NKT – NKT invests in medium-voltage power cable business to boost capacity for growing demand

EMR Analysis

More information on NKT: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Claes Westerlind (President and Chief Executive Officer, NKT): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Carlos Fernandez (Members of the Global Leadership Team, Executive Vice President, Head of Application, NKT): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on The European Union: https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en + The European Union’s institutional set-up is unique and its decision-making system is constantly evolving. The 7 European institutions, 7 EU bodies and over 30 decentralised agencies are spread across the EU. They work together to address the common interests of the EU and European people. 

In terms of administration, there are a further 20 EU agencies and organisations which carry out specific legal functions and 4 interinstitutional services which support the institutions.

All of these establishments have specific roles – from developing EU laws and policy-making to implementing policies and working on specialist areas, such as health, medicine, transport and the environment.

There are 4 main decision-making institutions which lead the EU’s administration. These institutions collectively provide the EU with policy direction and play different roles in the law-making process: 

• the European Parliament (Brussels/Strasbourg/Luxembourg)
• the European Council (Brussels)
• the Council of the European Union (Brussels/Luxembourg)
• the European Commission (Brussels/Luxembourg/Representations across the EU)

Their work is complemented by other institutions and bodies, which include:

• the Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg)
• the European Central Bank (Frankfurt)
• the European Court of Auditors (Luxembourg)

The EU institutions and bodies cooperate extensively with the network of EU agencies and organisations across the European Union. The primary function of these bodies and agencies is to translate policies into realities on the ground.

Around 60,000 EU civil servants and other staff serve the 450 million Europeans (and countless others around the world).

Currently, 27 countries are part of the EU: https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/country-profiles_en 

More information on The European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_en + The Commission helps to shape the EU’s overall strategy, proposes new EU laws and policies, monitors their implementation and manages the EU budget. It also plays a significant role in supporting international development and delivering aid.

The Commission is steered by a group of 27 Commissioners, known as ‘the college’. Together they take decisions on the Commission’s political and strategic direction.

A new college of Commissioners is appointed every 5 years.

The Commission is organised into policy departments, known as Directorates-General (DGs), which are responsible for different policy areas. DGs develop, implement and manage EU policy, law, and funding programmes. In addition, service departments deal with particular administrative issues. Executive agencies manage programmes set up by the Commission.

Principal roles in law: The Commission proposes and implements laws which are in keeping with the objectives of the EU treaties. It encourages input from business and citizens in the law-making process and ensures laws are correctly implemented, evaluated and updated when needed.

More information on Ursula von der Leyen (President, The European Commission): https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2019-2024/president_en + https://www.linkedin.com/in/ursula-von-der-leyen/ 

More information on RePower EU: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/repowereu-affordable-secure-and-sustainable-energy-europe_en + Affordable, secure and sustainable energy for Europe.

In response to the hardships and global energy market disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission is implementing its REPowerEU Plan.

Launched in May 2022, REPowerEU is helping the EU

• save energy
• produce clean energy
• diversify its energy supplies

Thanks to REPowerEU, we’ve safeguarded EU citizens and businesses from energy shortages, supported Ukraine by weakening Russia’s war chest, and accelerated the transition to clean energy. Our joint efforts continue and Europe is now better prepared and more united than ever.  

More information on IEA (International Energy Agency): https://www.iea.org + The IEA is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing authoritative analysis, data, policy recommendations, and real-world solutions to help countries provide secure and sustainable energy for all.

The IEA was created in 1974 to help co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in the supply of oil. While oil security this remains a key aspect of our work, the IEA has evolved and expanded significantly since its foundation.

Taking an all-fuels, all-technology approach, the IEA recommends policies that enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy. It examines the full spectrum issues including renewables, oil, gas and coal supply and demand, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, electricity systems and markets, access to energy, demand-side management, and much more.

Since 2015, the IEA has opened its doors to major emerging countries to expand its global impact, and deepen cooperation in energy security, data and statistics, energy policy analysis, energy efficiency, and the growing use of clean energy technologies. 

More information on Dr. Fatih Birol (Executive Director, International Energy Agency): https://www.iea.org/contributors/dr-fatih-birol

EMR Additional Notes:

• Extra Low-Voltage (ELV):
  • Voltage of 50V or less (AC RMS), or 120V or less (ripple-free DC).
• Low-Voltage (LV):
  • The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) defines supply system low voltage as voltage in the range 50–1000 V AC or 120–1500 V DC.
• Medium-Voltage (MV):
  • Medium-voltage circuit breakers rated between 1 and 35/72 kV.
• High-Voltage (HV):
  • The International Electrotechnical Commission define high voltage as above 1000 V for alternating current, and at least 1500 V for direct current.
• Super High-Voltage: 
  • Is >300kV.
• Ultra High-Voltage: 
  • Is >1.000kV.

• Grid, Microgrids and DERs:
  • The power grid is a network for delivering electricity to consumers. The power grid includes generator stations, transmission lines and towers, and individual consumer distribution lines.
  • The grid constantly balances the supply and demand for the energy that powers everything from industry to household appliances.
  • Electric grids perform three major functions: power generation, transmission, and distribution.
  • A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or collaboratively with other small power grids. The practice of using microgrids is known as distributed, dispersed, decentralized, district or embedded energy production.
  • Smart Grid is any electrical grid + IT at all levels . Micro Grid is a group of interconnected loads and DERs (Distributed energy resources) within a clearly defined electrical and geographical boundaries witch acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the main grid.
  • Distributed energy resources (DERs) are small-scale electricity supply (typically in the range of 3 kW to 50 MW) or demand resources that are interconnected to the electric grid. They are power generation resources and are usually located close to load centers, and can be used individually or in aggregate to provide value to the grid.
  • Common examples of DERs include rooftop solar PV units, natural gas turbines, microturbines, wind turbines, biomass generators, fuel cells, tri-generation units, battery storage, electric vehicles (EV) and EV chargers, and demand response applications.
  • Distributed energy resources management systems (DERMS) are platforms which helps mostly distribution system operators (DSO) manage their grids that are mainly based on distributed energy resources (DER).
  • DERMS are used by utilities and other energy companies to aggregate a large energy load for participation in the demand response market. DERMS can be defined in many ways, depending on the use case and underlying energy asset.

• Kilovolt-Amperes (kV):
  • Kilovolt or “kV” means a unit of potential difference equal to 1,000 volts. Kilovolt or “kV” means the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of one ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is one kilovolt-ampere. Kilovolt means one thousand volts (kV).
• Kilovolt (kVA):
  • kVA stands for Kilo-volt-amperes – a term used for the rating of an electrical circuit. kVA is the product of the circuits maximum current and voltage rating. It is also known as Apparent Power.
  • kW is the unit of real power and kVA is a unit of apparent power (or real power plus re-active power). The power factor, unless it is defined and known, is therefore an approximate value (typically 0.8), and the kVA value will always be higher than the value for kW.
  • A kVA is 1,000 volt-amps. It’s what you get when you multiply the voltage (the force that moves electrons around a circuit) by the amps (electrical current).
• Megavolt-Amperes (MVA):
  • MVA or megavolt-amperes is the unit used to measure the apparent power in a circuit. It’s a product of the voltage and current in a circuit.
  • 1 kVA is equivalent to 1,000 volts while the 1 MVA is equivalent to 1,000,000 volt-amperes.

• ROCE:
  • The term return on capital employed (ROCE) refers to a financial ratio that can be used to assess a company’s profitability and capital efficiency. In other words, this ratio can help to understand how well a company is generating profits from its capital as it is put to use.
  • Financial ratio that is used to measure the profitability of a company and the efficiency with which it uses its capital. Put simply, it measures how good a business is at generating profits from capital.
  • ROCE = EBIT / Capital Employed (Total Equity + Total Debt).

• Kilowatt (kW):
  • A kilowatt is simply a measure of how much power an electric appliance consumes—it’s 1,000 watts to be exact. You can quickly convert watts (W) to kilowatts (kW) by diving your wattage by 1,000: 1,000W 1,000 = 1 kW.
• Megawatt (MW):
  • One megawatt equals one million watts or 1,000 kilowatts, roughly enough electricity for the instantaneous demand of 750 homes at once.
• Gigawatt (GW):
  • A gigawatt (GW) is a unit of power, and it is equal to one billion watts.
  • According to the Department of Energy, generating one GW of power takes over three million solar panels or 310 utility-scale wind turbines