Ampacity project - worldwide first superconducting cable and fault current limiter installation in a German city center

Abstract

In recent years significant progress has been made in the development of high temperature superconducting (HTS) power devices, in particular cables and fault current limiters. Several field tests of large scale prototypes for both applications have been successfully accomplished and the technologies are getting closer to commercialization. In this paper the German AmpaCity project will be introduced and its objectives will be described. Furthermore, the conceptual design of the HTS cable system and the major developments which have been achieved so far, as well as the current status of the project will be reported.

Feasibility study of high temperature superconducting cables for distribution power grids in metropolises

“…According to (15), when ρ2<9.0, the l2min exists. Therefore, using 10 kV HTS cable to distribute power for line 2 cannot realize its energy-saving advantages in scheme 2.…”

Examining the Fault Behaviour of a Superconducting DC Network

“…There are a number of ongoing projects utilising superconducting DC technologies, for example the Tres Amigas project in the United States [4] and AmpaCity in Germany [5]. Tres Amigas is planning to connect three sections of the United States' power grid with a superconducting voltage source converter (VSC) DC network to provide more transmission flexibility across the country, and is due to finish in 2016 [4].…”

“…Tres Amigas is planning to connect three sections of the United States' power grid with a superconducting voltage source converter (VSC) DC network to provide more transmission flexibility across the country, and is due to finish in 2016 [4]. In Essen, Germany, AmpaCity plans to replace a 1km section of 110kV conventional cable with a 10kv superconducting cable [5].…”

“…Because of such benefits, superconducting technologies are also being considered for future aerospace and marine propulsion systems, with the U.S. Navy's All Electric Ship program [2] and NASA's N3-X concept aircraft [3] being two particularly noteworthy examples. However, whilst there have been several published studies on the characteristics and utilisation of superconducting technologies as part of a conventional grid system [4] [5], and also on the development of a fully-superconducting LVDC network [6], there remains a shortage of published work examining failure modes and system-level fault behaviour, which are expected to be fundamentally different to more conventional power systems. As such, there is now a timely requirement to consider this aspect of research, particularly for novel aerospace applications where the electrical propulsion system is considered to be a safety critical element of the aircraft.…”

Time Series Analysis of Rural Distribution Grids in the Presence of HTS Cables and Intermittent Renewable Resources

“…The German Ampacity project in Essen city represents the first HTS cable and fault current limiter installation into a real network worldwide. In this project a 110 kV cable was replaced with 10 kV HTS cable [24]. Different feasibility studies of integration of HTS cables into the distribution and transmission grids have been conducted and reported [25]- [38].…”