Energy Department announces $35M for projects to support medium-voltage devices

Published on February 11, 2019 by Kevin Randolph


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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced recently $35 million in awards for 12 projects that explore ways to harness medium-voltage electricity for applications in the electric grid, industry, transportation and other areas.

The projects are part of ARPA-E’s Building Reliable Electronics to Achieve Kilovolt Effective Ratings Safely (BREAKERS) program and the latest OPEN+ cohort, Kilovolt Devices.

“America’s energy landscape is constantly evolving, and as new ways to generate and distribute power gain popularity, it’s critical we develop the tools to maximize their utility,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said. “These ARPA‑E projects serve first and foremost to modernize how we move power around safely, reliably and efficiently, creating a new set of capabilities for tomorrow’s utilities and industry.”

The eight BREAKERS projects aim to develop new direct current (DC) devices to improve power management by eliminating electrical faults, improving efficiency, improving reaction times and potentially enabling increased use of energy storage and renewable resources.

The four Kilovolt Devices OPEN+ projects aim to find solutions challenges facing power electronics in the medium-voltage space, with a focus on grid security and reliability.

Today, power distribution networks are powered primarily by alternating current (AC) electricity. DC electricity can provide higher power carrying capacity and lower distribution losses, DOE noted. BREAKERS projects aim to develop DC devices that prevent electric arcing while handling large amounts of power and voltage.