South Koreans to set up specialized test facility for HVDC cables

South Korean Taihan Cable & Solution is planning to set up a specialized test facility for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables as a response to the growing global demand.

The dedicated test facility will be built on approximately 7,000 square meters of unused land at the Dangjin plant, which is one of Taihan’s main production sites.

Taihan plans to equip the facility to simultaneously test two lines of HVDC cables, including both land and submarine cables.

The facility will also be capable of conducting long-term reliability tests (PQ Test), which can take more than a year, and Temporary Over Voltage (TOV) tests, recently adopted as a mandatory test item for international HVDC cables. According to the company, this will complete the infrastructure needed to perform internationally recognized certifications.

The construction is expected to be completed within the first quarter of next year.

The news comes after Taihan announced in December 2023 that it had acquired what is said to be Korea’s only cable-laying vessel (CLV) for the offshore wind market.

The CLV, bought for approximately $38.4 million, is equipped with self-propulsion and a DP2 system and can load up to 4,400 tons of underwater cables at once.

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