Day: August 3, 2022

HVDC Light® transmission system will transfer vast amounts of renewable energy for up to 5 million households and help Germany achieve its 2045 carbon neutrality goal

Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hitachi Energy, a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all, today announced it has won a major order from TenneT and TransnetBW, two of Germany’s four transmission system operators, to supply a transmission solution for the SuedLink DC4 high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnection between the north and south of the country.

SuedLink DC4 is one of the most important power grid and energy transition projects in Germany. It will play a crucial role in Germany’s energy transition, enabling a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and helping the country achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.*¹

Using Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light^® technology, SuedLink DC4 will transfer up to 2,000 megawatts of emission-free electricity, enough to power 5 million German households.^*2 The link will efficiently transmit electricity for 550 kilometers underground, at ±525 kilovolts, sending wind power from the north to the industrial south, or alternatively solar power from the south to the north when needed.

“We are proud to play a crucial role in this very important investment in Germany’s transition to renewable energy and carbon neutrality,” said Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy’s Grid Integration business. “HVDC Light is the enabling technology for large-scale transfers of renewable energy, both onshore and offshore.”

“SuedLink will form the backbone of the energy transition in Germany. With the award of the DC4 high-voltage direct current system to Hitachi Energy, we are now moving towards the realization of this important power link,” says Tim Meyerjürgens, Chief Operations Officer of TenneT.

Hitachi Energy will supply an HVDC Light converter station at each end of SuedLink DC4 to convert AC power from the transmitting grid to DC for delivery through the link, and back to AC for transfer to the receiving grid. The contract includes three cable section stations to speed up fault detection in the link.

As part of its long-term commitment to Germany’s energy transition, Hitachi Energy has recently won or completed orders for solutions that integrate large-scale renewables*³. These include the converter stations for the NordLink*⁴ HVDC interconnector between Germany and Norway, the converter stations for the connection of the 900-megawatt DolWin5 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea, the Kriegers Flak Combined Grid Solution which connects the German power grids with two offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea and Denmark, and power quality solutions to enable more renewable energy to flow from north to south Germany.

Note to editors:

Hitachi Energy’s HVDC solution combines world-leading expertise in HVDC converter valves; the MACH digital control platform*⁵, which enables renewables integration and manages voltage and frequency disturbances in the grid; converter power transformers and high-voltage switchgear; as well as system studies, design and engineering, supply, installation supervision and commissioning.

HVDC Light® is a voltage source converter technology developed by Hitachi Energy. It is the preferred technology for many grid applications, including interconnecting countries, integrating renewables and “power-from-shore” connections to offshore production facilities. HVDC Light’s defining features include uniquely compact converter stations and exceptionally low electrical losses.

Hitachi Energy pioneered commercial HVDC technology almost 70 years ago and has delivered more than half of the world’s HVDC projects.

*1 Generationenvertrag für das Klima
*2 Suedlink – TenneT
*3 Hitachi Energy HVDC projects in Germany
*4 NordLink
*5 Modular Advanced Control for HVDC (MACH)

HVDC website:
https://www.hitachienergy.com/offering/product-and-system/hvdc

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About Hitachi Energy
Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We serve customers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the value chain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world’s energy system to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 38,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of approximately $10 billion USD.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society with data and technology. We will solve customers’ and society’s challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products, under the business structure of Digital Systems & Services, Green Energy & Mobility, Connective Industries and Automotive Systems. Driven by green, digital, and innovation, we aim for growth through collaboration with our customers. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2021 (ended March 31, 2022) totaled 10,264.6 billion yen ($84,136 million USD), with 853 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 370,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at https://www.hitachi.com.

Attachments

• SuedLink DC4
• NordLink, Wilster, Germany

Jocelyn Chang
Hitachi Energy Ltd.
+41 79384 7775

THUWAL, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A group of leading experts have issued a critical framework for using microbiomes to protect wildlife in an ethical and efficient way.

Beneficial Microbes for Marine Organisms (BMMO), an international network of collaborators with expertise in crosscutting areas of probiotic research, have published a paper in Nature Microbiology, Harnessing the microbiome to prevent global biodiversity loss, that provides a science-based framework to accelerate the responsible research and development of microbiome solutions.

Dr. Raquel Peixoto, founder and co-chair of BMMO, and associate professor of marine science at KAUST, said, “Key ecosystems, which host many forms of life, are at the brink of ecological collapse, driving enormous biodiversity losses and mass extinctions, and disrupting ecosystems central to supporting livelihoods.”

Contributing authors include professors Gabriele Berg of The Graz University of Technology; Christian Voolstra of the University of Konstanz; Ute Hentschel of GEOMAR; Rodrigo Costa of the University of Lisbon; Carlos Duarte of KAUST; and ethicist Jeantine Lunsh of Harvard, among other distinguished academics.

A guide to accelerate the use of macrobiotics to restore coral

The scientists examine the use of probiotics to “reboot” healthy microbiomes and protect key, and sensitive, symbiotic relationships between hosts and their associated microbes. Probiotics are now conventionally applied in agroecosystems, showing that successful applications in open environments are possible with controlled risks.

The team propose a science-based framework, outlining a path from laboratory bench to pilot and large-scale applications of microbiomes, to save threatened ecosystems.

“We as a network of leading scientists are concerned that the technological development of an urgently-needed tool may be delayed by unclear and undefined risk assessment steps,” said KAUST Distinguished Professor of Marine Science Carlos Duarte, who serves as executive director of the Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP).

Lionfish

“In addition, no ethical discussions are available to provide guidelines and rules to accelerate the transition from devising to applying environmental probiotics in a practical and safe way. Therefore, we are highlighting the path from concept to real-world solutions, addressing ethical considerations, as well as risks against benefits.”

The paper serves to address this gap. The framework also considers the risk of inaction, and can be adapted to other urgent scientific developments.

Marine scientist Dr. Raquel Peixoto

“Our framework provides a pragmatic regulatory wildlife-adapted tool to guide scientists and stakeholders through the fight against biodiversity loss,” Peixoto said.   “It takes into consideration potential side effects of its application, while also considering the high toll of inaction.”

Additional context:

• Harnessing the microbiome to prevent global biodiversity loss, Nature Microbiology
• For interviews, contact:
  Dr. Raquel Peixoto, KAUST Associate Professor of Marine Science:
  Raquel.peixoto@kaust.edu.sa
  Dr. Carlos Duarte, KAUST Distinguished Professor of Marine Science:
  carlos.duarte@kaust.edu.sa
  Alison Carmody, Corporate Communications Specialist, KAUST Global Branding and Communications:
  alison.carmody@kaust.edu.sa

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/00597509-4bef-4735-ab8b-40f55417a96b

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/30e36740-28d6-40bc-9a9a-cfc9ea0c4531

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf556ef1-0d59-4c8a-959a-3c6aad7a5481