Korea Electric Power Corp. has announced that the world’s longest distribution-voltage superconductor cable system has been energized at the I’cheon substation located near the city of Seoul. Powered by AMSC’s Amperium superconductor wire and installed in Korea Electric Power Company’s (KEPCO) electricity grid, the 22.9 kV alternating current (AC) cable system is capable of carrying approximately 50 MW of power. This is longest HTS cable in the world to be energized in the grid utilizing second generation (2G) superconductor wire and is also currently the longest distribution voltage superconductor power cable in operation.

AC superconductor power cable systems can conduct up to 10 times the amount of power of conventional cables made with copper wire. As demonstrated at the I’cheon substation installation, they can be placed strategically in urban power grids to deliver more power than conventional cables in the same right-of-way to mitigate grid congestion or can be used to replace overhead lines.

“Already over-taxed power grids around the world are being challenged to meet rising electricity demands associated with today’s growing and increasingly networked economy. Because superconductor technology provides a reliable, cost-effective solution, we see it as a tremendous growth opportunity,” said LS Cable & System President Jong-ho Son.

In October of 2010, LS Cable & System and AMSC entered into the world’s first large-scale commercial superconductor wire supply agreement. AMSC recently made its initial wire shipment to LS Cable & System under this new agreement to allow it to begin qualification work for Korea’s next superconductor cable projects. KEPCO is now planning a 1 kilometer, 154kV AC cable system and a 500 meter, 80kV DC cable system in the grid on South Korea’s Jeju Island.