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wiredInUSA - March 2013
wiredInUSA - March 2013
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Superconductor
Corp
(AMSC) is to supply high temperature
superconductor wire for a German
project to distribute electricity in major
cities. The Essen-based project, called
AmpaCity, involves Nexans, the RWE
Group, and the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology.
The partners aim to install what will be
the longest superconductor cable in
the world.
At present, electricity is distributed
through cities by networks of
transformer stations. Replacing the
old technology with AmpaCity would
“lead to greater efficiency as well as
lower operating and maintenance
costs while simultaneously reducing
land use,” a Nexans statement
explained, adding that dismantling
the many transformer stations now
needed to distribute power would
help free up valuable space in inner
city areas.
AMSC said that plans for AmpaCity
call for using its high temperature
superconductor, or HTS, wire tobeused
in what is called a superconductor
fault current limiter, or SFCL. An
SFCL is a surge protector to ensure
smooth operation when AmpaCity is
connected to the power grid.
“Aselectricitydemandandgeneration
are steadily growing, and power grids
are becoming more interconnected,
the magnitude of fault currents on
power grids is increasing significantly,”
AMSC said in a press release. “By
lowering the fault current levels, SFCLs
enable utilities to defer or eliminate
equipment replacement, increase
equipment life, and enhance system
operation.”
German power
project employs
superconductor
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