Following the granting of planning approval for the German land and territorial sea sections of Hansa PowerBridge, 50Hertz indicated that, once the remaining permit for the German Exclusive Economic Zone is obtained from BSH and tenders for cables, converters and associated works are finalised, construction work on the interconnector would be able to begin in 2024. This planned start of implementation covers production and installation of the HVDC cables and construction of converter-related infrastructure between the Güstrow area and the Baltic Sea landfall at Dierhagen Ost.
The Swedish Government decided to reject and halt the planned Hansa PowerBridge power line between Sweden and Germany, effectively terminating the decade-long development of the cross-border interconnector in order to limit potential electricity price impacts on Swedish consumers.
The Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania granted planning approval permits for the German land and territorial sea sections of Hansa PowerBridge and formally handed them over to project representatives from 50Hertz.
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Hansa PowerBridge was a planned bilateral HVDC interconnector between Sweden and Germany intended to increase cross‑border electricity trade, support integration of renewables and provide system balancing and security of supply by linking Scandinavian hydropower flexibility with German wind gener...
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On 2 October 2023, Svenska kraftnät issued a new Request for Information (RFI) for Hansa PowerBridge converter systems, outlining the overall project and procurement approach for converter stations and associated works as part of renewed market engagement for the interconnector.
On 28 October 2022, transmission system operators Svenska Kraftnät and 50Hertz decided to cancel the ongoing procurement process for the Hansa PowerBridge project due to changed technical requirements and challenges in the existing electricity network, announcing that procurement was likely to restart in the first quarter of 2024 and that the planned cable commissioning would be delayed from 2026 to 2028/29.
The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) opened a participatory procedure for the Hansa PowerBridge submarine cable section in Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone, inviting applications and written input from public bodies, environmental organisations and other interested parties as part of the approval process for constructing and operating the 300 kV HVDC link.
On 18 February 2022, Svenska kraftnät, together with 50Hertz Transmission, issued a prequalification procurement notice for a turnkey contract covering the Hansa PowerBridge HVDC converter stations in Germany and Sweden and the cable section station in Germany, inviting applicants to submit requests to participate by the same date.
On 7 July 2021, Svenska kraftnät and 50Hertz launched a Request for Information (RFI) for the Hansa PowerBridge interconnector, presenting the project and initiating the procurement process for key packages such as cables and converter stations.
In May 2021, 50Hertz submitted a planning approval application for the German land and territorial sea sections of the Hansa PowerBridge route to the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Transmission system operator 50Hertz submitted the first two permit applications for the Hansa PowerBridge section in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), marking the start of the project’s formal approval phase on the German offshore side.
On 20 May 2020, survey contractor Next Geosolutions announced it had secured a contract from Svenska kraftnät to perform a complementary marine survey for the Hansa PowerBridge interconnector. Under the contract, Next Geosolutions is to carry out marine geophysical and geotechnical surveys offshore Sweden along the planned 300 km HVDC route between Güstrow in Germany and Sweden, supporting detailed development of the project.
On 25 January 2017, German TSO 50Hertz and Swedish TSO Svenska kraftnät signed a new cooperation agreement for the Hansa PowerBridge project, formally setting up a shared development framework for the 700 MW HVDC subsea interconnector between Güstrow in Germany and Hurva in southern Sweden. The agreement defines the time schedule, technical design, project organisation, ownership structures, cost allocation, tendering, construction and commissioning arrangements for the cross-border link, underpinned by an estimated total investment of more than €600 million.
In January 2017, 50Hertz and Svenska kraftnät signed a new cooperation agreement for the development of the 700 MW Hansa PowerBridge HVDC submarine cable between Sweden and Germany. The agreement, signed in Berlin, defined the time schedule, technical design, project organisation, ownership structures, cost allocation, tendering, construction and commissioning, with permitting to be completed by end‑2021, tenders issued in 2022 and commissioning then targeted for 2025–2026.
ENTSO‑E’s Regional Group Baltic Sea re‑confirmed Hansa PowerBridge in TYNDP 2016 as project 176 "Hansa PowerBridge 1", defining it as a 700 MW HVDC cable interconnector between Sweden (SE4) and Germany (50Hertz), promoted by 50Hertz and Svenska kraftnät and classified as a long‑term project with expected commissioning in 2025.
In 2015, transmission system operators Svenska kraftnät and 50Hertz signed a cooperation agreement setting out the key technical and organisational details of the Hansa PowerBridge HVDC interconnector between Sweden and Germany. This agreement, concluded after feasibility studies had demonstrated concrete benefits for both network areas and Europe, defined the project framework on which subsequent permitting and development steps were based.
A Hansa PowerBridge Feasibility Study completed in 2014 assessed market impacts and indicated that, despite low average annual price differences, volatility in hourly price spreads would make the Sweden–Germany interconnector a profitable project with an almost even trade balance between the two markets. The study’s findings supported further development of the 700 MW HVDC link.
Hansa PowerBridge was included as project 176 in ENTSO‑E’s TYNDP 2014, analysed as a 600 MW HVDC interconnection between Sweden and Germany with indicative costs estimated in the range of €200–400 million.
On 28 March 2014, Svenska kraftnät and German TSO 50Hertz signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Hansa PowerBridge at the German Embassy in Stockholm, following presentation of the plans at Svenska kraftnät’s Annual Stakeholder Meeting. The MoU’s main objective was to examine the feasibility of a new high‑voltage interconnector between Sweden and Germany to increase cross‑border electricity trade and improve security of supply.
In Svenska kraftnät and 50Hertz’s July 7, 2021 RFI presentation for Hansa PowerBridge, the developers include a "Final site tests" phase in the high‑level preliminary project time schedule for the cable system, indicating that a dedicated system testing stage is planned following cable construction, although no specific dates are assigned.
The July 7, 2021 RFI presentation for Hansa PowerBridge shows a high‑level preliminary time schedule for the converter package that includes a final "Commissioning" phase after design, delivery/mobilisation, and assembly/installation of the converter stations and cable section station, signalling that commissioning of these onshore facilities is planned but without specified timing.
Svenska kraftnät prepared an Environmental Impact Assessment (miljökonsekvensbeskrivning, MKB) for the Hansa PowerBridge interconnector, and this EIA document forms part of the formal applications submitted to both the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate (Energimarknadsinspektionen) and the Land and Environment Court at Växjö District Court for the project’s onshore and territorial-sea sections in Sweden.
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