Development of the Superlink HTS Cable System for Implementation in Munich

Abstract

The SuperLink Project develops, since 2020, a superconducting HTS cable technology suitable for the transmission of 500 MVA at the 110 kV level in the network of Stadtwerke München (SWM). A system consisting of a cable cryostat, the superconducting cable, joints, splitterboxes, terminations and a separate return line for the coolant has been developed and tested according to the specifications of the user and project coordinator SWM. It uses high-performing HTS wires, a fully polymeric cryogenic dielectric with low dielectric losses and a novel former concept compensating the thermal contraction. These components have been tested individually and together according to the test standard IEC 63075 and will be operated in the 150 m demonstrator of the project in the network of SWM. Due to limited availability of space in big-city environments, one utility requirement is to minimize the number of cooling stations along the length of a 15 km circuit in Munich. This demands very low loss-levels for the cable and cryostat and has required the development of novel cooling architectures and advanced electrical-, thermal- and hydraulic- modelling tools. Some of the modeling methods and key measured results are presented in this article.