From October 24th to 25th, 2023, NEWGEN partners convened for the 1-year project consortium meeting, hosted by Maillefer in Vantaa, Finland. This in-person meeting provided a valuable opportunity to share progress and collaboratively plan the next steps towards achieving the project’s objective of enhancing the reliability and resilience of electricity systems through the design of new-generation high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) insulation materials, cables, and systems.
Over the course of two days, participants provided updates on various aspects of the project, including the development of innovative plastic additives for cable insulation compounds, the design of cable extrusion manufacturing processes, life cycle assessment, condition and pre-fault monitoring systems, and tools and models for the life and reliability assessment of HVDC cable systems.
Furthermore, NEWGEN partners also visited Maillefer’s R&D facilities for cable extrusion solutions, where the extrusion of new HVDC cables with novel insulation materials will undergo testing and refinement as part of the project. Novel extrusion solutions with enhanced mixing efficiency of the insulation material components and re-designed seamline geometry aim to improve the overall insulation reliability and performance in HVDC applications.
With the insights gained from these discussions and the achievement of initial milestones, the NEWGEN consortium committed to continue collaborative efforts for the sustainable advancement of HVDC cable and electricity systems.