The Black Sea Submarine Cable project is an ambitious vision to establish parallel electricity and fiber-optic submarine cable interconnections across the Black Sea, with landing points in Georgia and Romania.

The project will construct a high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric submarine cable connecting Georgia with Romania, from Anaklia to Constanta, running 1,195 km, 1,100 km of which underwater. The cable would have a voltage level of 500 kV and a capacity of 1,000-1,500 MW. The Black Sea power line will connect Europe to renewable energy generated in Azerbaijan, particularly wind and solar power. This energy will travel through Georgia, cross the Black Sea via the Black Sea Submarine Cable, and arrive in Romania, where it will be integrated into the EU’s electricity grid. The project is crucial for Europe and Georgia in several aspects: energy security, economy, green policy, and inter-regional connectivity.

In a parallel, a fiber-optic submarine cable would be laid alongside the electric cable, to strengthen Internet connectivity between the Caucasus and the EU.

The BSSC project is initiated by Georgia, in partnership with Hungary, Romania, and Azerbaijan, pursuant to the Agreement on Strategic Partnership in the Field of Green Energy Development and Transmission between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary, signed in September 2024.

The project is fully supported by the EU Commission and is one of the bloc’s five flagship projects and is set to transform Europe’s energy environment to become more secure and clean.

In May 2024, the World Bank approved a $35 million loan for the first phase of the Enhancing Energy Security through Power Interconnection and Renewable Energy (ESPIRE) Program for Georgia. The ESPIRE Program consists of three  phases with a potential financing envelope of up to $500 million that seeks to improve Georgia’s institutional capacity for the development of submarine cable projects, strengthen Georgia’s domestic power transmission system, and establish a direct electricity interconnection between the South Caucasus and Southeast Europe.

The first phase of the ESPIRE Program is especially critical, as it aims to help identify a suitable corridor for the BSSC Project, and support further preparatory activitiessuch as surveys of the Black Sea seabed, including geophysical and geotechnical investigations. To enhance the implementation readiness of the BSSC Project, the first phase also includes capacity building and technical assistance for the establishment of adequate institutional mechanisms for intergovernmental coordination and joint decision-making with other countries participating in the BSSC project.

If Georgia and other participating countries decide to proceed with the implementation of the BSSC Project, Phase 2 of the ESPIRE Program would finance, in parallel with Phase 1, the strengthening of the on-land transmission grid in Georgia and potentially other countries, which would be crucial to enabling electricity exchanges through the submarine cable system. Phase 3 would then support the financing of the submarine cable itself, in collaboration with other financiers. The fiber-optic cable component in the same seabed corridor is expected to attract significant private-sector investment.

In November 2024, according to Trend news,  the feasibility study for the Black Sea submarine cable project has been completed and it is moving on to the sea's detailed research.