Pristagare 1906 Award – Baoliang Sheng, IEC TC 22/SC 22F

SEK gratulerar Baoliang Sheng till utmärkelsen IEC 1906 Award 2022!

IEC 1906 Award utdelas till tekniska experter som har utmärkt sig med en betydelsefull insats i standardiseringsarbetet. SEK Svensk Elstandard uppmärksammar pristagarna som är verksamma inom SEKs verksamhet genom att hålla en intervju om arbetet.  Baoliang Sheng, Hitachi Energy, prisas för sin insats som teknisk expert i IEC TC 22/SC 22F Power electronics for electrical transmission and distribution systems – där han på ett mycket betydelsefullt sätt medverkat till arbetet med många olika standarder, bland annat IEC 62927, IEC 62501 och IEC 62823.

Why are you and your company participating in standardization? 

- Hitachi Energy Sweden AB (former ABB Power Grids AB / ABB Sweden AB / ASEA AB) has a long history of working together with IEC and the Swedish national committee, SEK Svensk Elstandard. Together with other companies, utilities, and organizations we have successfully developed hundreds of IEC standards in the electrical power industry, which greatly support the fast development of electric power systems in the past 110 years. Hitachi Energy will continuously contribute to trade associations for a sustainable development of society. Hitachi Energy and I will continue our contribution to the standardization activities.

You have been awarded the IEC 1906 Award for your work within IEC TC 22. Would you like to tell us briefly about the work? 

- As a senior principal engineer in Hitachi Energy HVDC (High-Voltage Direct Current) I have been involved with IEC TC22/SC22F more than 16 years, starting as an expert in working groups, later on convenor of several working groups within IEC TC22/SC22F and IEC TC 115. I was granted the IEC 1906 Award first time in 2009 for my leadership and contribution in generation of IEC standard IEC 62501 Voltage sourced converter (VSC) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) valves – electrical testing. The 2022 IEC 1906 Award for me this time is for my leadership and contribution in:

• IEC TC22/SC22F working group (WG 30) to develop IEC 62927 Voltage sourced converter (VSC) valves for static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) – Electrical testing.
• IEC TC22/SC22F maintenance team (MT 22) to maintain IEC 62501 VSC HVDC valves – Electrical testing.
• IEC TC22/SC22F maintenance team (MT 34) to maintain IEC 62823 Thyristor valves for thyristor controlled series capacitors (TCSC) – Electrical testing.

- All those three IEC standards specify the electrical type and production tests of power electronics equipment used in modern electric power transmission and distribution. Hitachi Energy is one of the pioneers to develop and implement the product in service in 1992 and 1997 respectively. Hitachi Energy holds the largest market share even today.  

- To promote the application of those technologies in a fair competition environment, IEC TC 22/SC 22F built up those three working groups to standardize the test procedure and test parameters to ensure the safety and efficiency of product in system operations. Large number of experts in those three working groups come from three main European manufacturers: Hitachi Energy, Siemens Energy and GE Energy, along with some manufacturers in Asian countries. Some utilities and testing laboratories sent participating representatives to those working groups as well. Due to the rapid technology development of semiconductor devices and electric power systems – especially HVDC systems – all three working groups have been active in the past 15 years to keep those three IEC standards updated. This will certainly continue for years. 

What have been challenging in standardization in the HVDC area?

- Application of power electronics equipment in electric power transmission and distribution systems are relatively new. The first power electronics (thyristor) based converter valves for HVDC power system transmission and static var compensator (SVC) valves for Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) were commissioned in the 1970s. The aforementioned semiconductor developments further expanded the power electronics applications in electric power systems. New types of power electronics (IGBT) valves for both HVDC and FACTS applications were developed in the 1990s.  

- Due to the technological complexity in using power electronics applications in electric power systems, different equipment manufacturers might have different approaches in systems and products verification. This puts the system’s safety operations and further development at risk.

- Hitachi Energy is one of few manufacturers who pioneer and continuously develop applications in this industry. Standardization work in organizations like IEC provides an important platform to define and guide the industry towards the right direction. IEC standards enhance international trade and benefit both manufacturers and users.

Vi gratulerar Baoliang ännu en gång till utmärkelsen!  

Martin Lind
SEK Svensk Elstandard