When North Sea Wind Energy Supports Germany's Energy Transition
After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the energy transition in Germany really gained speed. The goal? To obtain at least 80% of its electricity consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. In this context, Nexans, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of cables and electrical solutions, secured a EUR 290 million performance guarantee over six years with the support of Société Générale and Eksfin, enabling the execution of critical infrastructure delivery.
In December 2024, Nexans, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of cables systems and services, specializing in the offshore wind market and subsea interconnectors won a third project under a Framework Agreement dated 2023 with TenneT Germany, an electricity transmission system operator in Europe.
This third project includes the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of 250 km of high-voltage direct current cables for the LanWin2 offshore and onshore connection, enabling the transmission of 2 GW of wind energy from the German North Sea to the mainland.
The North Sea: a major asset for renewable energy
Offshore wind farms are one of the key elements in achieving the energy transition. The North Sea alone has sufficient energy potential to meet the demand of the bordering countries. The ambition for the North Sea was confirmed in 2023 at the Ostend summit (Belgium), attended by nine countries (France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and the United Kingdom) with the aim of producing 300 GW of wind energy by 2050.
An impact on several million households
The framework agreement between Nexans and TenneT is the largest contract in Nexans' history and aims to supply wind energy from the German North Sea to purely theoretically almost 7.5 million households in Germany.
A collaboration with Eksfin to better support our client
With the support of Societe Generale and Export Finance Norway (Eksfin), which have provided a performance guarantee totaling EUR 290 million, Nexans is able to meet its contractual obligations for these essential infrastructure development projects.
Lars Christian Eriksen, CEO of Nexans Norway, said:
Winning contracts on this scale depends on our ability to source appropriate bank guarantees. As an export-oriented company, having Societe Generale and Eksfin’s large risk capacity on our side is a strong competitive advantage.
Marie-Laure Gastellu, Head of International Trade Finance Services at Societe Generale, commented:
Our collaboration with Eksfin has enabled the development of this solution to support Nexans' development projects. This transaction illustrates the bank's ability to design tailored solutions for our clients in strategic sectors such as offshore wind energy. We are truly pleased to have supported Nexans on this strategic project.
Tone Lunde Bakker of Eksfin Managing Director, added:
Supporting Norwegian suppliers to international offshore wind projects is a key strategic priority for Eksfin. It is our mission to help more Norwegian exporters win contracts to renewable energy projects globally.
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