The number of applications featuring IGCTs are many: off-shore wind generation, medium-voltage drives (MVDs), static frequency converters (SFC), marine drives, pulse power (PP) and STATCOMs, to name just a few.
With the introduction of the newly developed Reverse-Blocking Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristors (RB-IGCT), another powerful device is added to Hitachi Energy’s well-established IGCT product line. The RB-IGCT is optimized for the lowest conduction losses and highest current turn-off capability. The conduction losses are reduced to less than 1000 W at 1000 A, a record low value for a power semiconductor device in this class.
Due to its outstanding performance, efficiency and reliability, the new RB-IGCT is the ideal device for Solid State Circuit Breakers (SSCBs) used in renewables, transport electrification and modern edge grids. An example of the remarkable performance using IGCTs was achieved with the world’s most powerful frequency converter (100 MVA) for a variable speed pumped hydropower application installed in the Grimsel 2 power plant in the Swiss Alps.