Concentration scales with voltage: Reading the offshore cable order book

Supplier concentration rises sharply with voltage class across 358 cable orders.

The new Aegir Cable Order Book maps 358 firm and framework orders from more than 30 manufacturing plants across inter-array cables, export cables, and interconnectors. The data shows a market that cannot be discussed as a single segment with one set of players. Who competes, and how hard it is to break in, depends entirely on the voltage class.

Inter-array is the open field

Inter-array cables (IAC) are where competition is widest. Nine suppliers compete in this segment, led by JDR, Hellenic Cables, and Prysmian. European suppliers dominate today, with Asian and Chinese entrants covering only a few percent of IAC orders. The three European majors, Prysmian, Nexans, and NKT, hold 35% of contracted inter-array orders by length.

High voltage stays concentrated

The picture narrows quickly as voltage rises. The same three European majors hold 67% of HVAC export orders and 100% of HVDC export orders. Interconnectors are similarly concentrated. Entry barriers rise with voltage class rather than order volume. In these segments, the barrier is complexity, not scale.

New plants are the next competitive signal

The clearest sign of where the market moves next is capacity, not current orders. Announcements of new production facilities suggest several non-European suppliers are positioned to change the geographical distribution of orders over time. New and expanding plants are the leading indicator of the next competitive shift, well ahead of any change in the contracted order book.

Explore the full order book

Aegir Insights has published a new report breaking down supplier shares by cable segment and mapping the announced production capacity that could shift the competitive balance. The full Cable Order Book, with comprehensive order details, is available to clients on the Aegir Platform.

Want to dig into the data? Get in touch.