Offshore energy services contractor Next Geosolutions (NextGeo) has been awarded a contract for preliminary marine survey and environmental characterisation services for the new HVDC Milan–Montalto connection. NextGeo won the tender from Terna as the lead of a temporary consortium that also includes the National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Poliservizi, and the Inter-University Centre of Livorno for Marine Biology and Applied Ecology. The consortium secured the maximum contract value, exceeding €28m ($33m). The project, which will connect Lazio and Lombardy through a marine route of approximately 280 km, is part of Terna’s Hypergrid initiative, aimed at increasing energy flows between Central-Southern Italy and Northern regions. The project activities will include preliminary marine surveys and environmental characterisation along the route of the new high-voltage direct current electrical link connecting southern Milan to Montalto di Castro. The objective is to perform high-precision surveys of cable corridors to gather detailed information on seabed morphology, shallow stratigraphy, sediment characteristics, as well as the distribution and status of phyto-zoobenthic communities in both nearshore and offshore areas. The submarine cable section will run from Montalto di Castro to the area near Avenza. The operational phase is expected to commence in the second half of 2026 and will involve multiple survey vessels. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsItaly