ABB launches medium voltage UPS that 'delivers 98 percent efficiency'

HiPerGuard delivers 98 percent efficiency at voltages up to 24 kV, providing a more reliable grid connection while eliminating power outages and reducing car-bon emissions.

  • Wednesday, 29th September 2021 Posted 3 years ago in by Phil Alsop

ABB has launched an industry-first MV UPS that provides a continuous and reliable power supply of up to 24 kV for data centers and other mission critical facilities to protect servers and mechanical loads, whilst reducing downtime. HiPerGuard supports sustainability with the highest levels of efficiency available on the market, at 98 percent – translat-ing to a potential carbon emission reduction of 1,245 tons over a typical 15-year lifespan.

HiPerGuard delivers the positive benefits of a classic dynamic rotary UPS, including low TCO, high performance and resili-ence against major grid events, while incorporating the flexibility and capabilities of a modern static converter system. The result is a unique MV UPS system that can offer increased grid support capabilities, including UPS demand response whilst minimizing costly downtime and power outages. It tackles key power quality issues, preventing data processing errors, circuit board failures and overheating by protecting against voltage sags, swells, spikes, and power interruptions.

Dave Sterlace, Head of Technology for ABB Global Data Center Solutions, comments: “With data center downtime esti-mated to cost between $100,000 and 1 million USD dollars per year3, there is an increasing call for clean, continuous, energy efficient and reliable power that minimizes major losses. In response, we are proud to innovate UPS technology to provide the right quality of power which eliminates interruptions to prevent significant performance and financial losses. At the same time, as part of ABB’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy commitments, HiPerGuard helps to reduce harmful CO2 emissions by increasing efficiency compared to traditional rotary systems.”

As well as outstanding load protection performance, through its innovative, ABB-patented, Impedance Isolated Static Converter (ZISC) architecture, which delivers reliable and efficient separation of the energy source, HiPerGuard brings the power protection closer to the grid than other solutions. This improves demand response and supply reliability.

In addition to efficiency and protection benefits, ABB’s HiPerGuard has advanced integration capabilities with a wide range of backup power systems including diesel generators, slow paced gas generators and turbines. HiPerGuard also ensures flexibility of system design and future energy source implementation, for alternative energy sources such as hy-drogen.

As with all ABB Power Protection products, HiPerGuard is designed with long term system availability in mind and only requires intrusive maintenance in ten-year intervals, delivering time and cost savings for maintenance teams.