Components
Siemens & Sumitomo win US$ 520m Pugalur-Trichur HVDC and cable VSC order
MUMBAI: A consortium between Siemens and Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. has been awarded an HVDC order from Indian transmission operator Power Grid Corporation of India to supply a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.
The about 200-km long HVDC connection will be India’s first DC link featuring voltage-sourced converter (VSC) technology. VSC is the latest innovation in HVDC technology offering a very stable and highly flexible reactive power control independent of active power control and additional features to support the AC systems like blackstart capability. Furthermore, this solution is ideal to be combined with XLPE cable technology. Siemens will be supplying two converter stations with two parallel converters, each rated 1000 Megawatts (MW), featuring its VSC HVDC technology while Sumitomo Electric will be responsible for XLPE HVDC cable system in the DC circuit.
The combined order volume for Siemens and Sumitomo Electric is approximately $520 million. The grid connection is scheduled to go into operation in the first half of 2020.
“We are proud to announce that this project will be the first HVDC link in India featuring VSC technology”, states Siemens Energy Management CEO Ralf Christian. “Latest innovations will help achieving ambitious grid programs, like the “24 x 7 Power for all” initiative of India’s Ministry of Power, to meet the growing power demand.”
The Pugalur-Trichur ±320 kilovolt (kV) HVDC system will connect Pugalur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu to Trichur in Kerala State in South-West India. The Trichur converter station will be connected via underground XLPE HVDC cable to a transition station also being built by Siemens. Sumitomo Electric’s DC-XLPE cable has unique characteristics among industries to maximize utilization of HVDC system, enabling normal operation temperature at 90 degree, which is suitable for the hybrid system with bulk power overhead line. Sumitomo Electric will supply 128 km XLPE HVDC cable system comprising four cables for a route of 32 km each. From the converter station at Pugalur power will be transmitted via an overhead line to the transition station. The Siemens scope of supply for the turnkey project encompasses design, engineering, supply, installation as well as commissioning and major equipment supplies of the complete HVDC stations, including converter valves, transformers, cooling systems and control and protection technology.
Siemens and Sumitomo Electric enter into Cooperation Agreement: Sumitomo Electric of Japan and Siemens have entered into a cooperation agreement to collaborate in the field of HVDC transmission for selected projects to combine the innovative technologies of both parties. The partnership of Siemens with its recent achievements in DC converter technology and Sumitomo Electric, a pioneer in developing HVDC cables with cross linked polyethylene insulation, aims to provide optimized customer tailored solutions to enhance performance capabilities in the field of HVDC transmission systems.
“With this project, Siemens will increase its local presence by expanding its engineering and manufacturing capability for HVDC technology in India,” states Siemens Energy Management – Transmission Solutions CEO Mirko Düsel. “Furthermore we are glad to partner with Sumitomo Electric to contribute to the continuous support of stable energy supply and economic development
in India.”
“We are pleased to announce this innovative partnership which accommodates the needs of the growing HVDC transmission system market, and we believe this cooperation between technology leaders, Siemens and Sumitomo Electric, will strengthen both company’s capability to provide state-of-the-art HVDC solutions to the customers worldwide,” states Sumitomo Electric managing executive officer Masaki Shirayama.
The new transmission link will support major initiatives of India’s Ministry of Power to achieve ‘24 x7 Power for all’ in the country. By bringing in new technology Siemens and Sumitomo Electric will help in achieving this ambitious grid program to meet India’s growing power demand.
SEOUL: In the eternal battle between gamers demanding lightning-fast refresh rates and professionals craving pixel-perfect clarity, LG Display reckons it has found détente. The South Korean display titan is unveiling the world’s first 27-inch 4K OLED monitor panel that marries an RGB stripe structure with a blistering 240Hz refresh rate—a combination previously thought incompatible, like oil and water or fashion and function.
The breakthrough lies in how the pixels are arranged. RGB stripe structure lines up red, green and blue subpixels in neat rows, banishing the colour bleeding and fringing that plague lesser screens when you park your nose close to the display. It is the difference between reading crisp text and squinting at a rainbow-tinged mess. OLED panels using this method existed before, but they topped out at a sluggish 60Hz—fine for spreadsheets, useless for fragging opponents in first-person shooters.
LG Display’s engineering wizardry changes the game. By cranking the refresh rate to 240Hz whilst maintaining that pristine RGB stripe layout, the company has produced a panel that works equally well for colour-critical design work and twitchy gaming sessions. Better still, the panel incorporates Dynamic Frequency & Resolution technology, letting users toggle between ultra-high-definition at 240Hz and full-HD at a frankly ludicrous 480Hz. That is fast enough to make your eyeballs sweat.
The specs are suitably impressive: 160 pixels per inch for exceptional detail, optimised performance for Windows and font-rendering engines, and colour accuracy that should please the Photoshop brigade. LG Display achieved this by boosting the aperture ratio—the percentage of each pixel that actually emits light—and applying what it coyly describes as “various new technologies.” Translation: years of R&D and probably some sleepless nights.
Existing high-end gaming OLED monitors have relied on RGWB structures (which add a white subpixel) or triangular RGB arrangements. Both work, but neither delivers the sharpness that professionals demand. LG Display’s new stripe pattern is tailored specifically for monitor use, a recognition that staring at a screen from two feet away demands different engineering than watching telly from across the room.
The company is betting big on this technology, targeting the high-end monitor market where it already commands roughly 30 per cent of global OLED panel production. Among gaming OLED panels in mass production, LG Display claims world-leading specs across refresh rate, response time and resolution—a trifecta that sounds like marketing bluster until you check the numbers.
“Technology is the foundation of leadership in the rapidly growing OLED monitor market,” says LG Display head of the large display business unit Lee Hyun-woo. He promises to keep pushing “differentiated technologies compared to competitors”—corporate-speak for staying ahead of Chinese rivals snapping at LG’s heels.
The new panel will debut at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where LG Display plans to woo customers and expand its lineup. Initial rollout targets high-end gaming and professional monitors, the sweet spot where people actually pay premiums for superior screens rather than settling for whatever came with their laptop.
Whether this technology reshapes the monitor market or remains a niche luxury depends on two things: pricing and production scale. But for now, LG Display has pulled off something rare—a genuine technical leap that solves a real problem. Gamers get their speed, designers get their clarity, and LG gets bragging rights. In the cutthroat world of display tech, that counts as a win.
