Rhenus Port Logistics with Storage for the SuedLink Power Line Project

As part of the “SuedLink” project, a 700-kilometer long high-voltage direct current transmission (HVDC) from the North Sea to southern Germany, Rhenus Port Logistics Rhein-Neckar is responsible for the logistics services of high-voltage cables. Until the final installation, these will be stored in eight Intermediate Storage Areas (ISA) along the cable corridor.

(Holzwickede/Heilbronn) Rhenus Port Logistics Rhein-Neckar manages the handling and interim storage of the nearly 100-ton heavy cable drums in the newly converted ISA Heilbronn. The 525-kilovolt underground cables (HVDC cables) are delivered to the ISA Heilbronn and come with special handling requirements. The cable drums weigh a maximum of 99.5 tons per drum and must be handled with a high degree of precision. Rhenus performs the final handling of the cable drums and their storage in the interim warehouse using a straddle carrier provided by the client, the leading cable manufacturer NKT. Rhenus offers extensive infrastructure to manage the high loads from the heavy material.

Contributing Expertise to the Energy Transition

“We are pleased to be part of the groundbreaking SuedLink project and to contribute our expertise to the energy transition in Germany through the operation of the interim warehouse in Heilbronn and the handling of the cable drums,” says Anna Most, Managing Director of Rhenus Port Logistics Rhein-Neckar. The delivery of the materials to the construction phases is planned from 2026 to 2027. Rhenus will handle and store a total of more than 100 cable drums and around 280 accessories during the project period from August 2024 to March 2027. For the project, 10,100 square meters of storage space have been renovated to support the heavy loads.

Sustainable Power Supply for Ten Million Households

The construction project “SuedLink” is one of three major underground cable projects that are intended to contribute to a sustainable energy supply in Germany in the long term. The two parallel direct current lines enable the supply of ten million households. The route connects the wind-rich north with the sun-rich south and allows the transmission of renewable energies over a distance of 700 kilometers. Should the generation of renewable energies ever be insufficient, the connection to the NordLink route ensures additional supply security. Thus, SuedLink can feed electricity from Norwegian hydropower, another renewable energy source, into the German power grid when needed and ensure a stable transmission capacity of up to four gigawatts.

Second Participation in an Infrastructure Project

For Rhenus, this is already the second participation in an infrastructure project of the German energy transition. Since 2021, the Rhenus Project Logistics unit has been involved in the construction of the HVDC route “SuedOstLink”, which runs through eastern Germany.

Photo: © Rhenus