Review of MVDC applications, technologies, and future prospects

This paper presents a complete review of MVDC applications and their required technologies. Four main MVDC applications were investigated: rail, shipboard systems, distribution grids, and offshore collection systems. For each application, the voltage and power levels, grid structures, converter topologies, and protection and control structure were reviewed. Case studies of the varying applications as well as the literature were analyzed to ascertain the common trends and to review suggested future topologies. For rail, ship, and distribution systems, the technology and ability to implement MVDC grids is available, and there are already a number of case studies. Offshore wind collection systems, however, are yet able to be implemented. Across the four applications, the MVDC voltages ranged from 5–50 kV DC and tens of MW, with some papers suggesting an upper limit of 100 kV DC and hundreds of MV for distribution networks and offshore wind farm applications. This enables the use of varying technologies at both the lower and high voltage ranges, giving flexibility in the choice of topology that is required required.