The Elbe tunnel for SuedLink is complete, closing one of the most technically demanding sections of Germany’s flagship north-south transmission project.
The tunnel boring machine started at Wewelsfleth in Schleswig-Holstein in February 2025 and reached the target shaft at Wischhafen in Lower Saxony in June 2026, cutting 5.2 kilometres with a four-metre bore. The crossing, known as ElbX, links the SuedLink sections in the two federal states.
Cable pulling through the shaft is planned to begin in late 2027. SuedLink itself, a direct current connection of roughly 700 kilometres, is scheduled to enter operation at the end of 2028. Together with Ultranet, A-Nord and SuedOstLink, the north-south corridors are expected to add substantial transport capacity across 2027 and 2028.
The purpose is straightforward and directly relevant to wind: moving generation from the windy north to demand centres in the west and south. Additional capacity should reduce grid bottlenecks, the volume of redispatch, and the curtailment of wind farms that currently have nowhere to send their output at peak hours.
That last point is what makes the completion date matter beyond Germany. Curtailment in northern Germany affects prices across the interconnected Baltic market, and the 2027/28 window is when several Polish and Baltic offshore projects are due to start feeding in.
Source: IWR Energieletter 34/2026 and project reporting.
