BHEL develops India's first High Temperature Superconducting Transformer through in-house Research and Development efforts

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)’s sustained focus on developing new technologies and products through in-house R&D initiatives has once again paid rich dividends to the company with the successful indigenous development of the country’s first High Temperature Superconducting Transformer (HTSC).

India’s first 1.0 MVA, three-phase 33/6.6 kV HTSC Transformer, has been developed, manufactured and tested entirely with in-house know-how and uses bismuth-based HTSC wire instead of the conventional copper. A bismuth-based conductor can carry 100 times more current than equivalent size copper conductor. The availability of bismuth-based HTSC wire commercially has opened new opportunities for manufacturers of power system equipment, the world over.

This development will catapult BHEL into a new era of applying superconductivity which is a futuristic technology, in the area of transformer development, hitherto the domain of very few countries. The development of HTSC transformer will open up new vistas in the area of efficient transmission and distribution of power. It will contribute to large-scale reduction in the loss of energy and also usher in an era of safe and environment-friendly technologies.

The significant advantages of HTSC transformers over conventional transformers are; higher efficiency; smaller size, weight and volume; capability to withstand twice the capacity overload without insulation damage or loss of useful life and better voltage regulation capability than regular transformers. In addition, they do not require cooling oil like conventional transformers, thereby eliminating the possibility of oil fires and related environmental hazards. Also, they provide more power per unit volume in existing substations.

BHEL places a major thrust on R&D as a key driver of the company’s evolution into the realm of next-generation products and systems. During fiscal 2008-09, out of its total turnover of Rs.280,330 Million, the company has achieved a record turnover of Rs.55,710 Million – nearly 20% of the total turnover, through commercialisation of products and systems developed by way of in-house R&D efforts.

This is a result of a constant thrust on developing new technologies and products, besides improving existing products and systems in terms of reliability, cost and quality through in-house R&D efforts. Significantly, during the year, BHEL spent over Rs.6,900 Million on R&D – 46% more than the previous year. In fact, BHEL’s R&D spend at 2.46% of the turnover, is among the highest in India for its kind of industry and has been ranked mid-way among the top 1,000 global R&D spenders. A notable achievement of fiscal 2008-09 has been the significant growth in intellectual capital with around one patent/copyright filed every alternate working day. BHEL’s IPR capital has gone up 31% taking the total number to 868 patents and copyrights filed, which are in productive use in the company’s business.