Superconductors beneath the waves: Powering the energy transition

Offshore wind power capacity is growing rapidly in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Yet this potential comes with mounting technical and economic hurdles.

Conventional transmission technologies, based on high-voltage alternating (HVAC) or direct current (HVDC) cables, present significant obstacles. They require large offshore platforms to convert power before it reaches the grid, adding both expense and environmental impact. They are also subject to supply chain bottlenecks, which risk delaying projects just as governments raise their targets for renewable integration.

By 2050, the majority of Europe’s electricity is expected to come from renewables. Meeting that goal means upgrading or modernising around 300,000 km of transmission lines and subsea cables. Tomorrow’s energy networks must not only carry greater volumes of power, but also deliver flexibility to cope with fluctuating renewable generation.

Key components of infrastructure transformation will include offshore wind farms, hydrogen pipelines, and long-distance transmission corridors – and crucially, technologies that allow massive amounts of electricity to flow reliably over long distances.

Beyond technical feasibility, superconducting cables deliver tangible advantages for grids under pressure:

• Carry far higher currents than copper or aluminium, allowing bulk electricity transmission at lower voltages over long distances
• Offer an unmatched power density: a single 17 cm cable can deliver 3.2 GW – roughly the output of three nuclear reactors
• Emit neither heat nor electromagnetic fields, avoiding interference with nearby power, telecom or pipeline systems
• Are compact and unobtrusive, reducing infrastructure footprint in sensitive marine environments
• Simplify offshore schemes and shrink conversion platforms by at least 75% by replacing resistive HVDC systems.

How will this help electrify the future?

Superconducting technology is emerging as a critical enabler of the energy transition. By combining HTS cables with fault current limiters, grids can achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, capacity and sustainability. These systems expand network flexibility, simplify offshore connections and ease the integration of renewables at scale.

As global demand rises and climate pressures mount, superconductors offer a compact, modular and resilient alternative to conventional infrastructure. By reducing grid losses and supporting long-distance transmission, they align directly with the goals of electrification and decarbonisation. HTS cables, refined by industry pioneers, such as Nexans, are designed to meet this demand.

Several systemic constraints stand in the way of modernizing urban grids efficiently:

• Space limitations: Conventional cabling systems require substantial space and specialized equipment – but underground corridors are already saturated with existing infrastructure, making new cable routing extremely difficult.
• Escalating costs: Environmental restrictions, land acquisition, and rental fees can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to projects.
• Grid bottlenecks: Environmental and proximity constraints severely limit the connection of new renewable energy sources, creating a barrier to the very transition these systems are meant to support.
• Unpopular disruption: Construction works required to install new cables often go with noise pollution, traffic congestion, and environmental concerns leading to increasing public opposition.
• The reality is clear: succeeding in the energy transition requires radically rethinking electrical infrastructures with innovative technologies that balance growing demand, system resilience, and urban liveability. Enter superconducting systems.

HTS cables: Zero-resistance transmission

High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) technology draws its transformative power from its core property: superconductivity. With virtually zero electrical resistance, these cables can carry extraordinarily high currents in much less sections that copper or aluminum conductors. In fact, a single 17-centimeter-diameter cable can handle up to 3.2 gigawatts à high voltage– that’s roughly the output of three nuclear reactors and several 100 MW underground at medium voltage, able to secure the supply of big cities without adding new high voltage lines.

This absence of heat generation eliminates the need for wide thermal clearances and ventilation systems, allowing HTS systems to be installed in simple trenches rather than purpose-built tunnels. Their compact footprint means that the required corridors are up to ten times narrower than for conventional systems. They also generate no electromagnetic interference and emit no external magnetic field, making them safe neighbors to other infrastructures in these confined spaces.

Beyond the installation advantages, HTS systems provide enormous operational flexibility. A 400-kilovolt conventional system can be replaced with a 132 or 275 kV-kilovolt superconducting system without losing capacity at lower cost mainly due to the saving of large 400 kV transformers in the substation—and because the cable system including ancillary systems is modular, the same cable design works equally well for compact urban networks and long-distance transmission.

SFCLs: Instantaneous fault protection

Superconducting properties can also be used to mitigate overcurrent, almost instantaneously. Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SFCLs) provide vital protection against fault currents that can damage critical assets such as transformers and switchgear. In the event of a short circuit or fault condition, SFCLs instantly and automatically limit excessive current without the need for mechanical intervention or voltage disturbance. SFCLs use superconductors’ intrinsic properties to transition from zero-resistance to resistive state within milliseconds, limiting fault current before it damages  equipment on the same branch. SFCLs can be integrated and connect to any electrical system — offering enhanced network reliability, optimized infrastructure protection, and reduced equipment aging from thermal stress.

Proven success in real-world applications

Multiple operational projects demonstrate the technological maturity and transformative potential of superconducting systems in diverse urban environments. Here’s a look at three:

These concrete achievements demonstrate that superconductors have evolved from experimental technology to an industrial solution set to transform urban electrical transmission and distribution.

Building tomorrow’s grid

With operational projects proving their reliability and cities facing mounting pressure to electrify rapidly, superconducting systems represent more than just an upgrade; they’re a fundamental shift in how urban grids can be designed and deployed.

Rather than fighting space constraints and community resistance with conventional solutions, utilities can now build smaller, quieter, and more efficient networks that actually support the energy transition they’re meant to enable. Superconducting systems give cities a practical pathway to meet surging electricity demand while achieving decarbonization goals – a future-ready backbone for resilient and sustainable urban power.

As demand from electric vehicles, hydrogen production, and heating and cooling systems accelerates, grids face unprecedented pressure. However, much of today’s cable network—particularly in Western Europe, North America, and Japan—is already decades old, never designed for the loads we are seeing today.

Take, for example, a distribution system operator in New York with a cable network that’s over 50 years old and operating near capacity. Adding new loads from EVs and heat pumps not only accelerates the aging of existing cables but also limits the ability to connect new renewable generation due to thermal and voltage constraints. Replacing or upgrading these cables using conventional high-voltage solutions requires extensive excavation in urban areas, where underground space is already crowded with telecommunications, water, gas, and transport infrastructure.

Even when installation is technically possible, environmental restrictions, lane rental charges, and traffic management fees can increase project costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Land acquisition for wider cable routes compounds the challenge, particularly when existing rights-of-way cannot accommodate the spacing needed for conventional cables, which require significant separation to manage heating effects and electromagnetic interference.

Meanwhile, safety and reliability requirements keep rising. Networks must deliver electricity without cuts, breakdowns, cascading failures, or blackouts. They need to handle fault currents that can damage critical assets like transformers and switchgear. And as public expectations grow, networks must minimize electromagnetic interference, reduce CO₂ emissions, recycle obsolete assets responsibly, and reassure communities about safety.

This scenario is playing out in major cities worldwide, while rural areas face their own infrastructure constraints. Meeting electrification needs at scale will require massive infrastructure upgrades: grids will need roughly 80 million kilometers of new or refurbished cable by 2040 – and conventional systems alone cannot keep up with demand.

High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cables and fault current limiters represent a fundamentally different approach to power transmission. The technology exploits the complete loss of electrical resistance that occurs in certain materials at extremely low temperatures, known as one of the key properties of superconductivity.

HTS materials require cooling to approximately -200°C, typically with liquid nitrogen. “High temperature” here means relative to the first generation of superconductors, which requires temperatures below -243°C to operate. The liquid nitrogen circulates in cryogenic envelopes, a thermally-insulated jacket that surrounds the cable. Liquid nitrogen is relatively inexpensive, environmentally harmless, and easier to manage than many industrial coolants. More importantly, the energy saved by eliminating transmission losses exceeds the energy required to maintain the cryogenic environment.

The electricity flowing through your home right now has traveled hundreds of miles of conventional resistive cables, losing roughly 10% of its power along the way. That waste, about 180 TWh annually in Europe alone, is enough to power three major cities. HTS cables requires 10 times less energy to supply electricity.

Why choose superconducting cables?

For modern grids, HTS systems offer huge advantages over conventional alternatives, especially in dense urban environments:

• Space efficiency and economics: HTS cables generate no heat or electromagnetic fields at any load along the cable route, so phases need no separation. Cables can be buried at any depth and close to other multi-energy network without expensive tunneling or specialized conduits, shrinking rights-of-way to up to one-tenth the width of conventional systems. In cities where land costs tens of thousands per meter, this benefit alone is game-changing.
• Enormous transmission capacity: One HTS cable can handle over 3 gigawatts. Fewer circuits and minimal substation upgrades are needed, while retrofits can multiply tunnel capacity without major construction with minimal electrical loss if not zero in Direct Current.
• Smaller environmental footprint: Less excavation and reduced permitting complexity can result in shorter project timelines and less public opposition.
• Resilience: Fully shielded, superconducting cables are weatherproof, highly secure, and nearly free of stray electromagnetic fields – meaning power availability is protected even if part of the grid is disrupted.

It’s a win-win(-win-win).

• Any source, anywhere: HTS cables handle rooftop solar, fuel cells, remote wind parks.
• Automatic protection: SFCLs limit fault currents instantly, no active controls needed.
• Smart, resilient grids: SFCLs allow the increase of supply and demand, improving reliability and supporting integration of distributed or remote generation.
• Electrification ready: Scales EV charging and industrial loads without massive new builds.

Ready for a superconducting grid revolution?

Infrastructure demands, technological maturity, and a strong business case are aligning to support widespread HTS adoption. Companies like Nexans, with facilities across Germany, France, and Norway, have developed cutting-edge expertise across the entire superconducting technology stack and are contributing to international standards that will accelerate global rollout.

The question isn’t whether superconducting technology will transform electrical grids, but how quickly utilities, governments, and investors will recognize the opportunity. Grid operators who move early will gain significant competitive advantages in efficiency, reliability, and capacity. Those who wait may find themselves constrained by the very infrastructure limitations that superconducting technology is designed to solve.

Grid technicians are on the front lines of the energy transition. Yet many of the products they work with are not designed with their realities in mind. Poor ergonomics, unintuitive interfaces, and complex installation sequences increase fatigue, raise error rates, and drive costly reworks. In fact, up to 75% of network outages are due to problems with the installation of accessories.

Designing from the installer’s perspective turns product development into a strategic enabler of grid performance. Human-centric design prioritizes intuitive use, real-world behavior, and ​​the physical experience of the technician, not just the engineering specification.

This begins with field observation: understanding how technicians move, use tools, and manage physical strain. By identifying pain points in cable and accessory installation, designers can reduce unnecessary complexity and optimize for real-life conditions.

Practical examples:

• A redesigned MV joint that cuts installation steps from 65 to just 17, dramatically reducing the potential for error.
• An ergonomic, modular joint system that simplifies handling and minimizes physical strain.

These changes, grounded in installer feedback and ergonomic testing, lead to safer, faster, and more consistent installations.

Human-centric thinking also extends to packaging and logistics. Intuitive solutions like retractable handles, wheeled reels, and universal spools improve transportation and handling. These “low-tech” innovations play a high-impact role in reinforcing a more resilient, human-centered grid, while also supporting sustainability.

Here are just a few ways AR is transforming installation and maintenance in the field:

At the core of these innovations is a shared goal: empowering the workforce behind electrification.

Achieving clean energy targets won’t be solved by infrastructure alone. It requires investing in people, giving them the tools, training, and support they need to succeed in the field.

That’s why the shift to intuitive design and smart digital tools is no longer optional. It is foundational. The future of grid reliability will be shaped not by what we install but by how and by whom it is installed.

The future of electrification won’t be wired by machines alone. It will be built by skilled hands empowered with smarter tools.

Nexans is leading this evolution by embedding human-centric thinking and transformative technologies across its entire portfolio. From ergonomic joints to AI-enabled QA platforms, Nexans is helping utilities equip their workforce to work faster, safer, and with greater confidence.

According to the IEA’s updated Net Zero Roadmap (2023), to reach net-zero energy sector CO2 emissions, over 70% of new energy capacity must come from wind and solar farms by 2050. But scaling up to meet this target is only half the battle. Ensuring wind and solar installations operate reliably across oceans, deserts, or mountains is just as critical.

Wind and solar farms are often built in some of the world’s harshest and most remote locations. Once installed, their components must function for decades with limited human access and under constant exposure to salt, sand, heat, and vibrations.

While most attention is focused on turbines and electrical panels, equally critical elements of system performance lie in the accessories that connect everything.

Like any high-performance system, such as long-haul aviation, offshore oil rigs, or space exploration, solar and wind systems demand components that are robust, modular, and remotely diagnosable. In a utility-scale wind or solar energy farm, a single weak link can compromise system integrity and interrupt power delivery. Which is why the industry is shifting from passive, one-size-fits-all accessories to tailored, intelligent component systems that anticipate downtime risks, extend infrastructure lifespan, and reduce overall operating costs.

The 5 grid accessory innovations leading this shift are: modular 145kV connectors for offshore wind farms, pre-assembled cable systems for grid electrical systems, sensor-based components, modular cable kits, and high-performance polymers and sealing materials.

Five accessory innovations redefining reliability in wind and solar energy farms.

1. Offshore-ready connectors engineered for high-voltage resilience

Offshore wind farms face unique conditions: constant motion, salt-laden air, and high-voltage transmission requirements. Conventional connectors can corrode, loosen, or degrade over time.

The innovation: Compact, modular 145 kV connectors designed for offshore wind applications are enabling more efficient transmission from increasingly powerful turbines. Their compact design facilitates installation in constrained environments while minimizing bending forces on connected equipment such as switchgear or transformers. Engineered for long-term performance, they feature high resistance to corrosion, vibration, and pressure, making them well-suited for the harsh and demanding conditions of subsea and offshore environments.

The result: Fewer failure points, longer service intervals, and enhanced safety in locations where unplanned repairs are difficult and expensive.

2. Pre-connected cable systems that minimize human error

In remote or high-risk locations, every hour spent on electrical installation increases exposure and cost. Grid technicians often face high levels of fatigue, while installation errors such as overtightening or misalignment can compromise long-term performance.

The innovation: Factory-assembled, tested and pre-connected cable systems minimize on-site handling, which helps reduce human error and accelerate installation in challenging environments.

The result: Safer, faster installations and greater reliability from day one, especially important in demanding environments.

3. Sensorized accessories that detect failure before it happens

Failure in a joint or termination often begins invisibly due to exposure to thermal fatigue, mechanical stress, vibrations, and moisture ingress. In remote wind and solar farms, these silent failures can go undetected until a power outage occurs.

The innovation: Accessories equipped with built-in sensors that continuously monitor internal conditions such as temperature and insulation health. The sensor-generated data is directly integrated with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and predictive operation and maintenance (O&M) schedules, enabling smart monitoring and intelligent diagnostics. Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind and one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies, integrates cable diagnostics and performance monitoring into its offshore substations to support early fault detection and reduce unplanned downtime.

The result: Issues are detected early, enabling preventive maintenance instead of reactive repairs. This significantly reduces downtime and helps operators move toward fully digital, condition-based asset management.

4. Modular connector kits adapted to site-specific layouts

Each solar and wind farm configuration is unique.  Varying terrain, layout constraints, and project scale all affect how cable accessories are planned and installed.

The innovation: Modular connector kits tailored to site-specific layouts are now helping reduce errors and delays on large renewable projects. Each wind or solar farm comes with its own constraints (terrain variations, equipment spacing, layout geometry)—which can complicate on-site installation. To streamline this process, system modeling tools are used upstream to configure customized kits of pre-assembled connectors, adapted to the physical layout and routing paths of each site.

The result: This modular approach, inspired by practices used in offshore wind and utility-scale solar projects, ensures faster, safer, and more reliable installations, especially in remote or hard-to-access environments where technician time is limited and rework is costly.

5. Materials that resist decades of environmental stress

UV exposure, salt spray, sand, moisture ingress, hot ambient temperature and thermal cycling are harsh realities for wind and solar installations.

The innovation: High-performance polymers (such as EPDM Material) and sealing materials that resist abrasion, extreme temperature variations, and long-term weathering. These components are engineered to maintain integrity under the toughest environmental conditions, whether buried, exposed, or submerged.

The result: Accessories that withstand years of exposure without degradation, helping ensure system stability over time. Offshore wind developers now utilize vibration-tolerant junction systems to extend the lifespan of accessories in one of the harshest operating environments. As renewable infrastructure expands into increasingly extreme terrain and climate zones, long-lasting materials are proving crucial to performance and return on investment.

Innovative accessory technologies for a more resilient wind and solar energy future

As wind and solar energy take center stage in the global energy mix, connecting accessories must evolve to meet the demand for robust components that are adapted to extreme environments. Innovative accessory technologies are transforming once-passive components into intelligent, tailored, and long-lasting solutions that improve the system-wide reliability and cost-effectiveness of large-scale wind and solar farms.

Smart accessories, equipped with embedded diagnostics, connected to SCADA systems, and optimized through system modeling, are helping operators meet performance expectations while managing costs and risks.

In decentralized energy systems, even the smallest components bear the greatest responsibility. Nexans is at the forefront of advancing accessory technologies that enable uninterrupted power and reinforce system reliability in demanding environments. By focusing on robust design, embedded intelligence, and configuration based on system modeling, Nexans ensures that these silent connections deliver consistent reliability, contributing to the resilience of solar and wind installations.

While attention is often focused on cables and transformers, the most overlooked and failure-prone elements of electrical grids are the accessories that silently connect everything.

More than 70% of distribution grid failures occur at junctions; but most utilities still rely on inspections with limited visibility.

These hidden critical links are often buried beneath city streets and deep under the ocean floors, silently carrying power. When they fail, the consequences include costly repairs, extended downtime, and widespread service disruptions. Preventing this costly domino effect is a top priority for grid operators today.

So, why do these critical connection points fail in the first place, and more importantly, how can they be avoided?

Accessories: the hidden cause behind grid failure

It is often mistakenly assumed that electrical grid failures are due to faulty cables and transformers. But in reality, it is the accessories (cable connectors, joints, and terminations) that account for a disproportionate share of failures.

These components degrade over time due to thermal fatigue, mechanical stress, vibrations, moisture ingress, and, in many cases, improper installation practices such as misalignment or over torque. Pinpointing the location of a failure is notoriously difficult. Limited visibility and lack of diagnostic data make troubleshooting time-consuming and costly.

As an example, an MV cable connector failure can cost, on average, between €10,000 and €50,000 to repair.

These failure mechanisms underscore why accessories, despite their compact size, harbor a disproportionate share of the operational risk within medium-voltage grids. Yet their role extends well beyond reliability concerns alone, serving as critical enablers of performance, safety, and future-ready grid modernization.

Much like the telecommunications industry before it, the energy sector must now evolve toward real-time visibility, predictive fault detection, and continuous diagnostic intelligence to meet the demands of a modernized grid.

Smart Accessories: From Hidden Weak Links to Strategic Grid Resilience Enablers

To address these vulnerabilities and modernize grid maintenance strategies, accessories are now being elevated into intelligent assets.

Despite their modest size, accessories like joints and connectors are often the weakest links in grid infrastructure. Their vulnerability is compounded by harsh environmental exposure; yet, until recently, they have been treated as passive components.

That’s now changing. As utilities grapple with aging infrastructure and the rising cost of outages, accessories are being redefined as intelligent and predictive assets. Equipped with embedded sensors and connected into digital monitoring platforms, today’s smart accessories enable early fault detection and real-time performance insights, allowing operators to shift from reactive maintenance to proactive grid management.

Utilities adopting these technologies have already reported notable reductions in outage durations, emergency interventions, and overall operational expenditures.

The Technology Powering Smart Accessories

Transforming accessories from passive components into intelligent assets requires a new generation of technologies. These innovations empower operators with real-time visibility capabilities, allowing them to anticipate failures before they occur, rather than respond after the fact.

To meet these evolving expectations, manufacturers are now delivering advanced accessory systems featuring:

• Smart joints, terminations, and connectors equipped with embedded sensors for voltage, temperature, and partial discharge (PD) monitoring
• Predictive dashboards that combine historical data with live grid inputs to flag emerging risks
• Seamless integration with digital twins, mobile diagnostics tools, and SCADA platforms for comprehensive grid visibility.

Together, these technologies are shifting maintenance strategies from reactive interventions to proactive, data-driven grid optimization, enabling faster diagnostics, more accurate root-cause analysis, and fewer unexpected outages.

But what makes these smart accessories possible? At the heart of this transformation are three enabling technologies, powering the shift from passive parts to intelligent, self-monitoring systems:

Real-world impact: how utilities leverage smart accessories

Utilities that embed smart accessories within predictive diagnostics and installation traceability frameworks are achieving tangible performance gains:

• A Nordic operator reduced fault localization times from 48 hours to under six hours, sharply reducing costly emergency interventions and, consequently, OPEX.
• National Grid in the UK deploys partial discharge and thermal sensors in medium- and high-voltage cable systems to reduce unplanned outages and maintain lower SAIDI (National Grid Innovation Report, 2022).
• Alliander (Netherlands) is deploying more than 3,000 Smart Cable Guard systems (recently partnering with Nexans) across its medium-voltage grid to tackle aging infrastructure and outage risk. Field data shows that each unit prevents over 6,000 customer minutes lost annually, with fault localization accurate within 1% of cable length. Following strong results from initial pilots, the rollout supports Alliander’s broader effort to lower SAIFI and SAIDI across a 40,000 km MV network.

 A Strategic Shift in Grid Management

The evolution of accessories from passive components to intelligent assets is reshaping how utilities manage and future-proof their grids. Smart accessories now play a strategic role in boosting reliability, extending component lifespan, and reducing operation costs.

As utilities confront the twin pressures of aging infrastructure and accelerating electrification, these solutions are becoming essential to predictive maintenance and resilient network operation. This marks a broader transformation, from static systems to intelligent, self-monitoring grids.

Nexans is helping lead this industry shift, providing advanced smart accessory systems and end-to-end lifecycle support that enable grid operators to anticipate, monitor, and optimize their networks with unprecedented precision and confidence.

Customer experience starts with skills

In many sectors, performance depends as much on human precision as on technological advancement:

• In aviation, simulation-based training helps crews stay prepared for complex scenarios
• In advanced manufacturing, augmented reality tools guide workers through critical procedures
• In financial services, AI-based coaching improves the quality of client interactions

These approaches reflect a shared belief that strong customer experience comes not only from great products, but from the ability of people to apply them correctly, consistently, and along the whole value chain, from the start to the end. Up-skilling is even more relevant in the energy sector.

The electrification challenge: complexity and consequence

As the global push for decarbonization accelerates, electrification has become the backbone of energy systems. Power networks today must integrate renewable energies and always more decentralized generation, leading to bi-directional flows and intermittent production. In the meantime, electrification and new customer needs are growing (electrical vehicules, heat pumps, AI development and related construction of datacenters, electro intensive industries…).

Grids must therefore be modernized and become Smarter. They also have to become more resilient against extreme weather events. Their vulnerability against human errors during installation has become more critical than ever.

According to ENTSO-E, more than 60 percent of Europe’s grid components are over 40 years old. In this context, the margin for error is shrinking. A single installation mistake can affect reliability, safety, and customer satisfaction, leading to delays, warranty claims, and long-term service costs.

The numbers speak for themselves:

• 400 million euros are lost each year in Europe due to improper installation of cable accessories
• Up to 50% of medium-voltage (MV) cable accessory failures are caused by installation errors
• In the Netherlands, 12.5% of total SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) minutes are attributed to these issues
  (Source: EA Technology, Jicable 2023 E1-4; Review of Medium-Voltage Asset Failure Investigations, 2018)

These are not design flaws. They are execution problems. And they are preventable.

Training also closes the gap between system design and field reality. In today’s energy infrastructure, it serves three purposes: it transfers critical technical knowledge and workmanship, strengthens accuracy and speed on the ground, and supports a culture of accountability and excellence.

Measurable impact in the field

In recent assessments, teams that completed structured and certifying training programs showed:

• A 58% reduction in Medium Voltage cable accessories failure rates
• A 25% improvement in installation speed
• A customer satisfaction rate of 97%
  (Source: Nexans Internal Impact Study, 2024)

These improvements are not theoretical. They directly affect grid resilience, budget predictability, customer satisfaction and trust.

Training for modernizing and expanding grids

As grids become more complex, training must adapt. This includes at Nexans:

• Hands-on installation practice
• Certification based on practical performance, not just theory
• Partial discharge and AC withstand testing of i samples assembled during training
• Language flexibility and local adaptations
• Programs covering low, medium, and high-voltage applications, including renewables

Training today is not a static classroom experience. It is technical, tailored, and aligned with operational goals. In most cases, it also provides certification that is now increasingly necessary to operate and secure installations in compliance with industry standards.

The example of Nexans Certifying Training Services

In response to growing demand for skilled installation and maintenance teams and to a lack of certified technicians in most countries, Nexans has structured a comprehensive global training program. Delivered worldwide through eight centers located mainly in Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe including France and DOM-TOM, and supported by a dedicated team of 25 trainers and experts all over the world (including the US and Latin Americas), the program is designed to reflect the diversity and complexity of real-world electrification projects.

In 2024 only, over 2,800 professionals took part in training sessions offered in seven languages and tailored to more than 15 voltage levels and accessory types. The curriculum spans low-, medium-, and high-voltage systems, as well as renewable applications, with flexible, on-demand modules to support different phases of a project.

Each session combines technical theory with hands-on practice. For the most demanding applications, installed samples are tested under real conditions using partial discharge and AC withstand protocols, and certification is awarded based on demonstrated results, not just attendance (in France, the certification process is COFRAC accredited).

The success of electrification worldwide depends not only on smart systems, but on the right-skilled people who install and operate them. Training gives those people the skills and confidence they need to deliver reliability, safety and consistency to the grid networks.

Companies that invest in training are doing more than reducing technical risk. They are building trust, reinforcing performance, and redefining what great customer experience looks like. In the race toward a sustainable energy future, human expertise is what brings every connection to life.

As an innovation-driven leader in the electrification sector, Nexans continues to pioneer advanced training and supervision solutions that help build the grids of tomorrow.

Imagine a vast network of invisible or suspended arteries – made of copper, aluminum, and innovation. A network so essential it silently powers our cities, our industries, and our lives.

For decades, these infrastructures have kept pace with urbanization, economic growth, and the transformation of our lifestyles.

And yet, built for a more centralized and predictable world, they must now rise to an unprecedented challenge: adapting to a future that is more electric, more renewable, and more resilient.

How can we modernize these networks – the vital veins of a changing society? What if the answer wasn’t to rebuild everything from scratch, but to better harness what we already have?

Why Existing Grids Must Be Upgraded

Our power grids are silent witnesses to urbanization, economic expansion, and major shifts in how we live. But they were designed for a very different world: one that was centralized, less electrified, and far more predictable.

Today, these infrastructures must meet entirely new demands. They need to absorb the surge in renewable energy, support the rise of electric mobility, adapt to growing self-consumption, and respond to increasing needs for energy flexibility. They also need to become more resilient in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Did you know?

• The average age of power grids in Europe and North America often exceeds 40 years.
• The duration of outages caused by these events has increased sixfold over the past ten years.
• The International Energy Agency estimates that the investments required to modernize power grids will reach $600 billion per year by 2030 (source: IEA report “Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions” (october 2023).

Modernizing Without Rebuilding: A Winning Strategy

In this context, should we tear everything down to rebuild it better? Not necessarily. The solution often lies in a leaner, faster, and more sustainable approach: strengthening, optimizing, and adapting what already exists.

This strategy offers many benefits. It shortens implementation times, limits disruptions for local communities, allows better cost control, and reduces the carbon footprint of projects.

How can we modernize efficiently?

Through several technical levers:

• Reinforcing critical cables;
• Integrating smart sensors to detect weaknesses before they cause failures;
• Reconfiguring energy flows to avoid saturation;
• Using recycled or low-carbon materials, such as technical polymers or recovered metals.

Here’s a concrete example: In Europe, several pilot projects have modernized aging sections of the grid without dismantling them:

• Adding connected equipment,
• Predictive maintenance,
• Optimizing existing infrastructure.

The result: more efficient, more resilient networks – without rebuilding from scratch.

Turning Existing Grids Into a Circular Asset

What if our old networks became a resource for the future? Modernizing also means learning how to repurpose what already exists. Copper and aluminum cables can be recovered and reused after treatment, materials reinjected into new projects, and smart control modules installed to extend infrastructure lifespan.

A circular logic that gives grids a second life and supports more responsible electrification.

Key facts to remember:

• 15% of global demand for copper and aluminum may not be met by 2030.
• Material circularity is becoming a priority to reduce the need for new resource extraction.

By giving grids a second life, we help preserve natural resources and reduce the environmental footprint of new infrastructure.

This approach was at the heart of the discussion at ChangeNOW 2025, during a dedicated conference, “Circular Economy – Today’s Waste is Tomorrow’s Growth”, featuring David Grall, VP Sustainability & Corporate Transformation at Nexans, and Xavier Mathieu, VP Metallurgy at Nexans.

They presented concrete solutions to:

• Reduce environmental impact throughout the material lifecycle;
• Fully integrate the circular economy into energy infrastructure.

Doing Better With What We Have

Optimizing without overconsuming. Transforming without rebuilding everything.

That’s the ambition behind a successful energy transition: making our grids more robust, adaptable, and efficient.

In a world where 80% of energy will come from renewable sources by 2050, upgrading our existing infrastructure is a strategic imperative.

This isn’t about giving up on innovation – it’s about applying it where it matters most. It’s about acting now to build a more sustainable future.

In a nutshell

Modernizing our grids means strengthening energy resilience,

Reducing our environmental impact,

And accelerating the transition to an electrified world… without starting from scratch.

Sources:
McKinsey, Eurelectric, AIE + Electric Disturbance Events report
IEA report “Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions” (october 2023)

Imagine a bustling metropolis where data circulates as freely as traffic on its busiest avenues. This is the reality of modern data centers: the beating hearts of our digital economy. They are indispensable, powering everything from your favorite streaming platforms to the AI tools transforming industries.

But beneath the surface, a critical component often goes unnoticed: power cables. These cables are the backbone of data centers, ensuring electricity flows reliably and efficiently to fuel our connected world.

Let’s explore why power cables are far more than utility components. In fact, they are strategic assets shaping the future of our digital society.

Let’s dive deeper.

At the core of this intricate system are three key players ensuring uninterrupted power delivery:

• Low Voltage (LV) cables: These connect various internal equipment, playing a vital role in ensuring smooth operations within the facility.
• Medium Voltage (MV) cables: Essential for linking data centers to main power supplies or backup generators, MV cables handle higher energy loads with reliability.
• High Voltage (HV) cables: Designed for large-scale facilities, HV cables transmit significant power over long distances, maintaining system integrity and performance.

Each cable is meticulously designed to withstand the unique demands of this high-pressure environment – reliability, efficiency, and safety are paramount. And while they might seem like a small piece of the puzzle, their impact is enormous.

Indeed, despite accounting for only about 2% to 2.5% of a data center’s total construction costs, the significance of electrical power cables cannot be overstated. Studies have shown that power-related issues are a leading cause of data center outages, with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) failures being a primary contributor.

The financial implications of such outages are substantial:

• The average cost of unplanned data center downtime is approximately $7,900 per minute, translating to over $690,000 for an average incident lasting 86 minutes.
• Over 60% of data center failures result in at least $100,000 in total losses, with the share of outages costing upwards of $1 million increasing from 11% to 15% between 2019 and 2022.

With cable technology constantly evolving, the latest advancements are revolutionizing data center infrastructure by addressing key challenges such as fire safety, energy efficiency, and sustainability.

Here are Nexans 4 groundbreaking innovations:

1. Low-carbon cables:

Nexans is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by offering low-carbon cables that integrate recycled materials, including up to 50% recycled plastic and low-carbon aluminum, with the ambition of incorporating 30% recycled copper in the cables by 2030.

Nexans’ low-carbon cables achieve a 35% to 50% reduction in emissions compared to standard cables, supporting data centers in achieving their environmental goals.

2. Fire Safety technology:

Data centers house high-density equipment, making fire risks a major concern. Electrical faults or obsolete installations account for over 25% of building fires in Europe, causing €25 billion in damages annually.

To enhance safety and reliability, Nexans provides a Fire Safety range compliant with the most demanding international safety regulations. Nexans’ Low Fire-Hazard cables incorporate technologies to minimize fire spread and the release of corrosive smoke, whereas our Fire-Resistant cables are designed to maintain circuit integrity, ensuring the critical safety systems remain operational under extreme temperatures. 

4. Superconducting cables:

With over 30 years of experience, Nexans’ superconducting solutions provide maximum transmission capacity and efficiency.

Compact yet powerful, these cables are ideal for urban data centers facing space constraints and escalating power demands. They allow grid operators to transfer more power at medium voltage without the need for extensive infrastructure upgrades.

Nexans is at the forefront of these advancements. providing a full spectrum of cables – low, medium, and high voltage – designed to meet the diverse electrical demands of data centers.

A sustainable future, powered by innovation

Power cables are more than just wires.

The role they play in data centers extends far beyond functionality. They are pivotal to ensuring reliability, improving efficiency, and driving sustainability. As data centers evolve to meet the demands of our increasingly digital world, the innovations in cable technology remain a cornerstone of progress.

From fire-resistant designs to low-carbon materials, superconducting technologies, and smart monitoring systems, the innovations shaping cable infrastructure today are setting the stage for a resilient digital future.

At Nexans, we’re proud to empower data centers with cutting-edge solutions that not only meet today’s challenges but also prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities.

Together, we’re building a more connected, sustainable future – one cable at a time.

What do railroads, state-of-the-art medical devices, household appliances and power grids have in common? The workers who make them. It is thanks to their hard work and sharp skills that we have all this equipment and infrastructure, which have revolutionized our daily lives.

Workers have been a force in our modern societies since the Industrial Revolution. Most of the conversation has revolved around the struggles and hardships they faced in the past, but it is also important to shine a light on the vital role they have played in humankind’s progress and accomplishments.

Workers have changed throughout history. They have also had a hand in shaping history. Notably through the profound transformations in society and technology that they have navigated. So many of humankind’s amazing achievements in the past three centuries—from railroads to space travel to hydroelectric dams to sweeping sustainable electrification—have come about thanks to them. And that will be the case, even more so, tomorrow.

Changing trades

Let’s take a quick look back. The place of workers in our societies has undergone radical changes since the end of World War II, from quantitative as well as qualitative perspectives.

• Their numbers have dropped. In the United States, for instance, manual workers accounted for 25% of the total workforce in 1960 and about 8.5% in 2017, according to the country’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. That steep decline led some intellectuals and policymakers to contemplate the idea of an entirely deindustrialized, worker-less society. In his 1991 book The Work of Nations, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich argued that the U.S. was gravitating towards a “service economy” and would offshore the bulk of its industrial production. Now, however, it is clear why it makes sense to keep industry local and alive. The tide has turned towards reindustrialization and the vital role that workers play is back in the limelight.
• The tasks they do have changed too. Their jobs are increasingly technical and complex. Workers who specialize in a single repetitive task are on their way out and workers who have honed multiple skills through advanced training and years on the job are on the rise.

Safety, meanwhile, has risen up the agenda. The days when occupational accidents were quietly dismissed as inevitable are over: worker health and well-being matter more than ever and manufacturers are now aiming for zero accidents.

Worker safety is an absolute priority at Nexans, where workers account for 65% of the workforce.
The safety “dojos” we have set up at Nexans plants are one example. We borrowed the term from the martial arts world and use it to describe facilities we have set up within factories to provide theoretical and practical training on safety rules. They heighten our own employees’ and our external service providers’ awareness of best practices, notably including our Safety Golden Rules. They address different topics and organize a variety of activities each month to nurture a genuine safety culture among all our workers. One of these dojos in China, for instance, holds tournaments to test workers’ knowledge of the rules and best practices the fun way. Another, in Qatar, has miniatures to illustrate the 15 Golden Rules. The dojo at Cobrecon, in Peru—which opened on the plant’s first Safety Day—divided workers into two groups and asked each one to give the other a full presentation on the Rules. And there are many more examples: our dojos are constantly coming up with clever new ways to enable their teams to stay safe.

The figures reflecting this momentum are striking: in 2023, about 16.2 million people worked in the renewable energy sector worldwide according to the Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2024 published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Labour Organization (ILO). Many of those jobs involve technical and maintenance roles, and manual workers are filling most of them. A 2022 McKinsey study found that the industry will need an additional 1.1 million or so workers to build new solar and wind farms, then 1.7 million more to maintain them.
The high-voltage grids carrying electricity over long distances already span over 10 million km around the world, and are expanding fast to meet growing demand linked to the energy transition. Workers, in other words, will play an increasingly vital role building and servicing these infrastructure assets.

As demand for clean energy continues to soar, the role that workers play in quality and innovation is becoming more essential than ever. Their craft is becoming increasingly technical across the board, but this is especially so in the electrical sector in general and cable production in particular. They transform raw copper, aluminum and rubber into ever more efficient cables packed with cutting-edge technology. It’s true that research centers play a big role in developing new technologies, but workers have experience in the field and are often the first to suggest practical ways of improving production processes. This teamwork combining theory and practice is vital to keep the electrical industry at the leading edge of innovation and efficient. Cable workers master unique skills and appreciate a job well done, and that is fostering a culture of excellence and their pride in their profession.

While tasks are becoming increasingly complex, “there’s no school for making a cable” sums up Franck, lead operator at the Nexans plant in Jeumont, France, in one of the videos in the series on our industrial legacy. This singular expertise is passed on by the more experienced workers to the newcomers, and they are all enriching it all the time with fresh ideas. Teamwork among workers in a plant, therefore, is one of the keys to performance and quality. So it is all the more important for the teams to be united and committed to quality. Pride and striving for excellence foster a desire to share what we know.

Robotization and digitalization are now speeding up job transformation. Some tasks—often the most repetitive and strenuous ones—are disappearing and the people who did them are now supervising or servicing machines, or optimizing flows or operations, all of which involve more training and additional skills. At the Nexans plant in Autun, for examples the forklift drivers who in the past shuttled goods around the plant have retrained to supervise the machines in the MegaMag, a gigantic automated vertical storage facility that Arnaud, a supply chain technician at the plant proudly and admiringly describes as “sensational” in another video in the series on our industrial legacy. Equipping our plants with ever more advanced technology entails training workers to use these new tools, which in turn enables workers to widen their range of skills.