Areva’s Transmission & Distribution division has strengthened its position in China’s growing market for high voltage solutions with a major contract for projects interconnecting parts of north-east China and the Three Gorges Dam with Shanghai.

The company has signed a EUR100 million contract with the State Grid of China to supply HVDC systems for projects interconnecting the regions of Ningdong and Shangdong, and the Three Gorges Dam, to Shanghai in the east of the country. It will carry out the contract in partnership with China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI).

Areva says the contract strengthens its position in the HVDC market, where its main rivals are ABB and Siemens.