Inductive Shielded Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (iSFCL)

fault limiters

Worldwide increasing energy demand as well as the growing sector of distributed power generation drive the need for extended power handling capacity of the transmission and distribution grids, implying raising systems fault current levels to be accommodated for by grid architecture, protection circuitry and devices.

 

The innovative Inductive Shielded Superconducting Fault Current Limiter, or iSFCL, is being designed to address this challenge, using the unique electrical properties of HTS (High Temperature Superconductors) to almost instantaneously protect power grids against short circuits and thereby prevent costly outages.

 

A 10-kV/15-MVA iSFCL is currently being developed by Bruker EST in collaboration with Schneider Electric and Stadtwerke Augsburg and partly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and will be installed and tested in the grid of Stadtwerke Augsbug at their connection to a large (energy consuming and generating) factory in 2013.

 

We are working on completing the iSFCL product family covering the standard ratings/classes such that we can offer customized solutions for every application.

 

Benefits

  • Self-activating - limitation without external fault detection through material property
  • Low impedance during normal operation - low operational costs
  • High impedance during fault conditions - high fault current limitation
  • Customizable - flexible adaption to different grid properties
  • Fail-safe - no grid interruption during device failure
  • Self recovering - multiple fault limitations possible
  • Fast response - fast and effective current limitation already at first current rise