SCIBREAK AB

Their core work

SCIBREAK AB is a Swedish technology SME specializing in DC power systems — specifically protection equipment and circuit breakers for high, medium, and low-voltage DC networks. Their name itself signals their core product: DC circuit breaking technology. They contribute hardware or software solutions to large European grid innovation projects, working inside consortia that test and deploy advanced DC transmission and distribution infrastructure. Their work spans the full DC voltage spectrum, from massive offshore HVDC transmission networks to urban and industrial DC microgrids integrating renewable energy.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the first project (2016-2020), SCIBREAK worked at the large-scale end of the DC spectrum: meshed HVDC offshore grids connecting North Sea wind farms, including the technically demanding challenges of diode rectifier converters and protection of multi-terminal HVDC networks. By 2020, their focus shifted decisively toward the distributed end — LVDC and MVDC microgrids, hybrid AC-DC systems, and cyber security. The direction is clear: from bulk transmission infrastructure to decentralized, resilient DC distribution closer to the load and generation point.

SCIBREAK is moving down the voltage chain — from national-scale offshore HVDC toward distributed urban and industrial DC microgrids — which positions them well for the coming wave of EV charging infrastructure, data center DC networks, and industrial decarbonization projects.

How they like to work

SCIBREAK always joins as a participant, never as coordinator — a pattern consistent with a specialist technology provider that contributes a specific product or capability rather than leading programme management. Both their projects were large Innovation Actions with sprawling consortia (PROMOTION alone involved dozens of partners), meaning they are comfortable operating as a focused contributor within complex, multi-country collaborations. With 57 unique partners across just 2 projects, they have built an unusually broad network for their size, suggesting they are well-embedded in the European DC power research community.

SCIBREAK has collaborated with 57 unique partners across 14 countries from only 2 projects — a high network density that reflects participation in large pan-European Innovation Actions. Their network spans major grid research institutes, transmission system operators, and industrial manufacturers across northern and western Europe.

What sets them apart

SCIBREAK occupies a rare niche: a small Swedish company with hands-on DC circuit breaker and protection technology that has been validated in two major EU Innovation Actions covering opposite ends of the DC voltage spectrum. For a consortium builder, they bring something most academic or large-industry partners cannot — specialized SME-level agility combined with proven participation in grid-scale and microgrid-scale DC projects. Their dual experience in both offshore HVDC and urban DC microgrid contexts makes them a versatile protection technology partner as Europe's grid undergoes DC expansion.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROMOTION
  One of Europe's flagship HVDC offshore grid projects, tackling the unsolved problem of protection and circuit breaking in meshed multi-terminal HVDC networks — the exact technical challenge SCIBREAK is built around.
• HYPERRIDE
  SCIBREAK's largest single grant (EUR 691,049), covering LVDC/MVDC microgrids, hybrid AC-DC systems, and cyber security — signaling a strategic pivot from offshore transmission to distributed energy resilience.