Amentum has been selected for strategic positions on two Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission frameworks, including an exclusive role providing cybersecurity engineering services as the company expands and digitises the electricity grid in northern Scotland.
The three-year agreements will see Amentum provide expertise across cybersecurity, digital transformation, operational technology and renewable energy integration.
SSEN Transmission owns and operates the high-voltage electricity transmission network across the north of Scotland and is undertaking a major expansion programme to accommodate increased renewable generation and support the UK’s energy transition.
Amentum said the frameworks will build on security architecture work it has carried out for SSEN Transmission since 2022.
Delivery will involve teams operating from Amentum offices in Cardiff, Glasgow, London and Warrington, with the company also planning additional investment in its Scottish workforce.
Cybersecurity integrated into grid expansion
Amentum’s work will focus on protecting critical infrastructure as SSEN Transmission increases the scale and digital capabilities of its network.
Matthew Morgan, UK-based group director for Security, Systems and Integration at Amentum, said cybersecurity would need to be incorporated into the grid expansion from the outset.
“SSEN Transmission is expanding the grid at a pace the UK’s energy security depends on, and that growth must be secure by design,” he said.
“Our teams will protect critical assets, scale digital capability, and turn operational data into faster, better decisions. We are investing in our team in Scotland to deliver this work, backed by Amentum’s deep UK and international experience.”
The frameworks will include operational technology, which encompasses the systems used to monitor and control physical electricity transmission infrastructure.
As electricity networks become increasingly digital and interconnected, the security of these systems is becoming a greater consideration during the planning, engineering and delivery of grid infrastructure programmes.
AI-driven cyber threats highlighted
Amentum also pointed to the increasing use of artificial intelligence in cyber threats as a factor influencing security requirements for critical infrastructure.
Jennifer Walsmith, president of Intelligence & Cyber at Amentum, said Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies had identified AI as increasing the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber threats.
“Leveraging Amentum’s proven expertise in modernizing and securing critical digital infrastructure, we can support SSEN Transmission in addressing one of the most serious challenges of our time,” she said.
“We look forward to delivering the innovation and security needed to strengthen the UK’s energy future.”
Amentum expands UK infrastructure portfolio
The SSEN Transmission appointments add to Amentum’s existing portfolio of major UK energy and infrastructure programmes.
The company employs more than 6,000 people in the UK and provides project and construction management services at Hinkley Point C. It is also the programme and project management delivery partner at Sizewell C.
Amentum supports EDF’s existing UK nuclear power stations under a Lifetime Enterprise Agreement and provides engineering design, safety case and project management services at Sellafield and other nuclear decommissioning sites.
Its latest appointments will extend that work further into electricity transmission infrastructure, with cybersecurity engineering and digital systems forming part of SSEN Transmission’s wider programme to expand and modernise the north of Scotland network.
