RTE Launches Tender for Twelve 600 MVA 400/225 kV Autotransformers for the Dunkirk Industrial Decarbonization Corridor
To supply gigawatts of clean nuclear and offshore wind power to massive new electric arc furnaces, hydrogen electrolyzers, and gigafactories in northern Fran...
RTE Launches Tender for Twelve 600 MVA 400/225 kV Autotransformers for the Dunkirk Industrial Decarbonization Corridor
To supply gigawatts of clean nuclear and offshore wind power to massive new electric arc furnaces, hydrogen electrolyzers, and gigafactories in northern France, French transmission operator RTE has issued a tender for twelve 600 MVA 400/225 kV autotransformers.
- Publish date: 2026-09-21
- Category: Transformers & Grid
- Original source: Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) France
- Reading time: 4 min
Electrifying France’s Heaviest Industrial Carbon Emitter
The port of Dunkirk accounts for nearly 20% of France’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The conversion of conventional coal-fired blast furnaces to Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) electric arc furnaces requires an immediate 3,000 MW increase in electrical substation capacity.
RTE’s tender specifies twelve 600 MVA three-phase 400/225 kV autotransformers featuring ultra-low-noise acoustic enclosures, online bushing tan-delta monitoring, and on-load tap changers engineered for severe dynamic cyclic loading.
Expanding the 400 kV Dunkerque-Lille Transmission Grid
The transformers will be allocated across expanded switching substations at Grande-Synthe, Mardyck, and Warande, reinforced by new 400 kV double-circuit underground cable corridors.
First unit deliveries will commence in late 2027, ensuring robust electrical commissioning in synchronization with ArcelorMittal’s electric furnace launch in 2028.
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