The high-voltage submarine cable market is, by all definitions, a niche market with few purchasers and even fewer manufacturers and installers.
The demand for these products is rapidly moving beyond the traditional role slotted for high-voltage submarine cables, connecting islands to nearby national grids. The usage of high-voltage submarine cables for grid interconnections and connecting offshore wind farms to nearby landmasses is on the rise and, according to a new report from Pike Research, submarine transmission cable projects will increase from just over 60 worldwide in 2011 to more than 350 cables by 2020, placing significant pressure on the existing industry supply chain.