Innovation

R&D key 2023 figures

128 mln

euros invested in Research centres

5,500 about

patents covering the main innovation

26

Research centres

258

product families launched in 2023

50

collaborations with research centres and universities

1,000

R&D professionals

Empowering customers to meet their energy and communications goals

To us, innovation means meeting the needs of our customers and communities

by understanding their business drivers as quickly as they do.

Our team of over 1,000 Research & Development professionals looks around the corner

each day to see what’s coming next in each of our markets.

Our ability to innovate is what makes us a market leader, with a track record of delivering products that are faster,

smarter and more sustainable than before.

In other words, products that are simply better.

INNOVATION

Sustainability embedded in Innovation

Innovating in support of Energy Transition, Digitalization and Sustainability is our strategic priority. In order to intensify exchange and discussion with the entire value chain, we have invested in the creation of an ecosystem and a multi-stakeholder partnership.

Focus on sustainability is key, therefore we aim to improve our footprint in terms of energy efficiency and waste management; to improve the working environment for our associates through investments in health, safety and wellbeing, innovating our spaces; to foster energy transition and digitalization.

Sustainability has become increasingly central to the Group’s R&D activities since the 2022 launch of the “Design For Sustainability (D4S)” program, which will change the way the entire R&D community and its network operate. The development of new products now considers their value in terms of sustainability, applying the Eco Cable criteria at the base of the D4S program.

During 2023, the “Design for Sustainability” (D4S) program became an established practice within the Group’s R&D, and to ensure that the products thus designed and manufactured find adequate market outlets, the Sustainability for Business (SfB) function was created in the second half of the year.

INNOVATION

Our innovation pillars

Innovation is, and always will be, the cornerstone of our business.

Our established expertise and vast research efforts have allowed us to deliver not only key technologies and superior performance to our customers, but also to continue to shape the future of the industry itself. We are able to enhance projects today by proposing new solutions that improve upon previously available technology and drive performance for tomorrow.

The Group R&D function is responsible for the global innovation strategy, aimed at making Prysmian a key player in the value chain supporting the Energy Transition, Digitalisation and Sustainability processes. Our local R&D centres participate actively in new product development, in the Design-to-Cost (DTC) programme and in the rationalisation of product families. The DTC programme is a tangible example of this model. Using the best materials, adopting efficient processes and implementing innovative projects, in 2020 this programme achieved cost savings for over €42 million, with more than 1,800 projects completed at our manufacturing plants.

Discover more on

Our most recent projects

E PATH

The E PATH label goes beyond cables, embracing services and projects consistent with our strategy to be a solution provider. The E PATH label is assigned based on an automatic calculation system using recognized and measurable criteria and in line with the main regulatory frameworks and requirements, with a very specific focus on cable products: Carbon Footprint, Absence of Substances of Very High Concern, Recyclability/Circularity, Recycling input rate, Environmental benefits and Cable transmission efficiency.

PRYCHARGE EV charging cables

Flexible above the ordinary. Cold resistant to installation temperatures down to -40 °C. Impervious to impact. No matter where and under what conditions, Prysmian Group’s AC and DC PRYCHARGE EV cables are designed to supply power to all electric and hybrid vehicles on the market and are compatible with all commercial and residential charging applications. The use of the highest quality rubber and of an EVI-2 cross-linked control core concept, provide a full range of performance characteristics, including long-term durability in the harshest environments and the most heavily used applications.

Sirocco^EXTREME and Sirocco^HYBRID

In 2021 Prysmian extended extended its Sirocco^EXTREMErange of microduct cables to include its latest 576f cable. Sirocco^EXTREME cables provide world record diameters and fibre densities for blown microduct cables. The new cable boasts 576 fibres in a diameter of 8.2 mm, providing a fibre density of 10.9 fibres per mm², and can be installed into a 10 mm duct. Sirocco^EXTREME microduct cables utilise Prysmian’s BendBrightXS 180µm single-mode (ITU-T G.652.D, G.657.A2) bend insensitive fibre fully compatible for splicing with any standard fibre, offering a truly future-proof solution that is prepared for evolved systems.

To simplify the deployment of access points and edge devices, Prysmian has recently developed an extremely compact and bendable optical fibre and copper cable, Sirocco^HYBRID optical and power cables for blown applications and fast installation in microducts. By benefitting from existing infrastructure and low installation costs without the need for digging, Sirocco^HYBRID features six copper cores with a cross section area of 1 mm², and up to 36 BendBright XS (ITU-T G.657.A2) optical fibres. Sirocco^HYBRID microduct cables and novel power transmission methods allow network operators to safely power remote radios from a central location and open up new opportunities beyond 4G/5G densification and edge devices, covering CCTV cameras, DAS, Wi-Fi networks and sensing in metropolitan outdoor and indoor environments.

High depth submarine cables

Recently Prysmian has met significant technological challenges, far exceeding what has been achieved so far in similar international projects. These are mainly the length and the maximum installation depth that have been faced with the development of an innovative cable solution with a synthetic armour together with all the necessary improvements on accessories and installation methodologies for a safe and reliable deployment of the link.

The Crete-Peloponnese link has been installed successfully in 2020 and represents most powerful 3 core design cable transporting 200 MW, installed at the maximum depth of 1000 m.

In addition in November 2021, Prysmian was awarded the Mediterranean Thyrrenian Link Electricity Corridor, a 1,500 km cable system to support the power exchange among Sardinia, Sicily and Campania consisting of 500 kV HVDC links. The innovative aramidic armouring recently developed by Prysmian and the new vessel Leonardo da Vinci will enable the installation and maintenance of the Tyrrhenian Link at a water depth of 2,000 metres, the deepest ever reached with a power cable.

EHVDC solutions for German Corridors

In the field of the EHV application for DC current, Prysmian Group pursued the development and industrialization program of 525 kV extruded cables systems, after the successful completion of the pre-qualification tests obtained in 2019 for two qualified solutions: XLPE and P-Laser.

In 2020, Prysmian was awarded contracts respectively by Tennet, Transnet and Amprion for all three German HVDC cable projects to provide its innovative and eco-friendly cable technologies to transport the clean energy generated by the wind farms off the northern shores of Germany to the highly industrialised southern regions of the country.

In December 2021 Prysmian delivered the first 20 km of underground cables for the SuedOst Link.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

In August 2021, Prysmian took delivery of its new the 170-meter Leonardo da Vinci cable installation ship. The vessel can lay submarine cables at depths of over 3,000 meters by deploying a next-generation submarine cable armoured with lighter materials. Its two carousels of 7,000 and 10,000 tonnes ensure the highest capacity in the market, thereby improving project efficiency. These and other advanced features mean that the Leonardo da Vinci will allow more efficient and sustainable project execution, for the development of smarter and greener power grids worldwide to support the energy transition.

The R&D Mission

Our mission is to focus on quality and expertise to identify innovative and efficient solutions and technologies in order to create new products and services that allow us to be one step ahead of our competitors. We work to reduce production costs for both existing and new products, to lower environmental impact, and to add value for customers.

Our R&D team’s mission is to facilitate the development and continuous improvement of power and data transmission cable infrastructures that enable our customers to achieve their energy transition goals. We are committed to developing longer and more efficient submarine cables that can be laid at greater depth, optical fibre solutions that can pack the largest number of cables into the tightest space, and ever-more powerful underground cables to transport energy over even longer distances.

Prysmian was the first in the industry to qualify both 525 kV XLPE and P Laser solutions for underground cables, in addition to developing the first high-depth submarine cable with synthetic armour. We are transforming the optical fibre landscape with the super-high density FlexRibbon and the 180 μm Fiber Nano cable.

Discover more on