Eriez President and CEO Tim Shuttleworth announceed that the company is now the majority shareholder of FaultCurrent Ltd. Based in the United Kingdom, FaultCurrent Ltd. developed a unique passive magnetic fault current limiter called the pmFCL. Its innovative design uses permanent magnets at its core to provide a reliable, robust and energy-efficient solution for electrical power grid reinforcement.
Shuttleworth said, “Making this investment in FaultCurrent Ltd. was a natural choice for Eriez as we are constantly developing and investing in breakthrough products that keep us on the cutting edge.”
The pmFCL protects utility electrical distribution networks from unanticipated power surges and new demands placed on aging and already overburdened electrical infrastructures from the connection of distributed energy sources. The patented technology behind this next generation fault current limiter has been achieved through a combination of magnetic engineering insights, including using ferrite permanent magnets to saturate a network of inductors.
The pmFCL provides additional fault current headroom, presenting a low impedance during normal “in service” current flows until an abnormal fault current instantaneously forces the device into a higher impedance state, and in doing so, allows time for the power system’s existing infrastructure to react to isolate the fault safely. Post fault, the pmFCL instantly recovers, ready to protect the network again.
Unlike other fault current limiters, pmFCL’s breakthrough design is truly “fit and forget” technology. This self-contained three phase unit is delivered to the site as a complete unit that is ready to go once placed on a concrete pad. The pmFCL requires no maintenance beyond simple inspection.
FaultCurrent Ltd. was incorporated in July 2012 to develop a new generation of fault current limiters based on pioneering research and development work carried out by Dr. Jeremy Hall at the Wolfson Centre for Magnetics at Cardiff University. Early stage funding was provided by Fusion IP, now incorporated into the IP Group.
Eriez-Europe Chairman Andy Lewis said, “The project attracted attention – and subsequently grants – from the Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department of the UK government. Eriez Investments Ltd. has a majority shareholding position, having cumulatively invested a seven-figure sum in the past two years, with the IP Group and FaultCurrent Ltd. company directors and former directors holding the remaining shares.”