Project Name:
Elbe Crossing ElbB – Corridor B
Client:
Amprion GmbH
Construction Period:
Estimated duration of the interim phase: March 2026 – December 2026
Estimated construction period: January 2026 – December 2032
Country:
Germany, Hamburg
Project Description:
The Elbe Crossing ElbB is a key component of the “Corridor B” grid expansion project being developed by the transmission system operator Amprion. The project is intended to provide a high-capacity and future-proof high-voltage DC connection, thereby making an important input to the energy transition and to the long-term security of electricity supply.
Corridor B comprises two high-voltage DC transmission links designed primarily to transport renewable energy from the coastal regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony to North Rhine-Westphalia. The links will operate at a nominal DC voltage of 525 kilovolts and will provide a combined transmission capacity of four gigawatts. Additional duct systems are planned to give space for future expansions.
As part of the ElbB project section, the River Elbe will be crossed between Wewelsfleth in Schleswig-Holstein and Wischhafen in Lower Saxony by a tunnel more than five kilometers in length. The Elbe Crossing constitutes a separate permitting and construction section within the overall Corridor B project.
The tunnel will be constructed approximately 20 meters below the riverbed using a tunnel boring machine operating in slurry shield mode. This method enables controlled and safe excavation under the demanding geological and hydrogeological conditions encountered below the River Elbe.
The tunnel boring machine will have an excavation diameter of 4.95 meters. Once completed, the circular tunnel will have a clear internal diameter of approximately 4.0 meters. The tunnel lining will be installed directly behind the tunnel boring machine and will consist of 30-centimetre-thick reinforced precast segments, commonly referred to as segmental lining units. These segments will provide the required structural stability, watertightness and long-term durability.
Shaft structures will be constructed on both sides of the River Elbe at Wewelsfleth and Wischhafen. These structures will be used both for the tunnel construction works and for the subsequent installation of the underground cables. The shaft excavations will be supported by strutted diaphragm walls.
Following the completion of the tunnelling works, the high-voltage direct current cables will be pulled into the tunnel through the shaft structures and installed in their final positions. The underground solution provides a safe, durable and environmental friendly method of crossing the River Elbe without permanently affecting the shipping or the use of the river corridor.
The construction of the Elbe Crossing is expected to take approximately six and a half years.
