The Baltic Cable is a monopolar HVDC power line running beneath the Baltic Sea that interconnects the electric power grids of Germany and Sweden. Its maximum transmission power is 600 megawatts (MW). The Baltic Cable uses a transmission voltage of 450 kV – the highest operating voltage for energy transmission in Germany. The total project cost was 2 billion SEK (US$280 million), and the link was put into operation in December 1994. With a length of , it was the second longest high voltage undersea cable on earth, until Basslink came into service in 2006. Route The Baltic Cable starts in Germany at the converter station at Lübeck-Herrenwyk, which is on the site of a former coal-fired power station, It crosses the river Trave in a channel below the bottom of the river and then follows its course as sea cable laid at the eastern side of the river. After crossing the Priwall Peninsula the cable runs parallel to the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, before turning north-easterly toward Sweden. At sea, it crosses the submarine cable of HVDC Kontek. This is the only crossing of two submarine HVDC cables in the Baltic Sea and one of the only few worldwide. From the landing point at the southern coast of Sweden, the powerline transitions to an overhead line a few kilometres inland. It runs to a termination tower in Kruseberg which is attached to a 400 kV/130 kV substation of the Swedish power grid. The anode, which is situated in the Baltic Sea, consists of 40 titanium nets each with a surface of 20 m2, which are laid on the sea bottom under plastic tubes and stones. It is connected to Kruseberg converter station with a 23-kilometre-long underground and submarine power line, which consists of two parallel-connected cables with 630 mm2 cross section. The cathode is situated in the Baltic Sea north of Elmenhorst. It consists of a bare copper ring with a 2-kilometre diameter. It is connected to the static inverter plant in Lübeck-Herrenwyk with a 32-kilometre-long cable. The first 20 kilometres of this cable have a cross section of 1400 mm2 and the last of 800 mm2. This cable is laid in the tunnel under Trave River at a distance of 2.5 metres from the high voltage cable. The separation reduces the magnetic field, which may affect compasses of vessels in this highly frequented area. As the cable is a