that at this point it is not part of the current activity.

LK-99 technology is worth pursuing as multiple reports note that its hoped-for potential would be an amazing advance. It has been likened to the search for the Holy Grail, yet it also evokes decades-old memories of claims of “cold fusion” for nuclear energy that never materialized. And yes, there are skeptics for LK-99.

To date, there has been no scientific validation of LK-99, although there was one report of observed superconductivity at 110 K by a team from Southeast University, China. However, the absence of the Meissner effect (a defining characteristic of superconductors) was questioned as well as the testing method.

There has been considerable response, most doubting the accuracy of the claims. An article published by Time said that on July 31, researchers from the National Physical Laboratory of India uploaded a paper that found that LK-99 is not superconductive. Veerpal Singh Awana, chief scientist at the National Physical Laboratory, posted details online outlining his group’s unsuccessful efforts to replicate the findings. Also, researchers from Beihang University in Beijing uploaded a paper on July 31 that found that LK-99 is not superconductive.
Other warning flags were that there was no heat anomaly test and no definition of “zero resistance.”

An editorial in The Hindu was blunt. “For another claim this year, of a material that reportedly superconducts near room temperature and under much less pressure than others of its kind, its originators shared instructions to synthesize it but refused to share samples, claiming they constituted intellectual property. While this may be, their refusal vitiated the proper process of science in the face of such an extraordinary claim.”

Another on-line article, in the Korean Joongang Daily, said that a researcher from the Korea Institute of Energy Technology (Kentech) “confirmed that the crystal structure of LK-99 is in line with what has been suggested in manuscripts put forward by the Korean scientists, according to local media reports.” At the same time, it noted that The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics looking into the claims believes that “based on the studies and footage, the material appearing in the research and the footage cannot be considered as a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor.”

But for now, LK-99 is front and center, and multiple Korean researchers are assessing the technology. If it is deemed feasible, more than one wire and cable manufacturer would be very, very interested.

Last modified on September 7, 2023

Mexico’s Grupo Simec, which acquired Republic Steel in 2005, announced that it plans to indefinitely idle its operations in Canton, Ohio, and Lackawanna, New York, and move that production to a newer plant in Mexico.

Per multiple reports, Grupo Simec said that it plans to idle steelmaking operations at the two mills. Production will shift to the company’s modern plant in Tlaxcala, Mexico. The changes will result in some 500 employees being “furloughed indefinitely.” That includes 322 positions in Canton and 178 in Lackawanna.

In a statement, James Vigil, a Republic Steel board member and executive advisor, said that Grupo Simec had considered all potential options before making its ultimate decision. “We’re facing an extremely challenging SBQ (special bar quality steel) market in the U.S., with competitive market pricing and decreased demand. At the same time, we’ve had to deal with increasing input costs on all raw materials, consumables, and labor, all as a result of the inflationary environment in the U.S. over the past year.”

A key problem was complying with environmental requirements, Vigil explained. The company took many steps over the past several years to remain compliant with all environmental regulations, particularly the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for leaded steel production. Republic Steel spent some $10 million in the Canton plant—which is 125 years old— but it was unlikely that either of the plants would meet future, tougher requirements. Consolidating production to Grupo Simec’s modern plant in Tlaxcala enables more competitive pricing, increased environmental responsibility, and enhanced product quality.

“As the only producers of leaded steel in North America, we also owe it to our customers, and their customers, to be a reliable supplier of such products,” said Vigil. “Ultimately, we’re responsible to our shareholders and our customers. We’re simply doing what needs to be done to meet our responsibilities.”

Vigil said there had been hopes that inflationary pressures would ease, and that Republic Steel would see a bump in business following the passages of the Infrastructure Bill in 2021 and increased demand from the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Neither came through.

Republic Steel was acquired in 2005 by Industrias CH, S.A de C.V. (ICH), a steel producer and processor based in Mexico City. Republic Steel is a subsidiary of Grupo Simec, Guadalajara, Mexico, of which ICH is the majority owner. Simec is one of the largest producers

Last modified on September 6, 2023

TenneT, the largest electric grid operator in the Netherlands and Germany, announced that it has awarded contracts approximately €1.5 billion to multiple companies building high-tension wires.

A press release said that TenneT has signed a multi-year contract (Corporate Framework Agreement) with the following eight contract partners following a tendering procedure: Brugg Kabel of Switzerland, LS Cable & System and Taihan of South Korea, NKT GmbH & Co KG and Suedkabel GmbH of Germany, Prysmian and TKF of the Netherlands, and TBEA Shandong Luneng Taishan Cable Co., Ltd. of China.

These partners will supply and install the cables for the 110, 150, 220 and 380 kV onshore high-voltage AC connections in Germany and the Netherlands on behalf of TenneT. “In the coming years, we will construct some 900 km of high-voltage in Germany and TenneT will realize some 4,000 km of high-voltage in the Netherlands.”

TenneT intends to spend as much as 100 billion euros in the coming decade to build out electric grids onshore and offshore as electricity from renewable sources increasingly replaces fossil fuels. It also explained how the company is evolving. “TenneT realises that expanding the electricity grid involves a lot of work. That is one of the reasons for working intensively with these specialised companies. By focusing on long-term partnerships that create a stable collaboration, parties can focus more on innovation and adjust the production process and machinery. Specifically, we will see this reflected in improved materials and design optimisation in the coming years. And, more importantly, we see more opportunities to develop longer cables in one piece (depending on voltage level) up to 5,000 meters.

“Where we currently still work with cables of around 1,500 metres, within two years we will already be laying cables with a length of 3 to 3.5 kilometres. Lengths that can soon also be realised with drilling. And that really is a step forward in terms of burdening the environment during construction, but also in terms of failures, speed and so on.”

Last modified on September 6, 2023

The last acquisition by Prysmian, the world’s largest cable manufacturer, was its largest ever: a $3 billion deal for U.S.-based General Cable that was completed in 2018. Per a report in Reuters, the company may make another deal in the year or two.

The Reuters story said that during an analyst call, Chief Executive Valerio Battista said that “until recently M&A ‘was a suicide’ due to sky-high valuations.” That situation is changing, and Prysmian has a healthy balance sheet that allows it to pursue opportunities. “Frankly speaking, I believe that in the next 12-24 months ... some of our competitors may come to the door,” he said.

No potential acquisitions were cited in the article, which noted that Prysmian expects a cash flow of between €550-650 million this year, topping prior guidance.

Last modified on September 6, 2023

 CommScope® reports that it plans to invest $60.3 million over the next four years to expand its manufacturing facilities based in North Carolina to bolster its ability to meet U.S. supply demands driven by federal initiatives.

 A press release said that CommScope currently has the capacity to manufacture drop cable at a rate of approximately two billion feet per year at its U.S. facilities, a level of production that will allow states and their partners to connect every underserved American as a part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The expansion in Catawba County is expected to create at least 250 new jobs.

The expansion will further allow CommScope to manufacture the necessary cable for service providers to deploy broadband across the U.S. Capacity increase will align around loose tube production and additional fiber cable counts and styles needed for rural deployment, including CommScope’s HeliARC fiber optic cable that is specifically designed for rural fiber network architecture.

“Broadband for everyone is no longer a luxury, but rather a critical necessity to participate in today’s society and economic market,” said CommScope President and CEO Chuck Treadway. “We have long been committed to supplying our partners with the solutions necessary to bring broadband to everyone. Furthering our long-standing relationship with the State of North Carolina is a great next step to bring ‘Internet For All’, and we are thrilled to work with the State on this endeavor.

Last modified on September 7, 2023

Prime Materials Recovery, Inc. (PMR), announced that it is buying an SCR copper rod system from Southwire for installation at its subsidiary, IMC - Metals America, LLC (IMC), in Shelby, North Carolina.

A press release said that the new line—the SCR 4500— will be installed in a purpose-built plant at the existing site, and mark the business’s entry into the ETP copper rod market. Sitework is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023 and bring 75-80 new jobs to Cleveland County, North Carolina.

PMR noted that in a separate initiative, IMC, one of North America’s largest producers of oxygen-free (OF) copper, will be increasing its copper rod production capacity with the purchase and installation of a new line from Upcast OY based in Pori, Finland.

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering with industry leaders like Southwire and Upcast OY with these initiatives,” said PMR CEO Bernie Schilberg. “We look forward to these successful projects and years of effectively serving our customers and these markets.”

Per PMR, each month it processes and brokers in excess of 35 million pounds of nonferrous metals at its facilities. It also actively participates in the global metal market via its import and export capabilities. PMR and its holding company represent one of the largest nonferrous and polymer merchants, processors, and fabricators in the United States. Based in East Hartford, Connecticut, the business includes facilities in Canastota, New York; South Windsor and Willimantic, Connecticut; Jersey City, New Jersey; Hickory and Shelby, North Caroline; Orangeburg, South Carolina; Miami, Florida; and Wilmington, Delaware.

The SCR-4500 system is designed for a production rate of 35 metric tons per hour of eight mm rod. The project includes the design of all operating equipment from a skip cart furnace loader to a finished rod handling system. The system will include an 11 stand Morgan “No Twist®” rolling mill, furnished by Primetals Technologies.

“We would like to welcome IMC into the SCR family and look forward to many years of successful collaboration,” said Mark Roden, Southwire’s vice president of SCR Technologies. “It is through our continued support and the SCR Technology Pool that this relationship will continue to grow for many years to come.”

Last modified on September 6, 2023

NKT reports that it has signed a long-term contract with major European copper producer KGHM S.A. to ensure that it will get the copper rod it needs for 2023-2027.

 A press release said that the expansion of renewable energy sources has led to considerable increased demand for copper. To secure that essential supply NKT signed a long-term agreement with Polish copper supplier KGHM S.A. for an annual minimum of 52,500 metric tons of copper wire rod for 2023-2027, with an option to expand quantities and extend the contractual period.

“We are pleased to strengthen our long-term collaboration with KGHM by entering into this frame agreement for the supply of copper rod for the coming years,” said NKT President & CEO Claes Westerlind. “And even more so, that we are able to source copper close to where it is needed, which supports our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our operations.”

KGHM is an integrated copper producer with its own mineral resources, mines, smelters and copper rod production facilities in Europe. KGHM’s Głogów and Legnica copper smelters/refineries and Cedynia wire rod plant are Copper Mark certified. In line with its commitment to connect a greener world, NKT has also joined the Copper Mark to promote responsible copper mining and production.

Last modified on September 6, 2023

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