The high-wire act of unlocking clean energy | Jason Huang

One of the greatest invention of our times

is our transmission distribution grid.

It connects electricity generation to

electricity consumption safely, reliably;

resilient against extreme
weather conditions,

and keeps our lights on.

But if we were to facilitate
electrification of everything,

this most sophisticated and largest

machine on earth is not quite large enough

to take on all the renewable generations

from where the sun shines, and the wind
blows to where people actually live.

It does not have the capacity to handle

the two-third energy that we consume,

not even in the form of electricity.

Without transmission,
we have no transition.

The real bottleneck in our power grid

is actually the conductors.

Those wires that are carrying electrons

are based on outdated technology
invented in 1908.

It has limited capacity, and also
poor efficiency.

The next generation of advanced
conductor exists.

It has been invented, leveraged in the
best material science

today has to offer, to build the best
conductors.

This is what the company I cofounded,
TS Conductor, is working on.

It can triple line capacity at the same
time reduce line loss by 50%.

The best part is, it comes with a
green discount, saving utility

and their customers money from day one.

There aren't many things in our lives
that are over 100 years old.

So why are we still using and relying
on those old fashioned power lines?

This is because our utility companies
are regulated monopolies

with a very conservative culture.

To understand today's advanced conductor,
let's take a look at yesterday's wires.

The original century old technology ACSR
conductor, which is still dominant today

in our power grid, it has steel wire as a
core for structural support

and layers of aluminum for
electrical conductivity.

The steel wire, at the time, 100
years ago that is

wasn't strong enough. So we have to use
hard aluminum for strength contribution.

The problem is hard aluminum cannot
handle high temperature,

this limits capacity.

In the 1970s, our steel industry was
able to deliver stronger steel.

Which, then can be combined with
annealed aluminum,

that forms the ACSS conductor,
which is capable of high temprature

operation for high ampacity.

The problem is, steel expands when hot.

This causes excessive sagging.

You probably have noticed that
our power lines

drooping in the hot summer days.
And that's why.

This sag causes its own
set of challenges.

In the 1990s, advanced conductor emerged

instead of the steel core in the
traditional conductors,

composite material was lower thermal
expansion, such as

ceramic fiber composite, or glass carbon
fiber composite, are used to replace

steel and reduce sag. Unfortunately,
our utility industry experience

with this group of first generation
advanced conductor hasn't been positive.

They're known to be delicate.

Difficult to work with, easy to break,
with longevity concerns,

and they are also very expensive,
used for niche applications at best.

By 2016, TS technology was developed
and commercially deployed.

We solved all the problems associated
with the first generation advanced

conductor, at its source. We designed in
safety, reliability, longevity,

easy installation and maintenance from
the start.

By leveraging effective protection for
the pre-tensioned carbon core

with a continuous stiffness,
a thick aluminum sleeve

that is also fully conductive.

This technology shifted three
conductor paradigms.

We can run this conductor at
high temperature for a very high ampacity

without conductor sagging problem.

Because the carbon core has virtually
no thermal expansion.

We also maximized the aluminum
content in the conductor

for optimal ampacity.

Without the weight penalty
in the conductor.

This is because the carbon composite
core was able to eliminate

80% of the weight of steel.

And, we can also incorporate the
annealed aluminum for best

conductivity in the conductor
without compromising on

conductor strength, because the carbon
core is twice the strength of steel.

And, furthermore, this solution is
also corrosion proof.

The heat tolerant sag-proof feature
in this solution

makes it much better in terms of
surviving wildfires compared to

traditional conductors. The strong and
compact design also makes it

more resilient against extreme wind or
ice storms due to climate change.

Doing this, we can triple line capacity
with the same structure in the

power line corridors. At the same time,
we can reduce line loss by 50%

while essentially eliminating thermal sag.

And the best part is, this technology
comes with a green discount

in addition to green dividend that's
associated with line loss reduction.

This save the great operators and their
customers money from day one.

Even though this advanced conductor
has a modest premium compared to

traditional conductors. Here's how.

When you build new transmission lines,
the cost of conductor in the overall

project is very minor. About a few
percentage points.

But the cost associated with structure
can be as much as 30%.

With the strong, less sag TS conductor
you can build these new lines with

fewer and shorter structure.

Creating substantial CapEx savings that
more than offset

the modest premium associated with
conductors.

There are numerous new transmission lines
deploying TS technology

that can prove this point.

In reconductoring, we replace the wire
but reuse the towers.

There's even better economics
in that situation.

We can triple the line capacity without
retrofitting any structures.

For the lowest project cost.

If you were to use traditional conductor
for reconductoring, the required

upgrade to the structure can be
substantial.

Let me give you a real world example.

In March 2021, we reconductored an
11 mile, 230 kV transmission line

in North Dakota.

The utility needed to increase
line capacity to accomodate

wind farms in the area. So that
traditional conductor ACSS

was initially used, which required
expensive and time consuming

structure retrofit to 90% of the
structures because of excessive

sagging. When they later switched
to TS solution, they were able to

save 40% in total project in total
project CapEx because we avoided

all the structure retrofit.
The project was completed 12 months

ahead of schedule with 1.8 million dollars
CapEx savings.

Let's imagine what is possible
if we thus upgraded our power grid

and its capacity around the world.

We could connect the renewable generation
instantly, versus the years long wait

that we're experiencing today. No more
bottlenecks that's holding back wind

or solar projects. We can electrify
everything and meet the growing power

demand for electric vehicles, heat pumps,
industrial process, and data centers

without grid reliability or transmission
congestion constraints.

Here's a big one.

We can dramatically reduce greenhouse
gas emission

just with the reduced line loss savings
alone.

We can avoid as much as 500 million tons
of greenhouse gas each year,

because we do not have to do as much
compensatory generation.

Add to that the multi-gigaton
opportunity if we are able to connect

so much more solar and wind to the world's
power grid. You can make it happen.

For example, you can support legislation,
policy making, and regulations that

require our utility companies to consider
advanced conductor in transmission,

reliability, decarbonization, or
grid modernization planning.

While at the same time, providing
performance or other incentives

that are enabled by new technology
like TS so that they can improve grid

performance by investing
in this technology.

Conductors have a design life
of 50 to 70 years.

Let's upgrade our power grid, build it
better for a clean energy future, today.

We cannot afford to have another 50 to 70
years locked up with century old

technology in our power grid.

I believe firmly that our power grid
can, and should be the enabler for

energy transition. We have an opportunity
to write that legacy.

We went from dial-up internet
to 5G in a couple of decades.

We can do the same for our
power grid.

We just need to start now, with the
right conductor technology

available today.

Together, we can make a difference for
humanity and for climate change.

Thank you.