{"id":13979,"date":"2025-07-17T15:14:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/de\/?p=13979"},"modified":"2025-07-17T15:14:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:14:20","slug":"phase-shifting-transformer-grid-node-amprion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/07-2025\/phase-shifting-transformer-grid-node-amprion\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants in the grid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Fields, mead\u00adows and pas\u00adtures \u2013 the region around the Low\u00ader Sax\u00adony town of Lin\u00adgen in north\u00adwest Ger\u00admany, not far from the Dutch bor\u00adder, is rur\u00adal and com\u00adpar\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly sparse\u00adly pop\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded. And yet the amount of elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty mov\u00ading through here is already enough to sup\u00adply mil\u00adlions of peo\u00adple with ener\u00adgy. Even more elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty will soon be flow\u00ading through the area: The trans\u00admis\u00adsion sys\u00adtem oper\u00ada\u00adtor Ampri\u00adon will expand the Haneken\u00adf\u00e4hr sub\u00adsta\u00adtion and switch\u00ading sta\u00adtion a few kilo\u00adme\u00adters south of Lin\u00adgen into Germany\u2019s largest grid node by 2028 and is invest\u00ading 200 mil\u00adlion euros in this mega project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dimen\u00adsions of the plant are cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00ading\u00adly huge: it is 24 hectares in size, an area in which St. Peter\u2019s Basil\u00adi\u00adca in Rome would fit approx\u00adi\u00admate\u00adly 15 times. The sub\u00adsta\u00adtion is locat\u00aded on an already very busy north-south cor\u00adri\u00addor in Amprion\u2019s elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty trans\u00admis\u00adsion grid. Ener\u00adgy from nine off\u00adshore wind tur\u00adbines ends up in the sub\u00adsta\u00adtion, which sends it on to indus\u00adtri\u00adal cen\u00adters in the south. In a few years, the new BorWin4 and DolWin4 con\u00adnec\u00adtions will add anoth\u00ader 1.8 gigawatts of off\u00adshore wind ener\u00adgy from the North Sea. The site is there\u00adfore mak\u00ading a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtion to the suc\u00adcess of the ener\u00adgy tran\u00adsi\u00adtion in Ger\u00admany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou could say that the VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae is an enabler for the entire tech\u00adni\u00adcal solu\u00adtion.\u201d<\/p>\nDr. Daniel Eich\u00adhoff, Ampri\u00adon<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Ampri\u00adon installed two phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders in Haneken\u00adf\u00e4hr in order to con\u00adtrol the ever-increas\u00ading ener\u00adgy flows and increase the uti\u00adliza\u00adtion of the grid. The equip\u00adment enables the con\u00adtrol of pow\u00ader flows and helps to avoid over\u00adloads in the grid, which are becom\u00ading increas\u00ading\u00adly com\u00admon due to the feed-in of volatile ener\u00adgy gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their appear\u00adance alone shows just how big their task is: each one mea\u00adsures 30 \u00d7 26 \u00d7 11 meters and weighs an incred\u00adi\u00adble 905 tons. The tech\u00adni\u00adcal data is no less impres\u00adsive: 400 kV rat\u00aded volt\u00adage, 2,500 MVA max\u00adi\u00admum through\u00adput capac\u00adi\u00adty and 3,600 A max\u00adi\u00admum con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adous cur\u00adrent. The world has nev\u00ader seen more pow\u00ader\u00adful phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mega Project <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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In Lin\u00adgen-Haneken\u00adf\u00e4hr, the trans\u00admis\u00adsion sys\u00adtem oper\u00ada\u00adtor Ampri\u00adon is expand\u00ading the exist\u00ading switch\u00ading and trans\u00adformer sta\u00adtion into Germany\u2019s most pow\u00ader\u00adful grid node, there\u00adby mak\u00ading an impor\u00adtant con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtion to the ener\u00adgy tran\u00adsi\u00adtion. The facil\u00adi\u00adty is already con\u00adtribut\u00ading to the secure trans\u00admis\u00adsion of envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly friend\u00adly off\u00adshore wind pow\u00ader from the North Sea. From 2028, even more wind pow\u00ader will be added with the con\u00adnec\u00adtion of BorWin4 and DolWin4. Ampri\u00adon has pre\u00adpared for this with the most pow\u00ader\u00adful phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders in the world. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Ampri\u00adon, Daniel Schu\u00admann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Daniel Eich\u00adhoff, Head of Sta\u00adtion Tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy and HVDC (High Volt\u00adage Direct Cur\u00adrent Trans\u00admis\u00adsion) at Ampri\u00adon, is respon\u00adsi\u00adble for the pro\u00adcure\u00adment of spe\u00adcial equip\u00adment such as phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders. While he is used to man\u00adag\u00ading large infra\u00adstruc\u00adture projects, he is also impressed by the dimen\u00adsions: \u201cWhat par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly fas\u00adci\u00adnates me is the uti\u00adliza\u00adtion of the tech\u00adni\u00adcal\u00adly pos\u00adsi\u00adble lim\u00adit range: these pow\u00ader sizes in a two-tank design are an absolute nov\u00adel\u00adty.\u201d The fact that the phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders could be built in this way at all is not a mat\u00adter of course. \u201cWith\u00adout on-load tap-chang\u00aders from MR, the trans\u00adformer could not have been real\u00adized the way we want\u00aded it to be.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maximum availability   <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since Ampri\u00adon want\u00aded high avail\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty and low main\u00adte\u00adnance for the on-load tap-chang\u00aders, it was clear from the out\u00adset that low-main\u00adte\u00adnance vac\u00adu\u00adum tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy should be used. Dr. Eich\u00adhoff explains: \u201cThe phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders are housed in sound\u00adproof enclo\u00adsures. In order to remove the on-load tap-chang\u00ader insert for main\u00adte\u00adnance, the roof would first have to be removed, which is time-con\u00adsum\u00ading. How\u00adev\u00ader, low main\u00adte\u00adnance costs are very impor\u00adtant to us.\u201d But not only because main\u00adte\u00adnance alone is very expen\u00adsive, but also because any down\u00adtime can cost a lot of mon\u00adey. This is because a cen\u00adtral func\u00adtion of the phase shifter is to avoid so-called redis\u00adpatch costs, which are incurred when\u00adev\u00ader less elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty can be trans\u00admit\u00adted in the grid than demand\u00aded by the mar\u00adket between gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtors or con\u00adsumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong part\u00adners: Dr. Daniel Eich\u00adhoff (left) from Ampri\u00adon and MR Man\u00adag\u00ading Direc\u00adtor Wil\u00adfried Breuer next to the phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adformer which could only be real\u00adized thanks to the very close coop\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion between the two com\u00adpa\u00adnies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can trans\u00adport much more elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty with the phase shifter than in a pure\u00adly pas\u00adsive grid and there\u00adfore only reach the area where we have to inter\u00advene with redis\u00adpatch mea\u00adsures much lat\u00ader.\u201d Since this saves Ampri\u00adon around \u20ac36 mil\u00adlion per year, every dis\u00adrup\u00adtion of the phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders is asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded with enor\u00admous loss\u00ades. The only prob\u00adlem was that at the time of the inquiry to MR, an on-load tap-chang\u00ader in this per\u00adfor\u00admance class did not yet exist. Pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly, vac\u00adu\u00adum tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy was lim\u00adit\u00aded to a rat\u00aded cur\u00adrent of 2,600 amperes. How\u00adev\u00ader, this was nowhere near enough to achieve the large phase angle that Ampri\u00adon want\u00aded: \u201cOur grid sim\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions showed that we need\u00aded an adjust\u00adment angle of 20 degrees in order to achieve a cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00ading effect on the load flow dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion in the grid.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The engi\u00adneers at MR there\u00adfore had to push the lim\u00adits and devel\u00adop a new on-load tap-chang\u00ader. This was no easy task, as the instal\u00adla\u00adtion space could not be sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly larg\u00ader despite the high out\u00adput. But the engi\u00adneers at MR achieved a mas\u00adter\u00adpiece: The VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae can even top the required rat\u00aded cur\u00adrent of almost 3,000 A by 200 A and, thanks to the high switch\u00ading capac\u00adi\u00adty of up to 10,000 kVA, it is pos\u00adsi\u00adble to real\u00adize a high phase angle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without forced current splitting <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But these are not the only high\u00adlights: Despite their enor\u00admous dimen\u00adsions, the phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders are still com\u00adpar\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly com\u00adpact, which is pos\u00adsi\u00adble because the VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae does not require forced cur\u00adrent split\u00adting. As a result, the wind\u00adings are less com\u00adplex and addi\u00adtion\u00adal con\u00adnec\u00adtions between the series trans\u00adformer and the exci\u00adta\u00adtion trans\u00adformer, which make up such a phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adformer, can be omit\u00adted.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae ensures opti\u00admized oper\u00adat\u00ading costs for oper\u00ada\u00adtors and also for trans\u00adformer man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00aders.\u201d<\/p>\nWil\u00adfried Breuer, Man\u00adag\u00ading Direc\u00adtor MR.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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An impor\u00adtant side effect: few\u00ader con\u00adnec\u00adtions also mean few\u00ader poten\u00adtial weak points, which also has a pos\u00adi\u00adtive effect on the avail\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty of the phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders. Breuer sum\u00adma\u00adrizes the advan\u00adtages as fol\u00adlows: \u201cThe VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae enables a low\u00ader oil vol\u00adume, low\u00ader trans\u00adport weight, low\u00ader main\u00adte\u00adnance require\u00adments and there\u00adfore opti\u00admized oper\u00adat\u00ading costs for both oper\u00ada\u00adtors and trans\u00adformer man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00aders.\u201d For Dr. Eich\u00adhoff, one thing is cer\u00adtain: \u201cThe VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae is an enabler for the entire tech\u00adni\u00adcal solu\u00adtion.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-performance transformers are the future <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The giants at the sub\u00adsta\u00adtion in Haneken\u00adf\u00e4hr will not be the only ones for Ampri\u00adon: \u201cWe are cur\u00adrent\u00adly plan\u00adning a total of five sta\u00adtions, each with two phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders, to be con\u00adnect\u00aded to the grid by 2030,\u201d says Eich\u00adhoff. And the VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae will switch in all of them. The trend towards ever larg\u00ader trans\u00adform\u00aders is not just a phe\u00adnom\u00ade\u00adnon in Amprion\u2019s trans\u00admis\u00adsion grid. All over the world, more and more ener\u00adgy has to be moved as elec\u00adtri\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion con\u00adtin\u00adues to advance. In order to trans\u00adport high\u00ader cur\u00adrents over long dis\u00adtances, con\u00adtrol ener\u00adgy flows, com\u00adpen\u00adsate for reac\u00adtive pow\u00ader or sup\u00adply ener\u00adgy-inten\u00adsive indus\u00adtries, ever more pow\u00ader\u00adful equip\u00adment with cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00ading\u00adly strong on-load tap-chang\u00aders is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The most powerful vacuum on-load tap-changer in the world<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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MR has devel\u00adoped the VACUTAP\u00ae VRL\u00ae 3.200 espe\u00adcial\u00adly for high-end appli\u00adca\u00adtions<\/a> such as the phase-shift\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders from Ampri\u00adon. The high\u00adlights at a glance: <\/p>\n\n\n\n