SuedLink: STRABAG AG awarded major contract for construction of power line section in Lower Saxony
18 July 2025
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- Order from grid operator TenneT includes 68-kilometer section between Scheeßel and Schwarmstedt
- Early construction work starts in September
New major contract for STRABAG for the construction of a section of the SuedLink direct current line: The transmission system operator TenneT TSO GmbH has commissioned STRABAG AG with the extensive civil engineering work for the 68-kilometer-long B1 route section north of Hanover. The section connects Scheeßel in the north and Schwarmstedt in the south and crosses the districts of Rothenburg and Heidekreis in Lower Saxony. Last year, STRABAG AG had already been awarded several major contracts for the construction of SuedLink or SuedOstLink sections. The two north-south connections are key projects for the expansion of the transmission grid as part of the energy transition: The new lines will be used to supply southern Germany with electricity from renewable energies in future.
Undercrossing of the Aller using HDD drilling
TenneT expects the planning approval decision for SuedLink section B1 in the fall and expects construction to start at the end of this year. The SuedLink project team from STRABAG will begin an early construction measure in September: The preparatory work for crossing under the Aller river with a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) will then begin near Walsrode.
The SuedLink direct current underground cable runs for around 700 kilometers across Germany between Brunsbüttel and Wilster in the north and Großgartach (Leingarten) near Heilbronn and Bergrheinfeld/West in the south. It will be implemented jointly by the grid operators TenneT (northern section) and TransnetBW (southern sections). With the award of the contract to STRABAG for the section in Lower Saxony, all contracts for a total of 15 SuedLink sections have now been awarded.
The power line is generally laid using the open trench method. This involves excavating the cable trench in several stages, laying the cables and then backfilling the trench. However, if obstacles such as roads or rivers need to be overcome along the route, closed methods are used; these include horizontal drilling techniques such as HDD flush drilling, which makes it possible to lay pipes underground without digging.
