The topping-out ceremony in October 2017 for the “NordLink” converter buildings at the construction site in Wilster (Schleswig-Holstein) heralded another important milestone on the German side for the joint German-Norwegian project.

The interconnector will be used to exchange Norwegian hydropower and German wind power and will directly connect the electricity markets in German and Norway together for the first time. NordLink is set to be one of the longest systems for high voltage direct current transmission in the world. The DC system will have a total length of 623 kilometres and be divided up into several sections. In the converter stations, the direct current that is transmitted will subsequently be converted into three-phase current and connected to the Norwegian and German high-voltage grid. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.