NextGeo Begins Marine Surveys for Milan–Montalto HVDC Link

Next Geosolutions (NextGeo) has started marine survey operations along the seabed route for the new Milan–Montalto HVDC connection in Italy, moving the project into its field-work phase following the company's contract award earlier this year.

The work is being carried out under a contract from Italian transmission system operator Terna, valued at more than €28 million ($32.7 million). NextGeo is leading the project as lead partner of a temporary consortium holding an approximately 84% stake, alongside CONISMA (the National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences), Poliservizi, and CIBM (the Inter-University Center for Marine Biology and Applied Ecology "G. Bacci" of Livorno).

The contract covers preliminary marine surveys and environmental characterisation for the new high-voltage direct current electrical link connecting southern Milan to Montalto di Castro. The submarine cable section will run for approximately 280 km, from Montalto di Castro in Viterbo province to an area near Avenza in Massa-Carrara. The project forms part of Terna's Hypergrid initiative, which aims to increase energy flows between Central-Southern Italy and the North, connecting the Lazio and Lombardy regions.

Survey activities include high-precision mapping of the cable corridor to gather data on seabed morphology, shallow stratigraphy and sediment characteristics, as well as assessments of the distribution and status of phyto-zoobenthic communities in both nearshore and offshore areas.

The contract followed a tender process published in the EU Official Journal and launched in May 2025. The NextGeo-led consortium secured the maximum available contract value after achieving the highest overall score in a combined technical and economic evaluation. The operational phase is expected to run through the second half of 2026, using multiple survey vessels.