- The company won a EUR 15 million project to run for more than 10 years
- Comprehensive renewal adapts the system for the challenges of the energy transformation
- EQOS Energie convinces the customer with expertise and trusting customer relationship
A project volume of around EUR 15 million and an execution period from March 2025 to September 2036 – these are the impressive key figures of a new project in the Energy Technology business unit of EQOS Energie. On behalf of transmission network operator Amprion, a five-person team from EQOS Energie in Uchtelfangen will upgrade one of the most important substations in the Saarland region and therefore an important node in the European grid.
Precisely specified work programme during ongoing operations
The contract includes the electrical installation work, the earthing system, laying cables including connections, steel and device installations as well as the production of the high-voltage pipe connections. “Upon completion of the work, the system will be adapted to the new requirements and its overall performance will be significantly increased,” said Uwe Brand, Head of the Substations/HV Germany West profit center at EQOS Energie. “The short-circuit power will increase from 60 to 80 kA, the busbars will be increased from 6,000 to 8,000 A, and each bay will be upgraded from 3,000 to 4,000 A. As a result, the foundations of the substation and the steel structures underneath the devices must be reinforced to be able to manage the expected greater short-circuit forces. A total of 4,500 tonnes of steel will be moved,” Brand explained. The fact that the conversion work will be performed during continued operations is particularly challenging: The EQOS Energie employees must gradually advance through the unlocked work areas in many precisely timed stages.
Impressive development at the Oberhausen location
“The fact that our colleagues in Oberhausen were awarded the contract for this exceptionally large project is a tremendous vote of confidence regarding the performance of our Energy Technology business unit and underscores the position of our company as a leader in quality. There is no doubt that it was helpful that Amprion knows us well from several other projects and that we have a very good collaboration at all levels,” said Uwe Trampnau, Managing Director of the Energy Technology business unit at EQOS Energie. The Oberhausen site was created only four years ago and has become an established name in switchgear construction in western Germany. This is also reflected by the number of employees, which has grown considerably from 19 colleagues in 2021 to 60 today.
Security of supply for all of Germany
The need to increase the performance of the Uchtelfangen substation is due to the transition to a sustainable energy supply. One major challenge in that regard is that the availability of renewable energies is often subject to strong fluctuations over the course of a day and a year, while the development of storage technologies is still in its infancy. As hubs in the European power grid, substations ensure that electricity is distributed evenly across the board.
Photo: Adobe/Jose Luis Stephens