News Summary
- £350 million factory opens at the Port of Nigg in the Highlands.
- Sumitomo expects the facility to create more than 200 skilled local jobs.
- The plant will make subsea cables for electricity transmission and offshore wind projects.
- The Scottish Government invested £24.5 million in construction.
Sumitomo Electric has opened its £350 million subsea cable factory at the Port of Nigg in the Highlands. The facility is the UK’s first factory for high-voltage direct current subsea cables and is expected to create more than 200 skilled local jobs.
The company held the opening ceremony on 19 October, following its announcement of the factory in April 2023 and a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2024. The plant sits within the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport boundary, with 58,000 square metres of floor space on a 15-hectare site.
It will manufacture 525kV high-voltage direct current transmission cables and subsea inter-array cables. High-voltage direct current subsea cables transmit electricity beneath the sea, connecting sources of renewable generation with areas of demand.
Sumitomo’s employment plans include operator training programmes in Japan and a “Train the Trainer” model. The company projects an impact of more than 400 jobs across the broader UK supply chain.
Osamu Inoue, president of Sumitomo Electric Industries, said: “I am delighted to celebrate the official opening of our new subsea cable factory in Scotland, following the announcement of its establishment in April 2023 and the groundbreaking ceremony held in May 2024. This factory will serve as a vital production base supporting the strengthening of the UK’s transmission infrastructure, the expansion of renewable energy deployment, and the delivery of a stable and reliable energy supply for generations to come.”
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The Scottish Government invested £24.5 million in the factory’s construction. First Minister John Swinney said: “This facility puts Scotland right at the heart of the energy transition and is a strong vote of confidence in our people, skills and engineering excellence. We invested £24.5 million in its construction to support hundreds of well-paid jobs in the Highlands and create lasting opportunities for future generations.”
SSEN Transmission managing director Rob McDonald said its proposed Shetland 2 subsea cable project had acted as an anchor for the investment. National Grid has also awarded Sumitomo Electric a contract to supply high-voltage direct current cable for its Sea Link project.
