Visualization of S-CAP's data-driven submarine cable protection design with variable burial depths and protective structures
Gochang, South Korea, September 3, 2025
Korea Electric Power Corporation has introduced S-CAP, a data-driven software tool that standardizes submarine cable protection by quantifying risk, recommending optimized protection measures and producing design reports. S-CAP accepts site-specific inputs such as anchor types, wave and current conditions, and detailed seabed properties to calculate variable burial depths and recommend alternatives like rock berms or concrete ducts. Backed by numerical modelling and full-scale tests at a large Korean testing centre, the program has received formal document verification and has been applied to a major offshore wind grid link, delivering improved transparency, lower repair risk and cost savings.
A new software tool from Korea Electric Power Corp. aims to make undersea power cables safer and cheaper to build. The KEPCO Submarine Cable Protector (KEPCO S‑CAP) standardizes protection design, calculates optimal burial depths and suggests protection options such as rock berms when burial is not possible. The program has received formal document verification from a major international classification body and has already been used on a Korean offshore wind grid connection. At the same time, separate submarine cable projects for telecoms and long‑haul data traffic are moving forward in the region, underlining the rising role of undersea links in energy and information systems.
Demand for submarine cables has surged due to faster climate action, more offshore wind and larger cross‑border power links. These cables are essential arteries between offshore generation and onshore grids. Recent failures in sensitive regions have shown that repairs are costly and outages can threaten large areas. Protecting cables against anchors, fishing gear, changing seabeds and dynamic sea conditions is now a core concern for planners and operators.
KEPCO S‑CAP moves protection design from experience‑based guesswork to a repeatable, data‑driven process. Users enter environmental and engineering inputs such as anchor types and weights, wave height, current velocity and seabed properties including unit weight, undrained shear strength and internal friction angle. The software then:
Traditional approaches often used simple rules like a flat minimum burial depth or regional indices such as the Burial Protection Index (BPI). Those tools can be overly simple, depend on subjective interpretation, and fail when seabeds have multiple layers or hard rock. KEPCO’s software uses formula‑based charts and variable burial depths that match local risk, aiming to avoid both excessive conservatism and under‑protection.
The design rules in S‑CAP are based on extensive numerical simulations and full‑scale validation tests at KEPCO Research Institute’s large testing site in Gochang, Korea. Tests at the facility, which includes high‑voltage and underground cable test lines on a site of roughly 741,000 square metres, informed a core engineering principle: burial depth must exceed the maximum expected anchor penetration plus a safety margin. KEPCO converted empirical results into written standards for burial and for protective structures, including berm dimensions, materials and tolerances.
In February 2024 the method behind S‑CAP received a letter of document verification from a global classification and certification body, marking a rare formal validation of a submarine cable protection method. KEPCO says the software can cut construction costs by roughly 5 percent — about USD 2 million per 100 km — and reports a larger saving on one Korean offshore wind link where S‑CAP was used. On the Southwestern Offshore Wind‑to‑Land Connection project, currently targeting grid connection in 2029 and full completion by 2031, KEPCO estimates a roughly 50 percent reduction in cable installation costs for the segments where the software drove design changes, along with reduced environmental impact and clearer, digitized project documentation.
Better design and standardized reporting aim to reduce outages caused by cable damage and to lower repair bills. A quantified, traceable approach helps owners and contractors reach agreement faster and should improve the long‑term durability of cables serving remote or island communities and major HVDC corridors. The software is usable for both HVDC and AC submarine cable projects and is positioned for offshore wind, interregional transmission and other undersea power links.
The push for robust undersea infrastructure comes as several major cable projects advance in East Asia. A consortium has begun work on a long subsea telecom cable linking East Asia and the United States, an approximately 12,500 km system with landing points in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and California. Built by a major submarine network supplier, that cable will carry more than 192 Tbps across 12 fibre pairs and is scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2028. Separately, a roughly 260 km undersea telecom link between Busan and Fukuoka is planned for completion by 2027. A domestic cable manufacturer and its marine arm are reported to have won the turnkey contract for that route — the company’s first international submarine contract at this scale — to help meet rising data traffic from AI and cloud services in Northeast Asia.
As demand for both power and data cables grows, standardized, verified design tools that translate environmental risk into clear protection measures will be more important. KEPCO S‑CAP represents one approach to reduce subjectivity in design, cut costs and improve protection where conventional burial is impractical. The region’s expanding portfolio of power and telecom links highlights the need for repeatable, field‑proven methods to keep undersea infrastructure reliable and affordable.
KEPCO S‑CAP is software that uses environmental and engineering inputs to calculate optimal submarine cable burial depths, recommend protection options and produce design reports and drawings.
Undersea cables face risks from anchors, fishing gear, waves, currents and complex seabeds. Damage can cause costly outages and repairs, so protection is crucial for reliable power and data transmission.
Older methods often applied uniform burial depths or simple indices. S‑CAP applies variable burial and quantified structural standards based on local marine risk, informed by tests and calculations.
The software’s underlying method received formal document verification from a recognized global classification and certification body in February 2024.
KEPCO applied the system to the Southwestern Offshore Wind‑to‑Land Connection project in Korea and reports cost and environmental benefits on that work.
Yes. Major telecom and long‑haul subsea cables are under construction or planned, including a Busan–Fukuoka link and a 12,500 km East Asia–US cable set for service in 2028.
| Feature | What it does | Primary benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Data‑driven burial design | Calculates optimal burial depth per route segment using local inputs | Improves protection accuracy and reduces guessing |
| Quantified protective standards | Provides rules for rock berms and other structures with dimensions and tolerances | Standardises design and installation for non‑burial cases |
| Validation & verification | Based on full‑scale tests and formally verified by an external classification body | Increases confidence and traceability |
| Project reporting | Generates cross sections and comprehensive design reports | Enhances transparency between owners and contractors |
| Applicability | For HVDC and AC submarine cable projects including offshore wind and interconnectors | Wide use across power transmission projects |
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