KONTEK

Converter station for Kontek HVDC ín Bentwisch, Germany.
Country	Germany Denmark
Coordinates	54°06′03.2″N 12°13′1.4″E / 54.100889°N 12.217056°E / 54.100889; 12.217056 (Kontek - Bentwisch Static Inverter Plant) 54°11′41″N 12°08′28″E / 54.19472°N 12.14111°E / 54.19472; 12.14111 (Kontek enters Baltic Sea) 54°33′44″N 11°57′41″E / 54.56222°N 11.96139°E / 54.56222; 11.96139 (Kontek leaves Baltic Sea) 55°27′0.9″N 12°0′26.7″E / 55.450250°N 12.007417°E / 55.450250; 12.007417 (Kontek - Bjæverskov Static Inverter Plant)
Operator	50Hertz Transmission GmbH Energinet.dk
Manufacturer of conductor/cable	ABB NKT Cables
Commissioned	1995
Type	submarine cables (52 km (32 mi)) underground cables (119 km (74 mi))
Type of current	HVDC
Total length	171 km (106 mi)
Power rating	600 MW
AC Voltage	400 kV (both ends)
DC Voltage	400 kV
No. of poles	1

ABB

The Kontek HVDC is a 170-kilometre (110 mi) long, monopolar 400 kV high-voltage direct current cable between Germany and the Danish island Zealand. Its name comes from "continent" and the name of the former Danish power transmission company "Elkraft", which operated the power grid on the Danish islands Lolland, Falster and Zealand and had the abbreviation "ek". As of today, the cable is operated by Energinet.dk in Denmark and 50Hertz Transmission GmbH in Germany.

Kontek is remarkable because, in contrast to similar facilities like Baltic Cable and Konti-Skan, all land sections of the 119-kilometre (74 mi) onshore lines on Falster, Sealand and Germany are implemented as underground cable. This unusual measure, which raised the construction costs of Kontek significantly, was made for practical rather than technical reasons. Obtaining permission for building overhead cables can take a long time, and hence underground cables were used in order to ensure it was completed on schedule.

The Kontek cable begins in the static inverter plant of Bentwisch in Germany. It runs 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to Markgrafenheide on the Baltic Sea, where a 43-kilometre (27 mi) submarine cable section to the island of Falster begins. In this section, the Kontek crosses the Baltic Cable at 54°17′31″N 12°04′38″E / 54.29194°N 12.07722°E / 54.29194; 12.07722 (Baltic-Cable crosses Kontek) through the use of a 50-centimetre (20 in) ramp. The Kontek reaches Falster near Gedser, and crosses the island via 50 kilometres (31 mi) of underground cable. Subsequently, a 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) submarine cable section then crosses the sea between Falster and Sealand. A 53-kilometre (33 mi) land cable on Sealand follows, which ends at the static inverter station in Bjæverskov.