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21 December 2005 - A high voltage surge protector has been successfully demonstrated for the first time in China's power grid.
China's Institute of Electrical Engineering used high temperature superconductor wire manufactured by American Superconductor in the country's first demonstration of a superconductor based fault current limiter, essentially a high voltage surge protector.
The superconductor based fault current limiter has been in demonstration since August this year and has successfully suppressed large spikes of current in the grid that were over five times the normal levels.
Superconductor wires are considered to be 'smart' as they react instantaneously to current surges, passing electricity along at normal levels while also being able to recognize and then suppress large surges of electrical current.
Dr Xiao, deputy director of the IEE, said the demonstration was important in view of China's rapidly growing demand for power: "We need to utilize innovative devices, such as fault current limiters and superconductor transformers and power cables, to guarantee the reliability and stability of our power grids."
According to the US Department of Energy, the market for superconductor fault current limiters in the US alone will be several billion dollars over the next 15 years.
Greg Yurek, chief executive of American Superconductor, said: "We expect the market in China to be even larger because grids there are already approaching the limits of circuit breakers in their rapidly expanding cities."
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