South Korea’s leading power cable manufacturer LS Cable & System Ltd. has received the industry’s first certification on its high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable from a public accreditation agency, moving ahead its rivals in the HVDC market poised for rapid growth.

The company said on Tuesday that it completed a long-term reliability test on its 500kV direct current cable, which began six months ago at its Gangwon site in the presence of Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI). With the certification, the company is now able to export the cable to overseas markets without additional testing in target countries. Only about five companies around the world can make such cables but LS Cable & System is the only company that has completed a test by a public accreditation agency.

The HVDC cable helps improve power transmission efficiency with high voltage direct current. It is also known to make it efficient to transfer electricity generated from various green energy sources. The HVDC industry is growing fast with the worldwide cumulative market value estimated at around $70 billion by 2020, according to government data.

There is almost no restriction on the range of transmission, possibly sending electricity more than 600km away, and the lower grid construction cost compared to the undersea cable is another advantage. Because HVDC does not cause electromagnetic wave interference, malfunctions in communication lines and devices can be reduced, according to the company. For these reasons, the number of HVDC installations is increasing in vast countries such as China and India where the distance between power plants and end users is more than 1,000km.

The HVDC cable that enables the long-range transmission of high volume electricity is expected to bring forward the commencement of a supergrid project for North East Asia to connect power grids in Korea and Japan to those in China and Mongolia.

The HVDC technology can also be deployed to address discrepancies in voltage, frequency and power quality between North and South Korea, where hopes are growing for inter-Korean economic exchanges, the company said.

By Lee Dong-in and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]