Under €28M contract, NextGeo to survey cable route for new Italian interconnection

April 14, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Terna, Italy’s national grid operator, has awarded Next Geosolutions (NextGeo) with a contract valued at over €28 million for preliminary marine survey and environmental characterization services for a new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that will link Lazio and Lombardy.

NextGeo was awarded the contract as the lead partner of a temporary consortium (RTC), with an approximately 84% stake, which is composed of CONISMA (National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences), Poliservizi, and CIBM (Inter-University Center for Marine Biology and Applied Ecology “G. Bacci” of Livorno).

The project will connect Milan and Montalto through a marine route of approximately 280 kilometers. It is part of Terna’s Hypergrid initiative, aimed at increasing energy flows between Central-Southern Italy and Northern regions.

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The submarine cable section will run from Montalto di Castro, Viterbo, to the area near Avenza, Massa-Carrara.

NextGeo will perform high-precision surveys of cable corridors along the route of the electrical link connecting southern Milan to Montalto di Castro to gather data on seabed morphology, shallow stratigraphy, sediment characteristics, as well as the distribution and status of phyto-zoobenthic communities in nearshore and offshore areas.

The operational phase will begin in the second half of 2026 and will involve the use of multiple survey vessels.