Southwire 2024 Sustainability Report: A New Era of Innovation

The following is an excerpt from Southwire's 2024 Sustainability Report: Wired for the Future. To read the full report, visit https://southwire.com/sustainability.

We are in the business of making critical infrastructure safer, transforming how people travel and connect, and making power grids more resilient to a changing climate. Southwire’s technologies are also a critical enabler of the energy transition, with electrification among the most effective strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As our Vision goes, We Deliver Power...Responsibly®. These are a few projects that helped us further that Vision in 2024:

TEAMING UP TO DECARBONIZE CABLE PRODUCTION 

Southwire joined forces with Levidian, a British climate tech leader, to bring its innovative decarbonization technology to North America for the first time. Southwire will use Levidian’s LOOP technology to separate the hydrogen and carbon (in the form of graphene) from methane. The hydrogen can be used to produce a hydrogen-rich blend gas. We will explore applications for graphene derived from the process to increase the performance of various materials, such as coatings and wire and cable compounds.

ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE INSULATING COMPOUNDS 

Insulating compounds are critical in most wire and cable products, helping to ensure safety, prevent short circuits and extend product lifespans by protecting the conductor within. In 2024, we moved into phase two of a project to identify more sustainable forms of insulating compounds, which we kicked off in 2023. We also focused on ensuring a resilient supply chain of these components to support Southwire’s business needs.

CHARGING AHEAD ON EV INFRASTRUCTURE

As many businesses and communities seek more sustainable modes of transportation, EVs are playing a leading role. Southwire is pushing this technology forward, with our teams completing the development of new liquid-cooled charging cables in 2024. Our next step is to begin production of the cables, which will help power electric buses and trucks.

ENHANCING EFFICIENT TRANSMISSION 

Communities rely on reliable grid infrastructure, and Southwire is developing new products to make power transmission more efficient. In 2024, we validated a novel overhead conductor that uses a high-performance coating to reduce power losses. The new AmpaMax™ transmission conductor coating is set to launch in late 2025.

EXPANDING HYDROPOWER FROM QUEBEC TO QUEENS 

As the most-populated city in the U.S., New York has an important role to play in the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. This work will get a major boost from the Champlain Hudson Power Express® (CHPE), a fully buried transmission line that will bring 1,250 megawatts of low-cost renewable power from the U.S.-Canadian border into Queens, New York. Southwire partnered with NKT to manufacture underground power cables for the project, which we continued to produce in 2024.

COFER CENTER EXPANSION

Meanwhile, we commenced construction of a new R&D facility at our Carrollton, Georgia, headquarters that will expand our R&D capabilities. We also modernized the existing Cofer Center, a 30-year-old R&D facility, bringing it up to date with enhanced infrastructure. Both the new and existing facilities have been renovated with HVAC and a more sustainable, efficient ground-source thermal heating and cooling system. We are also pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification for the new center to ensure the facility meets globally recognized green building standards.

To learn more about Southwire's sustainability initiatives, visit https://southwire.com/sustainability.