High-tech, fire-resistant cables for London’s tallest building

The energy and telecom cables and systems company Prysmian Group has supplied approximately 350 km of high-tech, fire-resistant cables for power distribution within the recently inaugurated Shard skyscraper, the tallest building in London and Western Europe.

Construction of the Shard, a cone of light 310 metres and 87 floors tall completely covered with glass panels and designed by architect Renzo Piano in 2000, began in 2009. In 2011, the Prysmian Group was awarded the contract to supply Afumex - low smoke zero halogen cables, FP600S cables and medium-voltage power cables. The Afumex family of cables combines low flame spread, in the event of fire, with very low emission of irritant and corrosive gases, ensuring more time to evacuate buildings and facilitating the work of rescue teams. Fire-resistant cables also guarantee maximum building safety since they are able to ensure the supply of power and operation of alarm systems during a fire.

The Group’s British subsidiary was chosen as global supplier of BASEC and LPCB certified cables and components, and of support and advice to the construction company on the best installation methods to use.

Prysmian Group has installed fire-resistant and Afumex cables all over the world in many prestigious, densely populated buildings, where safety is of fundamental importance in the event of fire. Among the installations the following stand out: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore - the most luxurious casino and hotel ever built and one of the most challenging construction projects ever, and more recently, the Drax Power Station in the United Kingdom, the largest renewable energy biomass-fuelled project ever undertaken.