GE Vernova invests in HVDC manufacturing expansion
On 24th September 2024, GE Vernova announced a significant investment in the development of their HVDC manufacturing facilities in Stafford, UK.
Due to high growth in GE Vernova’s HVDC orders, in particular for their VSC HVDC systems, the company will expand two key manufacturing areas:
HVDC & FACTS converter valve manufacturing facilities:
With converter valves being thecore technology of all HVDC converters, GE Vernova will double its existing valve manufacturing capacity by adding a new assembly line at their Redhill site in Stafford.
HVDC converter transformer manufacturing facilities:
GE Vernova’s power transformer factory in Stafford will receive major upgrades to increase its capability,ready to produce the new generation of transformers for their offshore +/- 525kV bi-pole projects
GE Vernova has been producing HVDC converter valves in Stafford for over 60 years, laying claim to some of the world’s earliest HVDC projects. Additionally, their power transformer factory in Stafford has produced HVDC converter transformers for decades, producing some of the largest power transformers in GE’s history.
However, recent rapid growth on the order books has necessitated this expansion of GE’s facilities. As Figure 1 shows, in 2023 GE Vernova signed contracts to deliver 10 GW of new VSC HVDC transmission projects,an unprecedented jump from previous years.
The jump is attributable to GE Vernova’s success in Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) as well as framework agreements with the German-Dutch TSO TenneT to deliver five of their pioneering 2 GW offshore systems(pictured).
"Helping our customers deliver sustainable, affordable,and reliable energy to people worldwide is central to GE Vernova’smission," said Philippe Piron, CEO of GE Vernova’s Electrification Systems business. "By expanding our Stafford operations, we are strengthening our ability to support the energy transition in the UK and the rest of the world and creating new jobs as a result.”
GE Vernova says this expansion will create 600 new UK jobs,including hundreds of engineers and skilled craftsmen to support the assembly and testing of the valves.
