HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Prysmian Group announced that it has been selected to receive $4.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is part of the Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security (GOPHURRS) program, which aims to strengthen and modernize America’s aging power grid through the development of cost-effective, high-speed, and safe undergrounding technologies.
“Modernizing our nation’s power grid is essential to building a clean energy future that lowers energy costs for working Americans and strengthens our national security,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “With this announcement, DOE is supporting teams across the country as they develop innovative approaches to burying power infrastructure underground—increasing our resilience and bringing our aging grid into the 21st Century.”
“We know that by undergrounding our grid, we can create a more resilient and reliable U.S. power grid,” said Dr. Evelyn N. Wang, ARPA-E Director. “The technologies developed through ARPA-E’s GOPHURRS program aim to tackle this problem head-on by developing new technology solutions that allow for reducing costs, increasing speed, and improving the reliability and safety of undergrounding the grid.”
With the funding, Prysmian intends to develop a hands-free power cable splicing machine operating in underground vaults, with a goal to reduce the share of splicing-caused medium-voltage network failures from 60-80% to less than 5% and dramatically improve workforce safety by reducing the time the underground cable splicing crews spend in underground vaults. This machine is envisioned to splice cable automatically using advanced technologies, which help humans to operate the machine remotely from a safer environment. If successful, performing cable splicing using this machine will increase the reliability of the network and reduce energy losses due to splice failures.
Prysmian’s $4.5 million award is the largest allocation of GOPPHURS funding, demonstrating the immense value of the automated splicing machine development.
“Our ground-breaking splicing machine represents a major step ahead in the cable undergrounding process, reinforcing our unwavering commitment to grid hardening, modernization, safety and reliability,” said Andrea Pirondini, CEO of Prysmian Group North America. “In addressing the aging U.S. power grid, Prysmian is prepared to offer solutions that propel us into the 21st century and beyond.”
Prysmian’s development of the power cable splicing machine is being done in collaboration with Con Edison and Exelon, two of the largest investor-owned utilities in the U.S. developing grid modernization initiatives and deploying this technology.
“Prysmian remains steadfast in our commitment to investing in innovations that advance our industry. Equally, we value collaborative partnerships that contribute to building a resilient, sustainable grid ready to tackle tomorrow’s challenges,” said Srinivas Siripurapu, Ph.D., Chief Innovation Officer for Prysmian Group and Principal Investigator for the project. “We are proud to share this commitment with our customers, Con Edison and Exelon, as we continue to enhance our cable splicing machine as part of this ongoing development.”
“Safety is a top priority for Con Edison,” said Patrick McHugh, Senior Vice President of Electric Operations, Con Edison. “That’s why we are proud to partner with Prysmian, Exelon and the DOE to develop a tool that will improve worker safety, efficiency, accuracy and ultimately the reliability of the nation’s grid.”
“Exelon is committed to being a leader in the energy transformation, and this means nurturing a culture of continuous innovation,” said Sunny Elebua, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Exelon. “Our collaboration with Prysmian, Con Edison, and the DOE embodies this commitment, as we co-develop a transformative tool designed to enhance worker safety and grid reliability. This innovative project aligns with our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and efficient energy future for all.”
Innovations of this nature also reinforce Prysmian’s commitment to sustainability and improve its Scope 4, avoided carbon, emissions beyond our value chain. For additional information about Prysmian, please visit na.prysmiangroup.com.
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