Design, Manufacture, and Test of a 30 m 10 kV/2.5 kA Concentric HTS Cable Prototype for Urban Grid

High temperature superconducting (HTS) cable, with significant low dissipation and massive current carrying capability, is a promising solution for the shortage of transmission capacity in mega-cities. China Southern Grid launched a HTS cable project in 2017 to develop a medium voltage concentric HTS cable system for installation in the distribution grid at urban area in Shenzhen City. It is the first time that concentric HTS cable system is developed and will be the first HTS cable installed in urban grid in China. The cable core mainly consists of three concentric phases winded by YBCO tapes and cold dielectric insulations in between phase-to-phase, phase-to-former, and phase-to-screen. The cable has a rated voltage of 10 kV and a rated current of 2.5 kArms. The critical current (I-c) is at least 6 kA per phase. The outline diameter of the cable core is 76 mm and the cryogenic pipe is 175 mm. As a middle step, we designed and manufactured a 30 m long prototype cable system and it was tested generally according to IEC 63075. For improvement of the manufacture processes, several short cable core samples were made, tested, and dismantled. The ultimate goal of the 30 m prototype is to verify the design and accumulate experience for the installation of the 400 m fully functional cable system in the grid. The test results of the 30 m cable prototype are presented and discussed. The 400 m class HTS concentric cable demonstration project has already started and it is expected to energize in grid in late September, 2021.