High-voltage cables move north
Birsterminal AG is currently handling a major project on behalf of Swiss high-voltage cable manufacturer Brugg Kabel AG, involving a total of 37 cable reels in four partial shipments from the Rhine port of Birsfelden to a German seaport in Lower Saxony. The high-voltage cables are intended for the expansion of the local grid in order to increase supply security and expand capacity for the establishment of additional energy producers, such as electrolysis plants for the production of green hydrogen.
The region of Lower Saxony is therefore a particularly important hub for wind energy – both onshore and offshore. Numerous renewable energy plants are already in operation there today. Further expansion is expected in the coming years. In addition, north-western Lower Saxony is to be developed into a showcase region for climate-friendly industrial development.
The cable reels, which have a diameter of 440 cm, a width of 361 cm and a gross weight of 25-30 tonnes, are delivered by lorry from the factory in Brugg/AG to Birsfelden, where they are mounted on specially designed wooden bases and temporarily stored for consolidation. The shipment of 9 or 10 cable reels at a time is then forwarded by inland waterway vessel, the most environmentally sustainable mode of transport. Once they arrive in Lower Saxony, the cable reels are again taken to temporary storage and from there sequentially picked up by lorry for the ‘last mile’ and the cable is laid in the ground at the construction site. The empty steel reels are then returned to the port, where they begin their return journey by inland waterway via Birsfelden to Brugg/AG, where the steel reels are reused, thus enabling the manufacturer to contribute to sustainability.
(Publirteportage Birsterminal AG)