Prysmian to Use Recycled Copper on EGL2 Cable

Prysmian Group announced on 2 July 2026 that Eastern Green Link 2 will become the first high-voltage direct current cable to use 100% recycled copper in its conductor, sourced from La Farga Yourcoppersolutions. The 505km, 2GW, ±525kV subsea and underground HVDC link connects Peterhead in Aberdeenshire to Drax in North Yorkshire and is being developed as a joint venture between SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission.

Prysmian will use approximately 10,000 tonnes of La Farga's Genius 100% recycled copper for the EGL2 cables. The company said this would deliver a 13% reduction in the overall carbon footprint of its scope of activities within the project and avoid nearly 56,675 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions compared to using conventional primary copper.

Certification and Traceability

The recycled copper is supported by an Environmental Product Declaration provided by La Farga, ensuring full traceability of the recycled material in the EGL2 cables. Prysmian said the EPD guarantees that the 10,000 tonnes of recycled copper are entirely contained within the rod supplied to the company for EGL2, unlike a mass balance approach where recycled content cannot be certified as fully contained in the specific product.

Prysmian said it is now the single biggest purchaser of copper in the world. The purchase of the recycled copper has been enabled by the Sustainability Innovation Fund awarded to the EGL2 project by Ofgem, the GB energy regulator.

Project Specifications and Configuration

The EGL2 link comprises 436km of subsea cable and 69km of underground cable, making it the longest HVDC link in the UK. The 2GW capacity is designed to transport low-carbon electricity from Scotland to England and vice versa, addressing transmission constraints and strengthening the UK grid. The project is described as the UK's biggest electricity transmission project in construction, with capacity to power two million homes.

Hitachi Energy is supplying two 525kV bipole HVDC Light voltage source converter stations at Peterhead and Drax. The link uses cross-linked polyethylene XLPE cables with VSC technology. EGL2 forms part of the Eastern Green Links programme, a series of submarine HVDC cables from the east coast of Scotland to northeast England intended to transmit power from Scottish renewable generation to demand centres in England. Five Eastern Green Links projects are being developed, with EGL1–4 each having 2GW capacity and ±525kV DC voltage.