ELMED

On 20 January 2025, an Initial Net Gain Strategy report for the ELMED Tunisia–Italy electrical interconnection was prepared for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, outlining biodiversity net gain objectives and design considerations for the HVDC submarine cable and associated telecommunications cable between Cap Bon and Sicily.

On 19 August 2024, a Critical Habitat: Impacts and Mitigation report for the ELMED Tunisia–Italy electrical interconnection was issued, detailing the submarine cable alignment between Marinella (Sicily) and Kélibia (Tunisia), describing planned installation methods and associated electrodes, and setting out measures to manage biodiversity and habitat impacts along the marine corridor.

In July 2024, the Tunisian government authorised the electricity interconnection between Tunisia and Italy for the ELMED project, marking the completion of the national authorisation process on the Tunisian side that had been initiated in August 2022.

ELMED has been classified in Tunisia as a project of public interest and authorised by a governmental decree, providing high-level approval for the interconnector on the Tunisian side.

According to a June 2024 European Investment Bank (EIB) press release on Team Europe support for the ELMED project, in December 2023 the EBRD, EIB and KfW signed loan agreements worth €125 million to finance the ELMED underwater cable, complementing an earlier World Bank loan and a substantial EU CEF grant. These loan signings completed the main financing package for ELMED and effectively mark financial close, which had originally been targeted for 2022.

In December 2023, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German Development Bank (KfW) signed loan agreements totalling €125 million, led by the EIB, to finance essential ELMED infrastructure including the underwater HVDC cable and related project ecosystem elements.

By December 2023, NASH Maritime had completed and delivered a Navigation Risk Assessment for the ELMED submarine cable to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The study analysed existing vessel traffic, navigation patterns and collision risks along the planned route between Partanna in Sicily and Mlaabi in Tunisia, and recommended risk controls to support safe cable-laying operations.

On 7 August 2023, the CEF grant agreement for the ELMED interconnector was signed by CINEA together with Terna and STEG, formally implementing the previously approved €307.6 million EU contribution.

On 21 June 2023, the World Bank Group Board of Directors approved $268.4 million in financing for the ELMED Tunisia–Italy interconnector to fund the main converter station and associated substations in Tunisia and to support implementation of the project.

In Q2 2023, a project proposal to support the renewable energy part of the ELMED Electricity Interconnection in Tunisia was approved by the Neighbourhood Investment Platform (NIP) Board under the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, indicating formal approval of EU-backed capital support for this project component.

In December 2022, the European Union approved a €307.6 million Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant for the ELMED electricity interconnection between Italy and Tunisia, providing major non‑repayable EU co‑financing for the project.

In Tunisia, the authorisation process for the ELMED interconnector with the national Energy Ministry began on 22 August 2022, following STEG’s completion of stakeholder consultations.

On 29 April 2022, Terna submitted the results of the Sicilian public consultation together with the documents required for authorisation of the ELMED interconnector to the Italian Ministry for the Ecological Transition, initiating the national authorisation procedure on the Italian side.

An intergovernmental agreement between the Italian Ministry for Economic Development and the Tunisian Ministry for Industry to support Terna and STEG in developing the ELMED interconnection entered into force on 25 January 2022, following ratification by Tunisia in January 2020 and by Italy in December 2021.

ELMED’s PCI status was reconfirmed when the project was included on the European Commission’s fifth list of Projects of Common Interest in November 2021, maintaining its priority status on the EU’s north–south electricity interconnection corridor.

The public consultation phase in Sicily for the ELMED interconnector was completed in July 2021, concluding Terna’s meetings with local residents and councils and resulting in a positive outcome with no objections from local communities.

In July 2021, RINA, in joint venture with Tunisian firm Comete Engineering, secured the contract for the marine feasibility study for the ELMED Italy–Tunisia interconnection, covering technical investigations to support the submarine cable route and installation planning.

The submarine survey campaign for the ELMED interconnector commenced in April 2021, initiating marine feasibility and route investigation works for the HVDC cable between Italy and Tunisia.

In 2020, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA) adopted a resolution recognising that part of the investment costs of the Italy–Tunisia ELMED interconnection would be recovered through the Italian electricity transmission tariff, establishing a regulated revenue framework for the project on the Italian side.

Public consultation and information activities for the ELMED interconnector in Sicily began in September 2020, with Terna meeting residents of the municipalities of Campobello di Mazara, Castelvetrano and Partanna to present the project and gather feedback as part of the authorisation process.

STEG and Terna, with World Bank support, issued Terms of Reference in April 2018 for preparation of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the ELMED interconnector, defining the scope of terrestrial and marine survey feasibility studies, network and market studies, and environmental and social assessments needed to evaluate the project’s feasibility between Tunisia and Italy.

In 2017 the ELMED Italy–Tunisia interconnector was recognised by the European Commission as a key cross-border infrastructure project and designated as a Project of Common Interest (PCI), reflecting its strategic importance for integrating the EU and North African power systems.

In 2016 the ELMED interconnector was incorporated into Terna’s National Electricity Transmission Grid Development Plan and included in ENTSO‑E’s Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP), formally recognising it as part of the planned European transmission network expansion.

In 2009 the Italian TSO Terna and the Tunisian state utility STEG established ELMED Études S.à r.l. as a jointly owned special purpose company to develop the Italy-Tunisia submarine power interconnection. Per the World Bank's 2018 Project Appraisal Document for the ELMED programme (PAD2551), ELMED Études was incorporated as a joint venture between Terna and STEG, and during the same period the two utilities signed the first Memorandum of Understanding for the project. The JV was created to lead feasibility studies, engineering, environmental and permitting work for the 500 kV / 600 MW HVDC submarine cable connecting Partanna in Sicily with Mlaabi on Tunisia's Cap Bon peninsula. This corporate structure remained the anchor vehicle through early-stage development and evolved as the project progressed through TYNDP and PCI listings, EU/World Bank/EIB/EBRD financing, and the December 2023 effective financial close. Restored after the first-pass audit review (2026-04-10) incorrectly deleted the undated original event; the year precision reflects the PAD source which places formation in 2009 without a specific month.

In June 2007 the Governments of Italy and Tunisia signed a joint declaration entrusting Terna and STEG with developing the ELMED interconnection project and connecting the electrical networks of the two countries, providing high-level governmental endorsement for the scheme.