Prysmian and Dow entered a partnership to advance the production of Prysmian’s Sirocco microduct cables utilizing Dow’s AXELERON Telecom Cable Compound. Last year, both companies were recognized at the R&D 100 Awards for winning with their co-development technology.
Srinivas Siripurapu, Chief Innovation and R&D Officer for Prysmian stated, “Prysmian is honored to be recognized alongside Dow, to R&D Magazine’s list of R&D 100 Awards for 2024. Utilizing Dow’s AXELERON™ and advanced Prysmian fiber technology, our Sirocco microduct cables combine optimized optical fibers and cable materials to be able to install more optical fibers in limited space. This collaboration has netted essential breakthroughs in our Sirocco® cable technology, increasing fiber density with a smaller cable diameter, resulting in lower installation costs and less raw material usage. Importantly, it also significantly reduces our environmental footprint, demonstrating our commitment to sustainability.”
Dow’s AXELERON is a UV-stabilized, black HDPE cable jacket material made for power and telecommunication applications. The product ensures a low coefficient of friction (COF) and low shrinkage. This allows for a high fiber count in smaller diameter cables and makes cable installation more efficient. Dow’s product is durable, weather-resistant, and offers high-speed extrusion processing.
To meet the increasing demand for Prysmian’s Sirocco cables in the U.S., the company has made major investments in North America, including investing $30 million in its Jackson, Tennessee factory. The investments in this factory have shifted the facility’s production from legacy copper to fiber optic cable.
Patrick Jacobi, Vice President for Telecom at Prysmian North America, commented, “Through our partnership with Dow, we’re able to evolve and improve on our product lines continuously, helping our customers achieve solutions that are not only environmentally conscious but better for their bottom line. Dow and Prysmian’s partnership is mutually beneficial and allows us to utilize our shared expertise to ramp up Sirocco® production here in North America. We’re excited to expand on this partnership and enable new fiber technology to be more broadly distributed across our region.”