SMA Is First Inverter Manufacturer to Receive FRT Certification for Japan

The Sunny Tripower 10000TLEE-JP-10 has been recertified by Japan Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET). This means that SMA already meets the new FRT requirements in accordance with JEAC 9701-2012, which are not due to take effect until the end of the year. SMA is the first inverter manufacturer worldwide to meet these requirements. Development Engineer Christian Gehrke and Product Manager Jens Garthof have guided the certification process.

First of all, congratulations on the successful certification!

Thank you very much. We are very happy about this good news. This certification is a very important step toward achieving even greater success on the Japanese market.

How does this certification particularly benefit our market presence in Japan?

Christian: For us as a relatively new supplier on the Japanese market, this successful certification means that, with our three-phase inverters, our Japanese customers can comply with future requirements at an early stage. As a result, I expect increased acceptance by the different local electric utility companies, since we are already able to provide the local grids with optimum support thanks to meeting these requirements.

Jens, you are the product manager responsible for the Japanese commercial market. How do you think the Japanese customers will evaluate the certification?

In order to properly assess this successful certification, you have to consider the following about the Japanese culture: The Japanese are very security-conscious people. New regulations and requirements are anticipated and met as soon as possible. To gain this certification earlier than our competitors—particularly Japanese manufacturers—is a great success for us.

It was a very labor-intensive project. What do you think are the greatest challenges?

Christian: We had to reconcile the different requirements and safety standards. At first, some of the regulations didn’t comply with the standards, so we had to find a balance between the different methods. Our highly motivated and interdisciplinary team of experts from the various departments helped to achieve these results.

Christian, as the responsible development engineer, you provided extensive support and were on-site for several month. What impressed you the most?

I had the opportunity to celebrate Hanami, the Japanese cherry blossom festival. This was a great experience for me. What I find most fascinating was the enormous customer-friendliness of all types of companies. In addition, the cooperation with the Japanese test authority was a very important step for the future. The Japanese value personal contact and good collaboration. This helped us to strengthen mutual trust.

* FRT stands for “Fault Ride Through” and describes the inverter’s reaction to short-term voltage drops in the grid (dynamic grid stabilization)