Tackling Grid Challenges with AECC: The TS Next-Generation Advanced Conductor
Today's grid challenges can't be solved with yesterday's technology. Yet the dominant conductor technology is over a century old, while first-generation advanced conductors haven't been widely adopted due to well-known installation issues, longevity, and affordability concerns.
Jason explains how next-generation advanced conductor technology enables five key grid attributes: reliability, resiliency, affordability, speed to deploy, and safety. He points to Aluminum Encapsulated Carbon Core (AECC) conductors, which allow utilities to complete reconductoring projects without structure modifications—something often unavoidable with steel-core alternatives—while also reducing structure requirements in new builds.
Episode Guest
Dr. Jason Huang is an expert in advanced conductors and composite materials science with over a decade of experience in the field. His career spans senior leadership positions at CTC Global, BAE Systems, Owens Corning, and Solvay, including work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and on critical defense aircraft projects. Dr. Huang holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering and an MBA from The Ohio State University and an MS in Materials Science from UCLA.
Resources:
- TS Conductor website
- TS Conductor - Case Studies
- Jason Huang’s TED Talk - "The high-wire act of unlocking clean energy"
This content is sponsored by:
About the Author
Nikki Chandler
Group Editorial Director, Energy
Nikki is Market Content Director for the Endeavor Business Media Energy group, which includes T&D World, EnergyTech and Microgrid Knowledge media brands. She has 30 years of experience as an award-winning business-to-business editor, with 24 years of it covering the electric utility industry. She started out as an editorial intern with T&D World while finishing her degree, then joined Mobile Radio Technology and RF Design magazines. She returned to T&D World as an online editor in 2002, and took over as managing editor in 2017, then market content director in 2023. She has contributed to several publications over the past 30 years, including Waste Age, Wireless Review, Power Electronics Technology, and Arkansas Times. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas.