Superconducting fault current limiter trials to commence soon

Nexans and thirteen European partners have reached a significant milestone in the progress of the EC funded ECCOFLOW project to create an innovative and multi-purpose superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) suitable for use in a range of utility applications. The design and development phase of the four year project is complete and manufacturing of the SFCL will commence soon.

19/04/2011 09:51:58

Thanks to their almost instantaneous response to fault currents, SFCLs can prevent the damaging overloading of switchgear and other power network components that can occur during short-circuits.

The ECCOFLOW SFCL will be assembled in 2011 at the Nexans facility based in Hurth, Germany, and installed for a test programme of about six months at an Endesa substation in Palma de Mallorca.

The new device, using second-generation high temperature superconducting tapes for the current limiting components, will be the first multi-purpose unit suitable for applications at different places in the European grid.