A trusted partner to protect your investment SPECIAL SOLUTION FOR CABLE FAULT LOCATION ON THE WORLD’S LONGEST HVDC INTERCONNECTOR

THE VIKING LINK PROJECT Enable clean electricity to be transmitted through a 761 kilometre power cable system Viking Link is a ±525 kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transnational interconnector between the United Kingdom and Denmark. With overall construction costs amounting to about £1.7 billion, it was commissioned in Autumn 2023 and began its regular operation on the 29th December, 2023. Prysmian Group and NKT manufactured, delivered and successfully installed a new world-record-holding Mass Impregnated Non Draining (MIND) cable system with a total length of 761 kilometres, capable of...

National Grid Viking Link Limited Ask the project manager for further information Megger Germany GmbH, Factory Radeburg, Germany Revsing substation, Jutland, Denmark Bicker Fen substation, Lincolnshire, England EU Project of Common Interest (PCI) 1.14 EU tendering process, and client’s contractual agreements Development and manufacturing of fault location container, audio frequency generator, and HV bridge Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) Container 1 for ENERGINET / Container 2 for National Grid Site Acceptance Tests (SAT) and fingerprinting Container 1 in Denmark / Container 2 in England Commissioning...

SCOPE AND PERFORMANCE No existing solution in the market met the application-specific requirements of the Viking Link cable system and its tender specification. Consequentially, the all-new Megger R550 system was born, suitable for cable fault location and cable route tracing on long HVAC and HVDC cables. ■ State-of-the-art user convenience: Fully automated, centrally controlled, and integrated system – Automatic switching via motorised switches for mode selection, mode execution and voltage range dial – Automation of all components and operating modes without any exceptions, even power burning...

NEW STANDALONE PRODUCTS In addition to the fault locating container, the project required instruments for complementary prelocation and for geo-surveying and route tracing of subsea cables. The tender specification called for a very capable HV measurement bridge and for a transmitter of audio frequency modulated currents, appropriate for work in both the shallow and the deep water zone. HIGH VOLTAGE BRIDGE AUDIO FREQUENCY GENERATOR Voltage drop method for the best results The most powerful tone generator in the world 20 kV DC with maximum charging current of 850 mA for long HVAC and HVDC cables...

FACTORY ACCEPTANCE TEST (FAT) LOCATION Megger Factory, Radeburg, Germany TIME 2023, July 24 - 28 Team Denmark (ENERGINET) Team UK (National Grid) Blichfeld Power & Measurements Team Megger Germany Seminar on cable fault location basics, plus hands-on demonstrations Factory acceptance test Strict comparison of the presented products against Viking Link tender specification, carried out by the ENERGINET team Verification of all operating modes and features First equipment training, answering questions

LOCATION Megger Factory, Radeburg, Germany TIME Team UK (National Grid) Team Megger Germany Additional hands-on training with detailed explanation of technology and system features Factory acceptance test by the National Grid team Strict comparison of the presented products against the Viking Link tender specification, carried out by the National Grid team Verification of all operating modes and features

SITE ACCEPTANCE TEST (SAT) LOCATION Revsing substation, Denmark TIME 2023, September 26 - 28 PARTICIPANTS ■ Team Denmark (ENERGINET) ■ Team Megger Blichfeld Power & Measurements Site acceptance test and asset handover Initial checks after delivery to verify the good condition of the products Real world hands-on training for the ENERGINET team Making connections to both poles (NKT terminations), including the TDR low-Z connection set for long cables Recording a full TDR fingerprint, including the cable end reflection and a reasonable segmentation Intensive application of the tone generator for...

LOCATION Bicker Fen substation, England TIME Team UK (National Grid) Team Megger Site acceptance test and asset handover Initial checks after delivery to verify the good condition of the products Real world hands-on training for the National Grid team Making connections to both poles (Prysmian Group terminations), including the TDR low-Z connection set for long cables Recording a full TDR fingerprint, including the cable end reflection and a reasonable segmentation HV bridge measurement applying the 4-wire voltage drop measurement to the complete Viking Link cable system, demonstration of the...

761.4 km HVDC interconnector (Pole 1) Mass Impregnated Non Draining (MIND), manufactured by Prysmian Group and NKT 1.4 GW at 525 kV DC, bidirectional Segments Underground Denmark Cross sectional area Number of joints Pole 1 Pole 2 Bicker Fen substation in Lincolnshire, England Same cross sections: 1800 mm² to 1800 mm² Different cross sections: 1800 mm² to 21

Revsing substation in southern Jutland, Denmark The installation has been designed as a rigid bipole without dedicated metallic return (DMR) In any event on one pole, the other pole can still maintain 700 MW of power transfer.

NEW RECORDS TDR fingerprint during commissioning: This trace shows the entire cable length with the far end short-circuited TDR fingerprint during commissioning: This trace shows the entire cable length with the far end open

TDR/CABLE RADAR “TELEFLEX RDR” ■ Longest-ever successful TDR measurement of 761 km ■ Cable end reflections were captured ■ Comprehensive fingerprinting with precise segmentation HIGH VOLTAGE BRIDGE “BIFRÖST” ■ Longest-ever successful bridge measurement of 761 km ■ 4-wire voltage drop method applied to the entire link (both poles 2x 761 km, far-end jumper cable between poles, connection leads) ■ Accuracy noticeably < 1% of the total cable length ■ Fast and safe discharge of 2x 294 μF at 20 kV DC = 118 kJ AUDIO FREQUENCY GENERATOR “HUMMINGBIRD” ■ Most powerful tone generator in the world ■ Transmitter...