Overhauling the Danish grid
By 2035, power consumption in Denmark is expected to more than double, according to the Danish Energy Agency. The primary cause of this skyrocketing demand is the electrification of the heat and transport sectors and the expansion of the data centre industry.
This increasing consumption puts greater demand on the energy grid to transport the power in a stable and efficient manner. Hundreds of substations across the country play a leading role; they enable the power to find its way through the system from inbound to outbound cables. Today, they are outdated and require extensive upgrading and retrofitting to increase capacity and minimise the risk of bottlenecks as more green energy enters the electricity grid.
Energinet and Nexel appointed Ramboll to ensure that the power transmission system has the capacity needed to distribute more green electricity to consumers in the future.
In 2021, Ramboll was the first consultant to win an owner’s engineer contract with Energinet, the Danish transmission system operator, to retrofit the first three substations in Zealand. In 2022, Ramboll secured another contract to construct three new substations in Zealand, Falster, and Jutland. The project was part of a €56 million framework contract that Energinet awarded to Ramboll in 2020.
Ramboll was the first consultant in Denmark to handle a project of this type from A to Z for Energinet. The scope of work included procurement, planning, health and safety, construction management, testing, and commissioning in addition to the detailed design of the substations.
In 2024, Siemens Energy partnered with Energinet in a project to expand the West Danish electricity transmission grid by approximately 50 new or reinforced 150 kV high-voltage substations. As a subcontractor to Siemens Energy, Ramboll took on the role of design engineer, acting as the cohesive force uniting Siemens' components, MT Højgaard's civil structures, Bravida's building installations, and Energinet's infrastructure.
In 2025, Ramboll secured another framework agreement for modernising and building up to 50 transformer substations located on Zealand and the islands around it. Under the framework agreement, Ramboll will provide client consultancy as a close partner to Nexel, the operator of the Eastern Danish grid companies Cerius-Radius. The scope of work includes project planning from the maturing phase to the execution phase. In addition to this, Ramboll is also responsible for the detailed design, health and safety, construction management, testing, and commissioning.
The framework agreement has a value of just over DKK 180 million and is the eighth major contract Ramboll has won for upgrading and modernising Denmark's electricity grid. Ramboll is now providing consultancy services on more than 175 of the 500 substations on Danish soil.