BTRAN™ Solid State Circuit Breaker (SSCB)

Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI), teaming with Ideal Power, Inc. (Ideal), proposes to develop a low-loss 13.8 kVAC Solid State Circuit Breaker (SSCB) for use in utility protection applications. SSCBs prevent damage to downstream loads, upstream generators, and the grid itself by utilizing microsecond current interruption times. B-TRAN™ (Bi-directional Transistors) SSCBs will have approximately one- tenth the power dissipation of conventional breakers, which eliminates the need for external cooling systems and allows passive cooling similar to a pad-mounted utility transformer. The proposed approach combines Ideal’s new B-TRAN™ (Bi-directional Transistors) devices with DTI’s proven high voltage switch architecture. The bi-directional nature of the B-TRAN devices is intrinsically suited to AC switching, while the combination of DTI’s switching circuits and gate drives with their inherent efficiency and high performance enables reliable and deployable SSCBs. In Phase I, DTI will (a) design a 50 MW, 13.8 kV-class SSCB, (b) build and demonstrate B-TRAN switch modules to interrupt AC power, and (c) confirm the efficiency and speed of the B-TRAN devices in AC operation. In Phase II, we will build and test the full 50 MW SSCB. This medium voltage circuit breaker can be applied to a number of power control applications in the utility, distributed generation, and transmission/distribution markets, including static transfer switches.