New Industry Products

Power Electronics Innovation Enables Transformerless VFDs

November 11, 2019 by Paul Shepard

Nidec ASI is presenting its new medium-voltage variable frequency drive at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC), one of the most important events for the oil & gas industry in the world. Thanks to constant innovation in power electronics, the company continues to pursue a strategy aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of its solutions while at the same time guaranteeing extremely high efficiency, low electricity consumption, greater compactness and perfect integration in the assemblies where they are installed compared to other solutions available on the market.

In addition, to making the use of these drives even more user-friendly, Nidec ASI has developed an app with a simple and straightforward interface for remote system monitoring using a smartphone.

The new VFD AFE transformerless medium-voltage drives of the SVFH series are characterized by extremely high efficiency and can be connected quickly and directly to the grid. By eliminating the transformer, Nidec has been able to make the drives 30% more compact and about 60% lighter than solutions incorporating a transformer, reducing not only energy consumption but also the use of metals difficult to dispose such as copper and iron.

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The ultimate goal of the new solution presented at ADIPEC is that of guaranteeing maximum efficiency, maximizing the transfer of electricity from the grid to the load and vice versa. In fact, the VDF AFE is able to perform regenerative braking of the motor load, power factor correction and regeneration. In this way, the drive can send the electricity back to the grid without having to dissipate it, thus eliminating any waste.

Another important innovation in the VFD AFE is connectivity. In fact, these drives come with a dedicated app featuring a simple and intuitive interface which can be installed on any smartphone making it possible for the user to monitor system operation, schedule maintenance and guarantee immediate interventions even in remote mode, simplifying use for all operators, even the least expert.

"It is we who, with our daily actions and intuitions, are defining what our future and that of next generations will be like. This is why in Nidec ASI we ask ourselves every day what can and what must our contribution be to the energy transition towards tomorrow's world, which must be characterized by less consumption of raw materials and energy, if it is to be truly sustainable. This is why I am absolutely delighted to be able to present the VFD AFE drives, this new solution developed by our engineers, at ADIPEC because I am convinced that they will represent an essential element in the path towards the green and sustainable future of all industries around the world," Dominique Llonch, CEO of Nidec ASI and Chairman of Nidec Industrial Solutions, declared.

Nidec ASI's new VFD AFE drives fit into the company's offer of customized solutions, suited for all industrial sectors, representing a further and important step forward in the corporate strategy in the energy transition process towards an increasingly green and sustainable future.