---
title: "Subsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)Subsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078179"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078179"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078179.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078179.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC"
published: "2026-10-06"
---

# Subsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)Subsea Cable Health/security Utilising Backscatter and Established Repeater Technologies (SCHUBERT)

Buyer: NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078179

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078179)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078179.json)

## Summary

National Grid Electricity Transmission commissioned SCHUBERT: research and experimental development into monitoring the health and security of subsea power cables, using backscatter and established repeater technologies. The work supports the development of longer subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables, which can connect offshore renewable generation, strengthen national grids and enable international electricity trading. The procurement is for specialist research, development consultancy and experimental development services, rather than cable supply or installation. National Grid Electricity Transmission is the buying organisation. Delivery is in the United Kingdom; no more specific delivery location is stated.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to the University of Southampton on 3 August 2026. It was run as a selective award under an existing framework, without a further competitive call-off. The award value is £1,343,500 excluding VAT (£1,612,200 including VAT). The contract period runs from 6 October 2026 to 31 May 2029, with a possible extension to 31 March 2031. Extensions may be time- or funding-based and require an approved variation. The opportunity was a single lot. The published information gives no evaluation criteria or supplier eligibility requirements.

This award indicates that National Grid is buying specialist research and experimental development to improve subsea cable health and security monitoring, specifically through backscatter and established repeater technologies. Suppliers competing for similar future work would need credible capability in subsea power cable systems, instrumentation or monitoring technologies, and the design and delivery of applied research and experimental development. Experience translating research into solutions for long-distance HVDC infrastructure would be particularly relevant to the stated purpose. The successful supplier was a large university, showing that research organisations can compete for this type of requirement; specialist technology firms or research-led teams may also be well placed if they can demonstrate relevant expertise and delivery capacity. The award was made through a framework route, so framework participation may be important for access to comparable requirements.

## Notice

With 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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/094166-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 3 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 6 Oct 2026 - 31 May 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £1,343,500 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | Central London |
| Postcode | WC2N 5EH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | University of Southampton |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73111000 - Research laboratory services
- 73120000 - Experimental development services
- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services
- 73300000 - Design and execution of research and development

## Release History

- 6 Oct 2026 at 11:19 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/094166-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/094166-2026
  6th October 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-061465
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.southampton.ac.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078179. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078179.json.