TS Conductor, a company producing high-efficiency conductors for electricity grids, announced it will open its second US manufacturing facility near the Port of Savannah in Hardeeville, South Carolina, with production scheduled to begin by the end of the year.
The three-phase project represents a total investment of $134 million and is expected to create approximately 462 advanced manufacturing jobs. Phase one is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2025. TS plans to make major investments in local workforce development in partnership with SouthernCarolina Alliance and the Hardeeville Career Advancement & Workforce Training Program.
Phase one of the three-phase expansion is supported in part by funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) through its Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, whose goal is to support domestic manufacturing for critical energy supply chain needs. In October 2024, the DOE announced funding for 14 different advanced energy manufacturing projects, including TS. A major goal of the project is to ensure sufficient domestic supply of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power lines as massive grid expansion is planned nationwide.
In July 2024, TS raised $60 million in an oversubscribed growth round to fund the expansion. Investors in the company include Blue Earth Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy & Environment Investment, Inc., Edison International, Gates Frontier, National Grid Partners, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, Quanta Services, and Wellington Management.
TS Conductor says its high-performance conductors are suitable for both new build and reconductoring projects. The company argues its conductors can triple capacity during peak electricity generation and demand, as well as provide up to a 50% decrease in line losses during normal operation.
The TS product also aims to address some of the bigger challenges presented by the last generation of advanced conductors: its conductors can be installed with the same tools and techniques line crews have used for decades with ACSR conductors, with no additional training required. Additionally, with the conductor’s low-sag properties, CapEx costs can be reduced for new build projects, which can be designed with fewer and shorter towers, the company said.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which oversees interstate electricity transmission, recently released Order No. 1920, which TS said has led to greater interest in advanced conductors. The order requires transmission providers to consider grid-enhancing technologies, including advanced conductors, in their long-term planning.
In 2023, TS opened a U.S. manufacturing facility in Huntington Beach, California, with a capacity to produce up to 5,000 miles of conductors per year. The company’s products previously had been manufactured under contract at a facility in China.
Utilities across North America have already deployed TS technology, including Montana-Dakota Utilities Company (MDU), Arizona Public Service (APS), and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TS Conductor was founded in 2018 by Rulong Chen, James Huang and Jason Huang, based on James Huang’s patented conductor design.
