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Employees of Hyosung Heavy Industries conduct performance verification testing on an HVDC controller. / Hyosung Heavy Industries

Hyosung Heavy Industries has built a test facility capable of verifying the performance of its self-developed 2GW-class high-voltage direct current (HVDC) controller before deployment to the actual power grid. The company plans to enhance the stability and reliability of large-capacity HVDC systems to advance homegrown technology and support the West Coast Energy Highway project.

According to Hyosung Heavy Industries on the 8th, the company recently completed the installation of a Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) system to verify the performance and stability of its 2GW-class HVDC controller at its Heavy Industries R&D Center in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The company explained that this marks South Korea's first proprietary technology-based performance verification facility built for gigawatt-class HVDC systems.

HILS is a test system that simulates operating conditions by connecting an actual HVDC controller to a virtual 2GW-class converter valve and power grid. It enables repeated testing in a virtual environment, including grid faults and emergency scenarios that are difficult to reproduce on actual power networks.

As transmission capacity expands, the grid conditions that HVDC systems must handle become increasingly complex. According to Hyosung Heavy Industries, the number of operating scenarios requiring verification in a 2GW-class system is two to three times greater than that of existing 200MW-class systems, making pre-deployment validation prior to real grid integration all the more critical.

Hyosung Heavy Industries secured proprietary capabilities covering the design, installation, testing, and operation of this facility. In particular, it leveraged the control and operational expertise accumulated through the 200MW-class voltage-source converter (VSC) HVDC system currently operating at the Yangju Substation in Gyeonggi Province to construct the 2GW-class test environment.

The localization of HVDC technology is also expanding step by step. Hyosung Heavy Industries has been developing related technologies since starting with the Jeju 20MW-class VSC HVDC demonstration project in 2012, and in 2024 applied its self-developed 200MW-class converter valve and control system to the actual power grid at the Yangju Substation.

Last month, the company was selected as a participating enterprise in the valve and controller sector for Korea Electric Power Corporation's (KEPCO) Large-Capacity VSC HVDC Localization and Demonstration Project. By securing the infrastructure to pre-verify 2GW-class systems through this HILS installation, the company has broadened the scope of its large-capacity HVDC technological development.

Building on this foundation, Hyosung Heavy Industries aims to enhance the reliability of domestic HVDC systems required for the West Coast Energy Highway project, which transmits large amounts of electric power over long distances. At the same time, it seeks to advance into the overseas large-capacity VSC HVDC market, which has long been dominated by a handful of global players.

An official from Hyosung Heavy Industries stated, "This HILS installation goes beyond merely securing a test facility; it signifies that we have established a proprietary technological base to advance our self-developed 2GW-class HVDC controller," adding, "We will continue to expand our presence in the global HVDC market based on our homegrown technology."

                                                                                                          Son Kang-hoon