Techno-economic analysis of superconducting circuit breakers for HVDC grids

This paper presents a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of superconducting circuit breakers (S-DCCBs) for high voltage direct current (HVDC) grids, in comparison to hybrid circuit breakers. The design of the proposed S-DCCB focuses on the superconductor dimensions. Then, the performance of an S-DCCB is evaluated and compared with a hybrid circuit breaker (H-CB) in a four-terminal HVDC grid. The analysis demonstrates that the technical performance of the designed S-DCCB versus H-CB is similar in terms of breaking capability but with remarkably lower costs. The findings contribute to the development of more reliable and efficient HVDC grid protection strategies.