- Elbe Project
The Elbe Project ( _de. Elbe-Projekt) was the name of the first commercial static
high voltage direct current transmission system in the world, based onmercury arc valve s.Experimental installations between
Weittengen andZurich , andCharlottenburg andMoabit ,Berlin , were demonstrated between 1933 and 1942. Contracts were signed withAEG and Siemens in 1941, and construction began of a bipolar direct current line from theElbe power station nearDessau , to Berlin-Marienfelde , in 1943. The line was designed to transmit 60megawatt s using a symmetrical bipolar operating voltage of +200 kV and - 200 kV. Two single-core earth cables were used, (a piece of the cable used can be seen in theDeutsches Museum ,Munich ).The system was never put into service owing to the chaos in
Germany at the end ofWorld War II .The situation in post-war Germany allowed the Soviets to dismantle the system and reuse it in building a 100 kilometre long 200 kV monopolar high voltage direct current line with a maximum transmission rating of 30 megawatts betweenMoscow andKashira , in 1951. This transmission line is no longer operating.References
* [http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/Che2004/DITTMANN.pdf Power Electronics in Europe]
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