HVDC circuit breakers are of increasing importance, as multi-terminal high voltage DC (HVDC) transmission becomes a commercial reality. Multiple HVDC breaker technologies have been developed, and are starting to appear as proof-of-concept installations on real networks. Information about them is however distributed widely in the literature. This article describes the underlying challenges, the leading candidate solutions, and discusses the requirements and construction of the component sub-assemblies. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the field.
