The world’s largest multi-use electricity power line is planned for construction under the North Sea by National Grid of the U.K. and European grid operator TenneT. The new LionLink will connect the U.K. and the Netherlands with offshore wind farms and transmit 1.8 GW of electricity, far surpassing the 0.4 GW capacity of the first cross-border transmission line built by Germany and Denmark.

Completion of the multi-purpose interconnector, scheduled for the early 2030s, will mark the first of its kind for the U.K. and the Netherlands and progress toward an integrated electricity grid in the North Sea. These interconnectors will help to accelerate the delivery of offshore wind while mitigating the impact on coastal communities with fewer individual connections and reduced infrastructure.

Project partners will explore the potential of LionLink to eventually connect up to 2 GW of offshore wind between the U.K. and Dutch electricity systems, enough to power 2 million households.

TenneT also recently unveiled Target Grid, a 2045 grid vision and energy system design from a northwest European perspective, mapping power superhighways and energy hubs and placing the North Sea as the main energy source for neighboring countries. With Target Grid, the operator proposes a network of DC superhighways and energy hubs, a DC grid of electricity superhighways and a significantly improved existing AC grid.