Official UK procurement notice
Subsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)Subsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)
Authority: NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWith the transition away from fossil fuels and towards greater electrification of transport and heating (net zero 2050) a significant increase in electrical demand is expected over the coming decades. As a result, growth in offshore renewable power generation, "bootstrap" cables to reinforce national power grids, and international interconnects to support energy trading, are all now driving considerable investment in submarine power cable infrastructure. As cable technology and installation techniques develop, it becomes feasible to deploy ever longer subsea cables, creating new opportunities for cable construction projects. When cable spans exceed 50-100km the cost of building HVDC converter stations can be outweighed by savings due to lower transmission losses, the current trend is therefore towards construction of very long subsea HVDC cables.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Award under framework
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Call-off under a framework
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 6 Oct 2026, 11:19 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Oct 2026, 11:19 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-094166- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078179Find a Tender
- Call-off under framework Innovation Academic Framework
Notice history
2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 6 Oct 2026- Contract award notice published6 Oct 2026, 11:19 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected6 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTONSubsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)6 Oct 2026 – 31 May 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: Project extensions can be on a time or funds based via an approved variation, if required. | £1,343,500 | 3 Aug 2026 | Awarded |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Southampton UniversityAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender