High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Prize

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Office of Electricity (OE) announced the four winners of the American-Made High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Prize. The winning teams proposed innovative solutions with strong potential to help close the technology gaps that hinder HVDC deployment in the United States, strengthening the resiliency and flexibility of the nation’s grid.

The following teams have each been awarded $50,000 in cash prizes for their efforts.

Dr. Richard Zhang, Virginia Tech — Multi-Functional Intelligent Voltage-Source-Converter HVDC  
This submission aims to develop a multi-functional, intelligent voltage-source-converter which will significantly reduce engineering costs and time in the design, test, and commission phases for commercial HVDC projects. The proposed design also ensures that operations are controlled, minimizing energy product losses caused by unstable conditions.

SixPoint Materials, Inc. — Hybrid HVDC Breaker Using GaN Semiconductor  
This team is developing a gallium nitride (GaN) photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) for hybrid HVDC circuit breakers, therefore decreasing operational costs and increasing response time and efficiency. These efforts will help meet the need of rapidly growing renewable powerplants that require reliable, multi‐terminal HVDC transmission systems.

University of South Florida — Generalized Dynamic Circuit Model Design for HVDC  
This submission provided a unified modeling framework for HVDCs that enables three types of analysis simultaneously: stability, harmonics, and ferroresonance. To meet this goal, this team developed dynamic circuit representations for HVDC converters with both DC and AC ports, accelerating HVDC system studies in the planning and design stages. 

Drexel University — Proactive Solid State Circuit Breaker for HVDC System Protection 
This submission aims to minimize power outages and provide more reliable protections for DC systems through the development of a proactive solid state circuit breaker (P-SSCB). Based on the design's modularity, the P-SSCB can be further extended to higher voltage and higher current applications.

Thank you to all of the competitors for your participation!

Do you have innovative ideas to develop new power and energy system solutions that strengthen the U.S. energy grid? We want to hear about them! 

High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Prize submissions are due tomorrow, June 7, at 5 p.m. ET. Find the Submission Template in the Resources tab and answers to any lingering questions in the FAQ tab.

We look forward to reviewing your submissions! 

Hey, Competitors! Don’t forget that the submission deadline for the High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Prize closes in one week on June 7 at 5 p.m. ET. 

Access the High-Voltage Direct Current Submission Template and read the Official Prize Rules in the Resources tab.

Before you submit your prize application, we recommend you:

• Take a look at the Official Prize Rules to review the eligibility requirements and submission details
• Watch the one of the Informational Webinars for more details on the prize and answers from the live Q&A (April 18 Webinar or April 27 Webinar)
• Review the FAQ section for answers to any lingering questions you may have

We can’t wait to review your submission!

Our Power Connector Entrepreneur Futures Network's hosted two webinars last month to support the High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Prize. Check them out!

HVDC Webinar - April 18: https://vimeo.com/823146966?share=copy 

HVDC Webinar - April 27: https://vimeo.com/823147796?share=copy