"The time of my life"
Nemo Link through the eyes of Mathieu, project leader
In 2016, Elia and National Grid started building a physical electrical connection between Belgium and the United Kingdom. A major project in which more than 50 companies played an important role. Mathieu (Elia) was then project leader.
There was so much that attracted me to this project. The unknown, the pioneering work, the collaboration with all the different stakeholders and cultures. After all, in addition to National Grid and Siemens, who built the components for the converter, countless contractors and subcontractors were involved, from as far afield as Japan.
We started with an empty field and when it was finished you could sit at your computer and send the power generated by a nuclear power plant through the system you helped to build. That’s a small miracle, an indescribable feeling.
Laying offshore cables is an art, especially in the English Channel, with its fickle weather and currents. I oversaw the construction of the converter station. Is everything going safely and according to plan? Does it meet quality standards?
Forging all those cultures, mentalities and expertise into a unified whole was only possible with a good working atmosphere. An area where we took the lead, paying a lot of attention to the safety of everyone on the sites, and to simple things, too.
Like having breakfast together after each leave period, giving employees on site the opportunity to discuss what they thought was important and how we could support them. It wasn't all about technology. People were critically important to achieving a successful outcome.
A good atmosphere also means better performance. We can be proud that the largest project of its kind, with stakeholders who were doing this together for the first time and who had no example to follow, was delivered on time and under budget.
I'm still young but this may well be the best project of my life. The collaboration, the technology, what we accomplished. But also the atmosphere, the beer festival, the little things and the friendships for life…
It was the time of my life. But the same goes for a global player like Siemens. They still use Nemo Link as a case study. We learned from them and they learned from us.
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