!

HVDC Transmission Technology for

Sustainable Power Supply

J. Dorn H. Gambach, D. Retzmann

Infineon Technologies Bipolar GmbH & Co. KG Power Transmission Solutions
Warstein, Germany Siemens AG
joerg.dorn@infineon-bip.com Erlangen, Germany

Abstract— The necessity to limit CO2 emissions as well as the South Africa. In the following decades an impressive
renunciation of nuclear power in many countries are the chief development of the thyristor technology in terms of blocking
factors that determine the future development of electric power voltage, silicon diameter and reliability determined the
generation. These requirements can be met by integrating progress of the HVDC technology and power capability.
renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind farms and solar Modern 6-inch thyristors at a blocking voltage of 8,500 volts
power from North Africa. However, in most cases, these are on the upper edge of power capability. With these thyristors
renewable energy sources are far away from the load centers. HVDC bulk power transmission at DC voltages of
This requires reliable long-distance power transmission systems. ± 800 kilovolts and a nominal DC current of 5,000 amperes is
The HVDC transmission is the key technology to cope with this
feasible, which in its turn results in a transmission power of
challenge in the future and therefore it is gradually gaining in
importance.
8,000 megawatts.
New voltage sourced converter (VSC) topologies based on
This paper gives an overview of the different state-of-the-art semiconductors with turn-off capability have evolved a lot in
technologies in the field of HVDC transmission systems based on recent years. This converter technology offers additional
the HVDC schemes put into operation. features, e.g. it enables to connect a converter to weak grids
and to independently control active and reactive power. Less or
Keywords: HVDC, Power Transmission, Power Supply,
Multilevel VSC, Modular Multilevel Converter
even no filtering constitutes an additional advantage of
multilevel converters.
I. INTRODUCTION Worldwide, the HVDC technology will play a far more
A reliable and affordable supply of electric power is important role in the future than it did in the past. Multi-
essential in every country. It helps both develop and maintain terminal systems, i.e. HVDC transmission systems with more
its industry and the quality of its people’s life. However, the than two converter stations, are already being implemented;
global necessity to minimize CO2 emissions and the wish of DC grids will become reality in some years.
many countries to do without nuclear power are posing new
challenges in generation and transmission of electric power. II. TECHNICAL OVERVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION
More renewable energy sources, such as onshore and offshore A. Basic scheme
wind farms, solar power and hydropower will have to become
part of the electric power supply. Obviously, in many cases The basic scheme of an HVDC link is shown in Fig. 1.
power generation sites and load centers are situated far away Generally, its purpose is to exchange power between two AC
from each other or have to be connected by means of land or grids. The converters are connected via transformers to both
sea cables. HVDC is the most reasonable solution when it AC grids and are linked together either directly (Back-to-Back)
comes to transmitting electric power over the distances of or by means of DC overhead lines or DC cables.
several thousands of kilometers and when countries and areas
with complementary renewable sources are to be
interconnected. With the help of HVDC cable links distances
far beyond a hundred kilometers can be covered.
The development of the HVDC technology started in the
Figure 1. Basic scheme of an HVDC link
1940s. In its first decades mercury arc valves were used in
order to convert AC to DC and vice versa. A remarkable
The DC system can consist of the following parts or a
milestone in the HVDC technology was the replacement of
combination thereof:
mercury arc valves with thyristors in the 1970s. The first
project in the world based on these power semiconductors was x Overhead lines, often in a bipolar configuration at
Cahora Bassa, a transmission link between Mozambique and typical voltages of ± 500 kV or ± 800 kV. These

978-1-4673-1591-3/12/$31.00 ©2012 IEEE

 schemes are mainly used to transmit bulk power over a In a scheme with a DC voltage of 500 kV 70 to 75
long distance. thyristors per valve are connected in series to achieve the
required voltage capability.
x Sea or land cables. HVDC transmission is the only
reasonable solution for cables with a length of more Today, both trigger types, i.e. electrically triggered
than approximately 80 kilometers because of the high thyristors (ETTs) and light triggered thyristors (LTTs) with
cable capacity. integrated protection functions are common in the HVDC
applications and they have demonstrated excellent
x Short DC bus bars at a length of a few meters. In order performance, reliability and life cycle.
to interconnect asynchronous but adjacent grids,
HVDC systems referred to as Back-to-Back systems
are the preferred solution. Here, both converters are
usually situated in one common valve hall building.
These systems are typical of countries with
independent asynchronous grids (e.g. the United States
or Japan).

B. Classic HVDC: Line-Commutated Converter (LCC)

Technology
1) Technical Overview
Line-commutated converters have been the only solution
for many decades and they are still the first choice for bulk
power transmission of 1,000 to 2,000 megawatts and above.
They are based on six-pulse converter bridge configurations,
two of which are typically connected in the following
arrangement in order to build up a 12-pulse bridge, as shown in
Fig. 2. There are three AC connectors on the left side and two
DC terminals on the right side.
Converter Station A Converter Station B
Figure 3. Converter configuration of both stations a 500 kV system

Schemes at a DC voltage of 800 kilovolts are termed Ultra

High Voltage DC (UHVDC) systems and they usually consist
of two twelve-pulse bridges per pole connected in series. In this
case, 60 thyristors per valve are usually required.
Depending on the individual design, 24 to 30 thyristors
together with the associated components, such as snubber
circuits, water cooling equipment and valve reactors, are
arranged in a thyristor valve module which is assembled and
pre-tested in the converter factory.

Figure 2. 12-pulse converter bridge

The complete configuration of a bipolar HVDC system

with both stations and DC voltages of ± 500 kilovolts is shown
in Fig. 3. In order to achieve the required voltage capability a
number of thyristors have to be connected in series. In terms of
optimizing the total losses, thyristors at a blocking voltage of
8,500 volts are the most economic solution. Thyristors at
higher blocking voltages, i.e. up to 13 kilovolts are technically
feasible but the system losses would go up since the device
losses are disproportionally higher than the blocking capability.
At the optimum blocking voltage of 8,500 volts the current
capability is proportional to the silicon diameter. Devices with
diameters of four, five and six inches are mainly used in
HVDC projects. Figure 4. Thyristor valve module with associated components
 On the site of the HVDC converter station these thyristor
valve modules are suspended from the valve hall ceiling in
order to fulfill the seismic requirements.

Figure 6. Comparison of AC and DC tower configurations

The majority of bulk power transmission projects have been

implemented in China, India and Brazil. In most cases huge
amounts of electric power produced by hydropower plants
Figure 5. Converter hall of a 800 kV scheme located inland have to be transmitted to the load centers, often
located near the coast. By way of example, Fig. 7 depicts some
The HVDC schemes based on the LCC technology absorb of the HVDC schemes implemented in China.
reactive power from the connected grid due to the fact that the
commutation of the valves is driven by the connected power
grid. The reactive power mentioned has to be compensated by
switched capacitor banks on the AC side. In addition to this,
filtering is necessary both on the AC and on the DC side in
order to fulfill the corresponding requirements.
According to the converter configuration of the stations and
the thyristor behavior, the current can flow in one direction
only, independent from the direction of the power flow.
Therefore, the polarity of the DC voltages must be changed
with the power flow direction. DC cables with polyethylene
insulation are not suited for fast polarity reversals, therefore
mass impregnated cables are used.
However, schemes based on the LCC thyristor technology
are marked by low operational losses, high overload capability,
their excellent robustness, reliability and a service life of many
decades. Figure 7. HVDC projects implemented in China
The losses of an AC transmission line at 1,000 kV remain
under 7% per 1,000 kilometers in a 6,400 megawatt system. In 2) The Project Xiangjiaba-Shanghai
contrast to this, the line losses of a ± 800 kV HVDC The link between Xiangjiaba and Shanghai is currently the
transmission line do not exceed 3.5 % per 1,000 kilometers at most high-power HVDC system with the longest transmission
the rated power of 6,400 megawatts. In addition to this, the distance in the world, see Table I. It was put into bipolar
station losses of approximately 0.7% per HVDC converter operation in June 2010.
station have to be taken into consideration. However, the total
losses of an HVDC system are significantly lower compared TABLE I. DATA OF XIANGJIABA-SHANGHAI
with AC transmission, if bulk power has to be transmitted over
Transmission length 2071 km
long distances of 1,000 kilometers and above.
DC voltage ± 800 kV
Another advantage is that the required right-of-way is much
smaller in the case of an HVDC transmission line. Figure 6 Nominal DC current 4000 A
illustrates the difference between an 800 kV AC transmission Rated power 6400 MW
tower and a 500 kV DC tower, which have approximately the
same transmission capacity of about 3,000 megawatts.
C. HVDC based on Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) The main disadvantage of the two-level concept is the high
Technology semiconductor switching frequency within one kilohertz range
1) Technical Overview which leads to relatively high switching losses. In addition to
this, substantial filtering is necessary to achieve a sinusoidal
The initial configuration of the VSC, which was the
current waveform on the AC side and to fulfill the
standard for more than ten years, is a two-level converter. It
requirements regarding generation of harmonics.
requires semiconductors with turn-off capability and associated
freewheeling diodes. Today, IGBTs are the first choice for the A milestone in the VSC technology was the development
VSCs due to their excellent controllability and their capability and introduction of the modular multilevel converter (MMC),
to limit a short circuit current and subsequently to turn it off. In termed the HVDC PLUS. This converter type, which was
order to achieve the required voltage capability up to several proposed by R. Marquardt [1] consists of the units, referred to
hundreds of kilovolts a great number of IGBTs are directly as submodules, connected in series as shown in Fig. 9. Each
connected in series. submodule contains an IGBT half bridge and a
submodule capacitor to store power and to ensure a low
inductive commutation of the semiconductors within one
submodule. Due to individual controllability of the submodules,
each converter arm can be operated as a controlled voltage
source; consequently, sinusoidal AC voltages and smooth DC
voltages can be generated. Therefore the MMC topology has
the following advantages compared with the two-level
topology:
x The switching frequency of the semiconductors lies
between 100 and 200 hertz only, i.e. the resulting
hswitching losses as well as the total converter losses
are significantly lower.
x Harmonic distortion resulting from switching
Figure 8. Basic schematic of a two-level converter individual submodules is therefore of minor
importance. Harmonic filters have become a thing of
the past – both on the AC and on the DC side.

SM 1 SM 1 SM 1

SM 2 SM 2 SM 2

SM n SM n SM n

SM
Ud

SM 1 SM 1 SM 1

SM 2 SM 2 SM 2

SM n SM n SM n

Phase Unit
Figure 9. Basic configuration of the HVDC PLUS based on the MMC technology
Voltage sourced converters provide additional advantages
compared with the LCCs. The most important of them are as
follows:
x There are no special requirements regarding short
circuit capability of the connected network. Therefore,
the VSCs can be connected to weak networks or even
to passive networks. In this case a VSC can provide the
feature, referred to as the Black-Start Capability in
order to build up a three-phase system.
x Within the specified limits the active and the reactive
power can be independently controlled by the
converter, i.e. it can also provide reactive power to the
connected network.
x It offers excellent dynamic behavior, i.e. the capability
to react quickly on disturbances or to adjust active or
reactive power.
x It boasts low space requirements, which is essential for
offshore wind platforms with grid access schemes.
x The DC voltage needs no reversal for the change of
power flow direction; it is done just by current
reversal. Therefore, XLPE cables, which do not boast
fast polarity reversal, suit optimal to interconnect
converter stations.
These advantages make the MMC technology superior for
connecting large offshore wind farms located more than 80
kilometers away from the coast.
2) The Project Trans Bay Cable
The Trans Bay Cable link is the first HVDC PLUS system in
the world, based on MMC technology. Since November 2010
the link has been in commercial operation. It has a capacity to
transmit up to 400 MW of real power from Pittsburg in the East
Bay to Potrero Hill in the centre of San Francisco (Fig. 1). The
link covers a distance of 85 km right across the bottom of the
San Francisco Bay. The reactive power capability is
+/- 170 MVAr, the DC link voltage is +/- 200 kV. Figure 10. Trans Bay Cable, San Francisco, USA; basic configuration (top);
view on Potrero Station (middle); view into the converter hall (bottom)
The goal of this project was to eliminate bottlenecks in the
overloaded Californian grid: new power plants cannot be 3) Grid Access to Offshore Wind Farms
constructed in this densely populated area and there is no right- Several grid access projects have been awarded to Siemens
of-way for new lines or land cables. This is the reason why a with the purpose to connect offshore wind farms in the North
polyethylene insulated (XLPE) DC cable is laid through the Sea to the shore. All schemes are based on the HVDC PLUS
bay, and the power flows through it by means of the HVDC technology:
PLUS technology in an environmentally compatible way.
The scheme has demonstrated excellent performance in terms TABLE II. HVDC PLUS PROJECTS IN THE NORTH SEA
of losses and harmonics. During an AC under-voltage fault Technical Data
which occurred in the Potrero station on March 18, 2011, the Project name
Power rating DC voltage
fault-ride-through (FRT) behavior of the converter was
monitored and recorded [4]. HelWin1 576 MW ± 250 kV

BorWin2 800 MW ± 300 kV

SylWin1 864 MW ± 320 kV

Additional requirements have to be fulfilled for these requirements. It makes transmission distances of one thousand
applications: kilometers and above that feasible, helps control the load flow
x Black-Start Capability on the offshore side in order to in an optimal way and it also reduces transmission losses.
provide a three-phase system for the wind turbine The development of the UHVDC based on ±800 kV poses
converters. a milestone in power transmission technology. The line losses
x A DC braking chopper is to be installed to fulfill the drop by approximately 60 % compared with the 500 kV HVDC
grid code requirements in terms of under-voltage fault systems. Further development in the field of the HVDC based
or a short circuit in the onshore grid. The DC braking on the LCC will focus on a further increase in DC voltage up to
chopper, inserted between the DC poles on the more than 1,100 kilovolts. As a result, power ratings of the
onshore station, is furnished with special designed systems will rise and the losses of bulk power transmission will
submodules. The submodules contain resistors to continue to fall.
dissipate the whole transmitted real power for up two The HVDC VSC technology will also be driven by growing
seconds. power capability. Both, DC voltage and DC current will go up
III. OUTLOOK in the near future. Additional aspects, such as multi-terminal
systems, i.e. the HVDC transmission systems with three or
New requirements and challenges will determine future more converters connected to the DC poles, will gain in
power transmission and supply. Solar power from the South of importance. One step further would be a DC grid, which,
Europe and from Africa, wind power from the North Sea and however, requires new control and protection strategies. DC
the Baltic Sea as well as hydro power from the East of Europe circuit breakers can also become necessary in order to clear a
have to be exploited and transmitted to the load centers. As a fault in one segment of the DC grid without tripping the whole
consequence, long distances with an increasing amount of grid.
energy trading and fluctuating regenerative energy sources will
have to be dealt with. In order to keep generation, transmission
and consumption in balance, grids must become more flexible,
i.e. the controllability has to become better. The HVDC
transmission is the key technology to meet these new

Figure 11. Comparison of distances and energy sources in China and Europe

REFERENCES
[4] W. Breuer, D. Retzmann, K. Uecker, “Highly Efficient Solutions for
[1] Marquardt R., Lesnicar A. “New Concept for High Voltage – Modular
Multilevel Converter”, PESC 2004 Conference Aachen, Germany Smart and Bulk Power Transmission of Green Energy”, The 21th World
Energy Congress, September 12-16, 2010, Montreal, Canada
[2] J. Dorn, H. Huang, D. Retzmann: Novel Voltage-Sourced Converters for
HVDC and FACTS Applications Cigré Symposium, November 1–4, [5] J. Dorn, H. Gambach, J. Strauss, T. Westerweller, “Trans Bay Cable – A
2007, Osaka, Japan Breakthrough of VSC Multilevel Converters in HVDC Transmission,”
Cigré Colloquium, March 7-9, 2012, San Francisco
[3] B. Gemmel, J. Dorn, D. Retzmann, D. Soerangr: Prospects of Multilevel
VSC Technologies for Power Transmission IEEE PES Transmission and
Distribution Conference & Exposition, April 21–24, 2008, Chicago,
USA