A d v e r t o ri al

Efficient Transmission
Tokyo Rope International Incorporation (TRI), Japan has developed a highly efficient high ampacity low sag conductor
named Aluminium Conductor Fiber Reinforced (ACFR®).This technology was first implemented in a transmission line inJapan in 2002.This is the first carbon fiber composite conductor that has been deployed and tested in a transmission line. The
specialty of ACFR® is that it uses stranded Carbon Fiber Composite Cable (CFCC®) which is more flexible and easy forinstallation. TRI owns the technology and license for manufacturing ACFR® conductors.
How is ACFR® different from other hightension low sag (HTLS) conductor
technologies?
The selection of suitable HTLS technology
depends on power transfer capacity, existing
ground clearance, existing tower loadings andcapital investment requirements. In addition,
the operational efficiency (ohmic losses) over a
periodof its lifetime and installation of these
conductors in the existing terrain are the major
parameters that need to be considered forchoosing the right technology.
The carbon fiber composite core conductor technology has been
preferred by the utilities among HTLS conductor technologies
available because of its high strength to weight ratio, lower thermal
expansion and no creep (almostzero creep). The popular composite
core technology is mostly a single core or several number of single
wires bunched together. But the challenge of this popular carbon fiber
composite core conductor technology is flexibility, and thus, needs
careful handling and care during installation.
After several years of research to address the challenges in thecarbon fiber composite technology, we developed a technology tostrand the carbon fiber composite material to form a stranded carbon
fiber composite core (we are globally the first company to strandcarbon fiber composite core). The stranded carbon fiber composite
technology differentiates itself from other technologies in terms offlexibility and ease to handle during installation.

“We are launching the new product
ACFR® Elephant to replace the existing
ACSR Dog conductor in the transmission
and distribution network.”
Who is your present stranding partner in India and what are TRI’s
plans for the Indian market?
We have authorised JSK Industries Private Limited, as one of thestranding partners in India.
India is one of the biggest markets for HTLS technology. The Indian
market is different from other Asian markets because of its test
requirements for HTLS conductors and restricted qualificationrequirement. ACFR® is now tested as per Indian utilities’ requirement
and utilities are keen to deploy ACFR® conductors because of its easy
installation. All the major Indian power transmission utilities havealready used and know the benefit of carbon fiber composite coretechnology. However, during our interactions with several utilities, wefound that they are still conservative regarding the flexibility ofcomposite material technology and our stranded CFCC® will overcome
the challenges. ACFR® is the most cost-effective solution for Indianutilities and we continue to invest to market ACFR® in India.
What have been the notable projects where ACFR® conductors havebeen installed and outcomes achieved?
The first ACFR® conductor was installed in 2002 by Tohoku ElectricPower Co., Inc.of Japan. ACFR® helped the utility by increasing thepower transfer capacity for a longer span without
violating the existing ground clearance. Globally
this is the first transmission line energised withcarbon fiber composite conductor.
Our ACFR® conductors are in successful operation to increase thetransmission capacity of several Chinese and Indonesian powertransmission utilities. In fact, more than 800 km of ACFR® conductors
are in successful operation today. ACFR® is the only technology withsatisfactory operational experience of more than 15 years, among all
the compositematerial conductor technologies.

“ACFR® is the first composite core
conductor deployed in powertransmission lines globally.”
How can ACFR® conductors support distribution networks?
Our key differentiator is that our product lines are a best-fit for
distribution lines. The distribution conductors for 33kV and below
voltages are smaller in size, so the core diameter needs to be muchsmaller and aluminium shaped wire stranding for smaller size
conductors becomes much more difficult. However, our core size
product range starts from 2.6mm and as a stranded core, we can use
round aluminium wire which makes ACFR® the best fit fordistribution
conductors.
We are launching our ACFR® Elephant conductor equivalent toACSR Dog conductor this July. The UDAY (Ujjwal Discom AssuranceYojana) scheme aims to increase the efficiency of discoms which
includes a reduction in their losses. ACFR® conductor deployment indistribution lines can help reduce the ohmic losses or increase thecapacity of overloaded lines by just replacing the existing conductors
with ACFR® conductor in the existing pole.

Mr Ryuta (Luke) Ogoshi, Manager
Tokyo Rope International Inc.
3-6-2 Nihonbashi Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8306, Japan
E: ogoshi.ryuta@tokyorope.jp | M: 81-0-80-2382-9540 (M)