Successful commissioning of a charging substation with a symmetrical converter

This innovative contribution to the energy transition also garnered political interest following a visit to our facility by Member of the Bundestag Torsten Herbst on February 14, 2023.

Commissioning was carried out in two phases. First, the charging substation was tested in idle mode, and its functionality and safety settings were verified. For the second phase, Alstom provided the Coradia Continental 1440 402 railcar, a pre-series vehicle from the battery-powered railcar fleet for the Central Saxony Transport Association (VMS). These are intended for future use on the Leipzig–Chemnitz route. In addition to the standard catenary voltage of AC 15 kV 16.7 Hz, the vehicles were retrofitted to handle the charging voltage of AC 15 kV 50 Hz.

During the commissioning tests, it was demonstrated that powering the vehicles with AC 15 kV 50 Hz is possible without any problems and without placing a strain on the three-phase grid due to asymmetries or high harmonics.

These tests are a prerequisite for the implementation of the charging substation at Annaberg-Buchholz Süd station, where the substation will be tested under real operating conditions and made available to other vehicle manufacturers for testing.