Hitachi Energy Wins €770M Contract to Build Converter Stations for Tunisia–Italy Power Link
Hitachi Energy has been awarded an approximately €770-million contract to design and build the converter stations for the ELMED submarine electricity interconnection between Tunisia and Italy, marking the first direct high-voltage power link between Europe and North Africa.
The Swiss-Japanese group Hitachi Energy has joined the ELMED project, a 600-megawatt submarine high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link that will run roughly 220 kilometres across the Strait of Sicily. The contract — the project’s largest single technology package — was awarded jointly by Terna, Italy’s transmission system operator, and the Société Tunisienne de l’Électricité et du Gaz (STEG).
Hitachi Energy will build two converter stations: one in Partanna, Sicily, and the other in Mlaabi on Tunisia’s Cap Bon peninsula. The stations convert alternating current to direct current for transmission and back again at the receiving end — the core technology that makes long-distance submarine power links viable.
A Decade in the Making
The ELMED project has been in development since the mid-2010s. It was added to the European Union’s list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) in 2017, reflecting its strategic value for continental energy security. In 2023, it became one of the first Projects of Mutual Interest (PMI) — a new classification that formally associates non-EU countries with the bloc’s priority energy infrastructure. Administrative approvals in both Italy and Tunisia were secured in 2024.
The converter station contract awarded to Hitachi Energy in June 2026 moves the project into its operational phase, with commissioning targeted for 2028.
Project Financing
The total investment in the interconnection stands at approximately €1.42 billion.
The European Commission is contributing more than €307 million through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) — the first time the mechanism has financed an infrastructure link between an EU member state and a non-EU country.
The World Bank has separately approved a $268.4-million loan for Tunisia to finance the local converter station and the grid reinforcement works needed to integrate the link.
A related contract worth approximately €460 million was previously awarded to Italian cable manufacturer Prysmian for the submarine and land cable system.