TRANSFORMING POWER
SUPPLY PARAMETERS ABB is a global leader in the supply of advanced power and automation technologies. Philip Yorke looks at how this multinational giant is utilising its unique knowledge of transformers and automation technology to help increase industrial productivity in an eco-friendly and sustainable way.
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BB is the power house for change in the electrical transformer and automation technology sector. Since the company was founded in the late 1880s it has helped hundreds of countries all over the world to develop, build and maintain their power supply infrastructures in the most efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly manner. Today the ABB group of companies operates in over 100 countries and employs more than 140,000 people.
Leading the world in high performance transformers ABB has earned an enviable reputation for innovation in all its many advanced engineering disciplines. However, none is more pertinent to addressing today’s environmental challenges than the cutting-edge technology that it has applied to its electrical transformer and automation divisions. The
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company’s latest UHVDC (Ultra High Voltage Direct Current) converter transformer can operate at over a million volts and enables the efficient and reliable transmission of larger amounts of electricity across longer distances than ever before. At the same time this innovative system minimises any impact on the environment. In July 2014 it was announced in Switzerland that the ABB Group had successfully developed and tested a 1100 kilovolt (kV) UHDC converter transformer, which has broken all records for the highest DC voltage levels ever transmitted. In addition, it has afforded the facility of transmitting this huge electrical capacity over longer distances than has ever been possible before. This ground-breaking technology was developed specifically by ABB to serve the needs of the Xiangiaba-Shanghai link in China, where transmission distances of over
3000 km are commonplace. The new 1100 kV converter transformer technology from ABB makes it possible to transmit more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power across the huge expanses of China both efficiently and economically. Today ABB’s converter technology plays a critical role in HVDC transmission by providing the vital interface between the DC link and the AC network. The development of its 1100kV transformer addressed several technology challenges – for example, the sheer size and scale of the project and the electrical insulation including bushings and thermal performance parameters required for the task. It will come as no surprise therefore, to learn that ABB is the world leader in UHVDC transmission technology, with countless pioneering achievements recorded since it embarked upon the development of
