Suedlink project completes Elbe River tunnel crossing

A major milestone has been reached in the Suedlink project, a ten-billion-euro energy infrastructure initiative in Germany. The tunnel designed to cross under the Elbe River, connecting Wewelsfleth in Schleswig-Holstein to Wischhafen in Lower Saxony, is now complete.

Suedlink is a roughly 700-kilometer underground power line intended to transport wind energy from northern Germany to the southern regions, including Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The project is a key component of Germany’s energy transition, aiming to balance power from northern wind farms with southern photovoltaic systems and Norwegian hydropower.

Grid operators TransnetBW and Tennet are managing the project. While the Elbe crossing is finished, the entire Suedlink network is currently projected for completion by the end of 2028, which is six years later than originally planned. The construction involves two largely parallel power lines that branch out at their start and end points.