AmpaCity — Installation of advanced superconducting 10 kV system in city center replaces conventional 110 kV cables

In this paper the German AmpaCity project, which started in September 2011, will be introduced and the conceptual design of the main components will be described. The objective of the project is developing, manufacturing and installing a 10 kV, 40 MVA high temperature superconducting (HTS) system consisting of a fault current limiter and of a 1 km cable in the city of Essen. AmpaCity serves as a lighthouse project, since it is the first time that a one kilometer HTS cable system will be installed together with an HTS fault current limiter in a real grid application within a city center area. In addition it will be the longest installed HTS cable system worldwide. Within the project the development phase was finished in March 2013 with successfully completing the type test of the cable system. Subsequently, manufacturing of the different components for the installation has started and the system is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2013.