AC and DC? We’ll save you the rock band references and get straight to the point: the goal is to provide a direct DC supply to devices that already work with DC voltage internally. An important contribution to the energy revolution.
Many devices already run on DC current. But power is supplied and transported using AC current. Special rectifiers are currently used at the interface between the two. The main problem: These rectifiers cause high energy losses when converting AC to DC current. This is not efficient. And certainly not sustainable.
But the conversion and transport losses can effectively be reduced by up to 10 percent using central converter systems. Machines, systems and electrical devices in industrial and office buildings are then supplied with the necessary DC current without any major hassles.
There is also a high savings potential in the cables: here, the demand for copper can even be reduced by half with the same insulation. What’s more, efficient use can be made of the recuperation energy, i.e. the energy that is normally lost. For example: The release of energy during robot braking movements is captured by the DC grid and made available for immediate use.
And because renewable energy sources use DC voltage internally, they can easily be integrated.
The excellent grid stability significantly reduces production downtimes. There is no need for additional investments for line filtering and compensation. DC systems also remain operational if the power supply should ever fail: they continue operating from their own power stores.
The establishment of direct current technology is an essential building block of the energy transition and an important project for a sustainable future. With bundled competence and new electrotechnical solutions, it must be launched in the near future. This is exactly where we come in.
Weidmüller is a founding member of the Open Direct Current Alliance (ODCA). This is the direct follow-up project to DC-INDUSTRIE2, a research project that has already been able to demonstrate the advantages of DC current. The new ZVEI working group (German Electro and Digital Industry Association) was launched in November 2022 and pursues the goal of establishing an ecological DC current ecosystem.
We contribute our extensive electrical engineering know-how and work together with the other members to successfully progress down this pioneering path.
Young people will shape the future. All you have to do is let them. In a collaborative project between Weidmüller, KEB Automation and Lenze, apprentices successfully carried out a DC conversion.
The task was to retrofit an old drill press for a DC grid within three weeks. The five apprentices worked together to set objectives, followed by the planning, before tackling the actual conversion. The team was supported by the relevant specialist departments.
At the end of the set period, the system was successfully started up: a complete success with important technical findings.
In future, findings from the ODCA project as well as our product solutions will also be integrated into our building infrastructure. The target: all key systems will gradually be transferred to a DC factory grid in the coming years.
Photovoltaic systems, charging stations for e-mobility and all electronic components in our buildings will become more efficient, reliable and sustainable thanks to the DC technology.
The DC solutions, concepts and products that we have developed will also be made available to our customers. For example, our product portfolio already includes DC-supplied power supplies and DC-capable plug-in connectors.