In this episode of Next stop: Green business, we visit cable manufacturer NKT at their factory in Asnæs, Denmark, where giant cable drums lie coiled with the infrastructure of the future. While wind turbines and electric vehicles often steal the spotlight, none of them would function without one thing: cables.

“It is a forgotten, or it has been a neglected, element of the green transition, but in recent years there’s more and more focus on it.”
Anthony Abbotts, Head of Group Sustainability at NKT.

The forgotten infrastructure of the green transition

As Abbotts explains, electrification is central to achieving international climate goals, and the required scale is staggering. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 80 million kilometres of cable will need to be installed globally by 2040.

For NKT, this demand is already reflected in the numbers. Between 2020 and 2025, the company saw a 130% increase in revenue and more than 500% growth in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation). The momentum has even reshaped company culture:

“I often call it an old startup,” says Abbotts. “It’s a company that’s been around since 1891, but it has that feeling of a startup because of the growth we’re going through.”

But with growth comes complexity. As a cable producer enabling the green transition, NKT’s own emissions have gone up. “When I came into the company, we were almost apologetic about the increased emissions,” Abbotts says. “But the thing is, the negative impact is a direct consequence of us contributing to the green transition.”

NKT is targeting a 90% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. Progress is well underway; they’ve reached 67%, but the final stretch is proving difficult, particularly due to the lack of access to sustainable marine fuels for their cable-laying vessels.

“Because the delta between the MGO price and the sustainable fuel price is so big, it’s very difficult to get our customers to say, ‘We’ll pay for it.’”

These are the types of barriers where the technology exists — but the market incentives and structures don’t. “It’s an industry-wide challenge,” Abbotts says. “It’s not something that NKT can fix… we need a more industry-wide approach.”

For Abbotts, the motivation to keep going is clear — and deeply personal. “I’m a father to two children. Unfortunately, it’s going to be extremely tough for that generation and the next… therefore it is essential that companies are continuing to drive the green agenda.”

About the podcast: Next stop: Green business

Next stop: Green business is part of State of Green’s podcast universe and offers short, accessible episodes of no more than 15 minutes. Each episode focuses on one company’s green transition journey, recorded on-site to capture both atmosphere and authentic voices.

The podcast blends interviews, real-time conversations and on-site impressions, all shaped around a recurring set of questions that invite honest reflection and personal insights. Besides NKT, the podcast series includes episodes with companies such as Danfoss, Grundfos, ROCKWOOL, PensionDanmark, Hempel, FLS, Schneider Electric and VELUX. New episodes will drop throughout the remainder of 2025.

The miniseries is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast and stateofgreen.com.