Project Summary
This project addresses two key aims set out in the SIF Innovation Challenge:
*Improve coordination between networks and other system participants: the
project achieves this through innovative technology to enable future grid
reinforcement needs for heat, power, and transport while reducing the carbon
impact of electricity system.
*Reduce duplication and excessive variation of products, processes or
services: the project achieves this through evaluating the costs and opportunities
of repurposing existing infrastructure and/or assets -- such as existing cable
routes, tunnels and substations, leading to lower costs for upgrading
infrastructure.
The network innovation involved is the innovative deployment of High
Temperature Superconductor (HTS) cable technology to increase network
capacity on the GB electricity network. Full achievement of the project's aims will
require technology innovation to drive down cost, deployment innovation to reduce
Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) risk, and operation and
maintenance (O&M) innovation to allow continued support of the novel cable
technology. We build on international innovative experience drawn from a number
of HTS projects are in operation worldwide. We aim to extend the experience at
higher voltages (only four projects are at voltages higher than 80kV) and with
longer lengths of cable (the longest AC installation is 1200m long).
The project has evolved during the discovery phase as follows:
*The partners have a shared understanding of the maturity of HTS technology, the
requirements for future development and the needed cost and risk reduction
steps.
*A plan to mature the technical and commercial viability of HTS technology
through demonstration a realistic field test environment has been established.
*The challenges of developing HTS systems for the GB grid are better understood
and the Alpha phase plan has been adjusted to deal with them, including testing
and modelling and additional expertise to reinforce some experience gaps within
the project team.
*An outline cost and benefit model has been produced, identifying the areas for
largest potential cost reductions.
The project has engaged a range of key partners with the knowledge and
expertise to deliver the project and implement outcomes. These partners are:
1.Transmission and distribution network owners: (NGET, WPD, SPEN, UKPN)
driving the requirements for the technology and identifying operating conditions
and future use cases.
2.HTS Technology providers: Nexans and AMSC, experts in superconducting
cable systems, technology expertise on current costs and technology readiness
level (TRL).
3.Academic partners: Universities of Manchester and Strathclyde research and
expertise in power system technologies, modelling and simulation of solution.
4.Project Management & Benefits Assessment: Frazer-Nash Consultancy,
programme management, technology lifecycle development, and cost/benefit
analyses.
5.*Generation Licence Holder:* Ørsted generation licence holder supporting this
project.
The partners combine knowledge and capabilities and a strong interest in
advancing HTS technology. NGET, SPEN, WPD, UKPN can deploy the solution
on the respective networks, Ørsted can develop understanding of the potential
uses of HTS technology in generation contexts, Nexans and AMSC can design
and produce innovative HTS solutions to suit GB grid requirements, The
Universities of Strathclyde and Manchester can expand their research in the
area of superconductor technology and its impacts on the grid, and Frazer-Nash
ensure the capabilities of the supporting consultancy ecosystem.
The proposed solution addresses the challenges held by its potential users: NGET
and other network operators (TOs and DNOs). These users benefit from a wider
range of options to enable future grid reinforcement, including the replacement of
existing assets reaching the end of life. Consumers benefit from faster progress
towards a net-zero electricity system, experience reduced disruption in upgrading
network assets and will be supplied by a more resilient and sustainable network.
Innovation Justification
The anticipated increase in consumer demand for electricity particularly for heat
and transport, as a result of a drive to Net Zero will require the reinforcement of
urban grids. Increasing capacity using existing technology solutions is difficult as
they are often physically constrained in dense city environments. This problem
requires novel and innovative technology solutions with higher power density, to
deliver higher capacity at lower voltage levels and via a lower number of routes.
HTS Cable provides a potentially valuable novel technology solution, although
innovation is required to reduce its adoption risks on the GB network. There is no
superconducting cable system currently operational in the UK, meaning that the
partners need a programme of technology innovation to drive down cost,
deployment innovation to reduce Engineering, Procurement and Construction
(EPC) risk, and operation and maintenance (O&M) innovation to allow continued
support of the novel cable technology. To support the HTS cable technology the
project will design innovative HTS cable joints, and cable sealing ends; this would
be a world-first outcome if successful.
The energy sector needs to expand its suite of technology options to reinforce
constrained urban networks. HTS cable solutions address these constraint
problems with 3-10 times higher power density than conventional solutions:
improving reinforcement effectiveness directly and through the repurposing of
existing civil infrastructure on cable routes leading to lower costs for upgrading
infrastructure.
Previous grid-integrated HTS projects are international, meaning that UK industry
is missing the resulting knowledge. Furthermore, a majority of these installations
are experimental, deploying only short cable lengths and operating at relatively
low voltages. The longest AC HTS cable on a power network is 1.2km at
35kV/77MVA, installed in Shanghai in early 2021. Project partners AMSC are
proposing a 1.5km cable in Chicago, subject to a successful test of a prototype. A
1km, 10kV/40MVA system in Essen, Germany, is the longest-running HTS Cable
project, installed by project partners Nexans in 2014.
For urban network reinforcements, it is common for cable length to be from 1-
10km, without this project industry would not have confidence to deploy HTS cable
over these distances. This project will also consider jointing: due to the short
lengths of most HTS projects to date, there is very limited research and learning
into effective jointing of cables, a critical consideration for longer cables.
The project will deliver whole system value through standardising solutions for 11,
33 and 132kV that can be used across GB, lowering the cost of superconducting
cable deployment through repeatability and modularity. Current HTS cables
operate at different voltages, such as 150kV, based on international grid
standards; the project will also investigate whether standardisation at these
voltages could be adapted for use in GB. If such standardisation can be applied to
worldwide markets it enables much greater cost savings to be realised.
The low technology readiness and EPC understanding of HTS technology means
that the necessary developments are beyond the scope of NGET's Business as
Usual. It requires extensive, industry wide collaboration, both to develop a shared
objective, and to embed outcomes in individual business plans and strategies.
This could potentially unlock industry investment downstream as part of BAU
activity. Clear understanding of target component costs and a roadmap to achieve cost reduction will help demonstrate to the industry when HTS systems become a
competitive solution.
Benefits
The key benefits of this project are to:
-Increase the technology readiness of HTS Cable systems as deployable
technology options on the GB electricity network,
-Decrease the commercial, EPC and O&M barriers and risks of HTS technology
deployment through developing UK industry understanding of the technology at all
lifecycle phases,
-Exploit standardisation and modularity of HTS solutions to use learning rates and
contractor knowledge to drive down HTS technology cost.
-Develop a more mature understanding of the characteristics of a grid
reinforcement project which would make it cost effective for HTS technology
deployment (required power density, physical and infrastructure constraints,
available footprint for substations, etc.)
Compared to equivalent existing cabling technology solutions, HTS has the
following benefits:
-significant power density and space efficiency advantages which are its main
benefit,
-negligible thermal cycling compared to underground cables (UGCs), which should
prove more resilient and reliable in long-term operation. This will be explored in
detail via a system lifetime assessment to be carried out in Work Package 1 of the
Alpha Phase.
-lower power transmission losses allow more of the electricity generated to reach
the consumer, providing cost savings and environmental benefits.
The potential benefits to consumers and stakeholders are faster progress towards
net-zero and a more effective, future-proofed and sustainable network, with lower
associated disruption and environmental impact during the construction of network
upgrades.
A cost/benefit analysis (CBA) was developed during the Discovery Phase to
provide rough order of magnitude (ROM) costs for further development and
refinement during the Alpha Phase. The CBA is provided in the attached
spreadsheet: it is recognised that the ROM values do not constitute a quantified
business case, as the fidelity of the data captured during the Discovery phasedoes not enable like-for-like comparison with a reference case. The ROM figures
show that HTS systems are currently more expensive than the equivalent UGC.
However, the costs are of a comparable order, and there are opportunities through
technology learning rates, economies of scale and contractor familiarity to reduce
HTS costs to achieve parity with UGC in particular project locations and
circumstances. Project costs are sensitive to the actual location, so identifying a
suitable site on the GB grid for the application of HTS technology will allow
costings to be refined. The detailed investment case will be developed in Work
Package 2 of the Alpha Phase.
A wider programme of HTS technology roll-out, the ultimate goal of this
technology development programme, would create additional value for the wider
UK economy. Direct economic growth would be facilitated through HTS enabling
previously constrained deployment of new, low carbon infrastructure. Indirectly,
UK industry developing construction and operating experience of HTS technology
would create exploitable IP, know-how and expertise with export potential to
support other nations' Net Zero transition.
