On the digital side, Prysmian’s partnership with Relativity Networks on hollow-core fibre is explicitly positioned to serve data centre and AI application demand
Decision Lens
A materials and manufacturing shift in high-density power cabling is narrowing construction timelines and easing copper cost exposure in APAC — two variables that directly affect your build-out economics and procurement strategy in the region.
90-Second Brief
Today, aI-driven load growth in Southeast Asia is forcing a rethink of power cabling from the ground up. Prysmian has launched a new-generation power cable in the region that operates safely at 110°C versus the industry standard of 90°C, using less copper and a slimmer physical profile. The company has also opened a dedicated low-voltage cable production plant in Rayong, Thailand, reinforcing its regional supply chain alongside its Singapore engineering hub. Data centre energy leaders building or expanding in APAC, this signals a maturing regional supply base for power infrastructure components that until recently required long-haul logistics from Europe or North America.
What’s Actually Happening
Prysmian is executing a deliberate push into the APAC data centre market, backing it with regional manufacturing capacity and product-level innovation targeted at high-density AI workloads. CEO Massimo Battaini confirmed the strategic priority on a recent earnings call, citing data centre market share gains as an explicit target across Europe, LatAm, and APAC.
The headline product development for the region is a new-generation power cable designed to deliver equivalent transmission performance with less copper and a reduced physical footprint. Optimised insulating and sheathing materials allow safe operation at up to 110°C — a 20-degree improvement over the 90°C industry norm. That thermal headroom matters operationally: it enables tighter conduit routing in constrained floor plans and supports sustained high-load operation characteristic of AI inference and training clusters.
The Rayong, Thailand facility adds low-voltage cable manufacturing capacity to Prysmian’s footprint, which previously centred on Singapore for logistics and engineering. Together, the two sites enable faster regional delivery and reduce dependency on intercontinental supply chains that have shown vulnerability to raw material and logistics disruptions.
On the digital side, Prysmian’s partnership with Relativity Networks on hollow-core fibre is explicitly positioned to serve data centre and AI application demand. Frederick Persson, Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions, described the collaboration as a path to leading “the global market for hollow-core fiber well into the future” — a signal that the company is pursuing converged power-and-digital infrastructure positioning, not simply power cable supply.
Prysmian reported 2024 revenues exceeding €17bn (approximately US$20.2bn), with growing exposure in power transmission and digital infrastructure. Its sustainability targets — 55% of revenue from sustainable products by 2028, Net Zero by 2035 — align its product roadmap with the decarbonisation reporting obligations that most hyperscale and colo operators now carry.
Why It Matters for Global Heads of Data Center Energy?
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From a budgetary standpoint, reduced copper content in high-performance cable translates directly into material cost savings and lower exposure to copper price volatility — a live risk given ongoing supply constraints on core electronic components. Wider deployment of this cable compresses per-MW cabling costs at a time when power infrastructure budgets are under intense scrutiny.
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From an operational standpoint, a cable rated to 110°C versus 90°C provides meaningful thermal margin in dense power environments. For operators running sustained high-load GPU clusters, this headroom reduces derating risk and supports more aggressive power density planning without over-specifying cable gauge.
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From a competitive standpoint, Prysmian’s Rayong plant and Singapore hub create a regional supply chain that can shorten procurement lead times for APAC build-outs. Operators who lock in supply relationships now may gain construction schedule advantages over competitors still relying on long-haul cable sourcing.
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From a regulatory standpoint, Prysmian’s stated alignment with Net Zero 2035 and its sustainable product revenue targets give procurement teams a credible sustainability narrative for Scope 3 reporting — relevant as regulators and investors push for supply chain decarbonisation evidence beyond direct energy procurement.
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From a workforce standpoint, localised manufacturing and engineering support in Southeast Asia reduces the technical coordination overhead typically associated with managing internationally sourced power infrastructure components during construction phases.
The Forward View
Watch for Prysmian’s hollow-core fibre partnership with Relativity Networks to move from announced to deployed within data centre environments — early deployments would provide a concrete signal on converged power-digital cabling demand. Regional interconnection projects that Prysmian references as early-stage cross-border energy infrastructure in APAC could create new procurement opportunities, or complicate grid access planning, depending on which markets they serve. Copper price trajectories in the months ahead will also test how durable the material-efficiency advantages of the new cable design prove in contracted procurement terms.
What We’re Uncertain About?
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Whether the 110°C cable is commercially available at scale in APAC now or still in staged rollout. The source confirms a regional launch and overseas deployment precedent but does not specify current production volumes or order lead times. Vendor confirmation resolves this.
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Which specific hyperscale or colo operators are already using this cable in APAC deployments. The source references “major installations overseas” without naming operators or markets. Customer reference disclosure or procurement market intelligence would clarify whether this is proven at hyperscale density or only at mid-tier facilities.
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The commercial timeline and route scope of the cross-border energy interconnection projects Prysmian references. These are described as early-stage, with no project names or regulatory filing references provided. Grid operator announcements or government energy ministry disclosures in the relevant APAC markets would resolve this.
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Whether the Rayong plant’s low-voltage focus covers the cable ratings required for primary power distribution in hyperscale campuses. Low-voltage production addresses one layer of the power stack; medium- and high-voltage requirements for grid interconnection and substation feeds are a separate supply question. Prysmian’s Singapore hub appears to serve those needs, but capacity specifics are not confirmed in available sources.
One Question to Bring to Your Team
If a cable rated to 110°C versus 90°C allows denser routing with less copper in our planned APAC builds, what is the actual per-MW cost delta versus our current spec — and does our procurement process allow substitution at this stage of the design cycle?
Sources
- Energydigital — How Prysmian’s Innovation is Aiding APAC’s Data Centre Boom (Link)
