NordBalt
Cross BorderOperational
SELT
700 MW300 kV453 km2016Also known as:SwedLit, NordBalt HVDC Light connection, NordBalt HVDC Light, Project 124 (P0124), PCI label 4.4.2
Status:Operational
Capacity:700 MW
Type:cross border
Expected Life:30 years
Website:www.litgrid.eu
NordBalt is a purpose-built HVDC subsea interconnector linking Lithuania and Sweden to integrate Baltic and Nordic electricity markets and to improve regional security of supply. Promoted and operated jointly by the Lithuanian and Swedish transmission system operators (Litgrid and Svenska kraftnät), the project was implemented to enable cross‑border trading, increase...
Supply Chain (4)
Project Timeline (26)
30 Oct 2025Grid Constraint EventStale
Due to reconstruction works at the Kruonis 330 kV transformer substation and reduced balancing capacity, NordBalt’s transmission capability is planned to be constrained between 20 and 30 October 2025, with its import capacity limited to 438 MW and export capacity to 356 MW over that period.
10 Oct 2025Major Maintenance
By 10 October 2025, Litgrid had completed annual planned maintenance on the NordBalt converter station in Klaipėda, carrying out preventive maintenance and fault repairs on the converter, control system, cooling system and outdoor switchyard during a scheduled outage in line with manufacturer instructions and transmission network regulations.
10 Oct 2025System Restoration
Following completion of scheduled maintenance in Lithuania, the NordBalt electricity interconnection was re‑energised and made available for day‑ahead trading on Friday 10 October 2025 at 14:27, restoring normal operation two days earlier than initially planned.
11 Dec 2020Operations Other
On 11 December 2020, cable manufacturer NKT and Lithuanian TSO Litgrid entered into a three‑year service agreement covering part of the NordBalt interconnector, ensuring fast vessel mobilization, skilled jointer support and a tailored preparedness plan to quickly restore the Sweden–Lithuania HVDC link in case of cable damage, thereby strengthening security of supply for Lithuania and complementing an existing service agreement with Swedish TSO Svenska kraftnät for the onshore Swedish section.
2 Dec 2020Major Outage
In the early hours of Wednesday 2 December 2020, the NordBalt power interconnection between Lithuania and Sweden went offline due to a failure at the Nybro converter station in Sweden, with teams from Svenska Kraftnät and Hitachi ABB Power Grids mobilised to identify and rectify the fault.
25 Aug 2020Inspection Survey
By August 2020, AP Sensing’s distributed temperature sensing (DTS) fiber‑optic monitoring system had been selected and installed to monitor parts of the 450 km, 700 MW NordBalt subsea power link between Sweden and Lithuania, with three DTS units deployed at Klaipeda and Nybro converter stations and at Arby in Sweden to provide continuous condition monitoring of the subsea and onshore cables.
Jun 2020Major Outage
In June 2020, the NordBalt high‑voltage direct current interconnection experienced a malfunction for the first time since 2018, when a failure occurred in an underground cable joint approximately 30 km from the Nybro substation on the Swedish side, temporarily disrupting the link.
11 May 2017Major Outage
On the evening of Thursday 11 May 2017, the Lithuania–Sweden NordBalt interconnection went offline for about 15 hours due to a logical error in the IT-based control system at the Nybro station in Sweden, temporarily interrupting power flows and requiring activation of Lithuania’s Kruonis pumped storage plant as emergency reserve.
Jun 2016Construction Other
The NordBalt HVDC Light subsea interconnection was handed over by Hitachi Energy to the transmission system operators Svenska kraftnät (Sweden) and Litgrid (Lithuania) in June 2016, marking contractual completion of the turnkey project including the converter stations and submarine and land cable system.
2 Feb 2016First Power
On 2 February 2016, the NordBalt HVDC interconnection between Sweden and Lithuania began trial operations, initiating power transmission at around 30 MW with a plan to ramp up over two weeks, after tests originally scheduled for December had been postponed due to a fire near the Swedish substation.