Substations are vital to the power grid’s efficacy. AMSC’s Fault Current Limiters act as surge protectors, protecting this critical equipment from destructive faults and extending its lifetime.

SFCLs

Used in a substation, superconductor fault current limiters (SFCLs) are smart grid systems that can help protect the grid by reducing the destructive nature of faults, extending the life of existing substation equipment and allowing utilities to defer or eliminate equipment replacement or upgrades.

AMSC has collaborated with industry leaders such as Nexans to successfully develop and demonstrate SFCL technology. Medium-voltage SFCLs are being employed in Europe and are now being offered to North American electric utilities. Utilities with an SFCL will benefit from deferred or eliminated equipment replacement, increased equipment life, improved system operation, reduced system costs, simplified renewable integration and improved operator safety.

REG Systems

With our expertise in high temperature superconductor (HTS) cable technology, AMSC has developed fault current limiting cables that utilize Amperium® HTS wire tailored specifically for fault current limiting applications. Fault current limiting superconductor cables can be used to connect existing substations, enabling power sharing between regions. This is a compelling proposition for utilities in that it ensures system redundancy for critical urban infrastructure, increases system reliability, enables load sharing and mitigates power disruptions caused by environmental or human factors. We have successfully completed qualification tests at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. for this proprietary technology.

From transmission to distribution, we have the experience and the solutions to help grid operators increase network reliability and security.