Eiffage, through Smulders (Belgian subsidiary of Eiffage Metal), won in a consortium with HSM Offshore Energy and Iv-Offshore & Energy the EPCIC contract [1] awarded by Elia Transmission Belgium, the Belgian electricity transmission system operator, for the construction of 4 alternating current electrical substations on Princess Elisabeth Island, a future artificial energy island off the coast of Belgium.

The consortium will be responsible for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of the island's high-voltage infrastructure, including four alternating current substations that will be installed directly on the island's structure. Two of the substations will have a capacity of 1,050 megawatts and the other two will have a capacity of 700 megawatts. A service module and a garage are also planned in the contract.

Construction of the substations will start in May 2025 and is expected to last until the first quarter of 2029. Smulders will be responsible for part of the manufacturing of the infrastructure in its Belgian factories and for the final assembly at its new site in Vlissingen in the Netherlands. Installation on the island will take place from 2027 with a view to commissioning from 2030.

Princess Elisabeth Island will be the world's first energy island to combine direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC). Located approximately 45 kilometers from the coast, it meets the ambition of establishing an offshore mesh network that will collect the electricity produced by the wind farms in the area and transport it to the coast. A true centralized energy hub, it also aims to create interconnections to exchange electricity with connected countries when their farms are not producing at their full potential.

This new contract reinforces the Group's ability to produce exceptional works for offshore wind power, with more than 30 electrical substations built for the European market. Significant contracts won include the substation for the wind farm off the Bay of Saint-Brieuc in France, and, off the coast of Scotland, two electrical substations for the Moray West wind farm and the Inch Cape wind farm.

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