Hållbara Nanostrukturerade Plaster till Högspänningskablar
- Diarienummer
- FFL15-0147
- Start- och slutdatum
- 170101-221231
- Beviljat belopp
- 11 710 818 kr
- Förvaltande organisation
- Chalmers University of Technology
- Forskningsområde
- Materialvetenskap och materialteknologier
Summary
Both developed countries and emerging economies are in urgent need of modern power grid solutions that can meet the rapidly growing demand for reliable, cost-effective and environmentally responsible power transmission. The desired drastic reduction in carbon dioxide emission requires seamless integration of intermittent renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind and solar, which are often placed far away from the end user. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology is the most practical and economically feasible solution for long-distance power transmission. The aim of this project is the development of novel design concepts for insulation materials that can enable the manufacture of HVDC power cables with significantly improved transmission capacity. The project will be realised through two PhD student projects that will focus on two critical areas: (1) thermoplastic insulation materials that do not require crosslinking, and (2) semiconducting nanocomposites based on graphene nanoplatelets. Upscaling to practical quantities will be key for transferring the results to industry. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with various industrial stakeholders in Sweden to ensure direct relevance for power cable manufacturing. Hence, this project will support Sweden in its ongoing effort to consolidate its globally leading position in the HVDC technology sector, at a time when new sustainable energy solutions are of high demand.
Populärvetenskaplig beskrivning
Both developed countries and emerging economies are in urgent need of modern power grid solutions that are able to meet the rapidly growing demand for reliable, cost-effective and environmentally responsible power transmission. The desired drastic reduction in carbon dioxide emission requires seamless integration of intermittent renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind and solar, which are often placed far away from the end user. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology is considered to be the most practical and economically feasible solution for long-distance power transmission. In contrast, high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) technology, which is more commonly used today, is associated with significant losses. Power cables with polyethylene based insulation represent the most advanced HVDC technology. Such cables can be buried underground or submerged undersea and thus are increasingly often the best possible way to increase network capacity and connectivity in e.g. densely populated Europe were new overhead transmission lines are highly undesirable. In order to further boost the potential of HVDC technology it is critical to double the operating voltage of HVDC cables from 525 kV today, which ABB introduced in 2014 using an insulation material that had been developed together with Borealis, to 1000 kV (one megavolt). However, the insulation materials that are currently available can neither withstand the resulting increase in electric load nor the additional thermo-mechanical stresses. In 2014 representatives of manufacturers, power companies and academic institutions have jointly prepared an Innovation Agenda, called the Megavolt Challenge. The agenda outlines how Sweden can consolidate its globally leading position in this technology sector by upscaling of existing cable systems to the one megavolt level. The aim of this project is the development of novel design concepts for insulation materials that can enable the manufacture of HVDC power cable technology with significantly improved power transmission capacity. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with various industrial stakeholders in Sweden. Thus, it can be anticipated that this project will significantly contribute towards the realisation of one megavolt HVDC technology.