IN Brief:
- Mersen is presenting high-performance fuses for AC and DC applications at PCIM 2026.
- The products combine AC/DC characteristics in a compact housing for applications up to 1000V/1000A.
- The launch targets power conversion, battery storage, EV charging, renewables, and data-centre power systems.
Mersen is presenting a new generation of high-performance fuses for AC and DC systems, targeting electrical protection in power electronics, battery storage, EV charging, renewable energy, and data-centre applications.
The products combine AC and DC electrical characteristics in a single compact housing and are designed for applications up to 1000V/1000A. Mersen is showing the range at PCIM 2026, where power conversion, DC distribution, energy storage, charging infrastructure, and high-density electrical systems remain central themes for component manufacturers.
The fuse range has been developed for power electronics and conversion systems, including inverters, solid-state transformers, charging systems, and megawatt charging applications. These systems sit at the interface between DC sources and AC networks, placing greater weight on protection speed, current rating, thermal performance, and installation flexibility.
Combining AC and DC characteristics reduces the need for separate fuse types in some applications. For OEMs, panel builders, and system integrators, that can simplify component selection, reduce assembly variation, and support more standardised electrical designs where equipment must operate across different current profiles.
The range covers a broad spread of rated currents and can be used as a standard AC fuse, an aR fuse, or a fast-acting fuse. Mersen says the devices have been developed with a focus on quality, manufacturing efficiency, and supply-chain performance, with testing carried out through its own UL-recognised laboratory and external specialist institutes.
The standards position supports international equipment design. The products are manufactured in line with IEC, UL, CCC, RoHS, REACH, and WEEE requirements, giving equipment manufacturers a route to protection design across multiple export markets without relying on separate product sets for each jurisdiction.
DC power infrastructure is becoming more common across the electrical system. Solar PV, battery storage, EV charging, data centres, and industrial power conversion all use architectures in which DC current levels and fault behaviour differ from conventional AC distribution. DC faults do not pass naturally through current zero in the same way as AC faults, so interruption performance and protection coordination require careful design.
Space pressure is another recurring constraint. Low-voltage and medium-voltage equipment is being asked to accommodate more protection, sensing, control, communications, and conversion functions inside compact assemblies. At distribution-board level, Contactum’s compact Type 2 surge protection range reflects the same pressure to preserve usable module space as electrification adds more devices to installations.
Higher-power systems face the same trend at a different scale. Charging hubs, storage plants, renewables sites, and critical power systems all need protection equipment that can respond quickly while fitting within increasingly dense layouts. Component design is therefore being shaped by speed, space efficiency, thermal performance, and compatibility with connected electrical systems.
Data-centre power architecture adds further demand. Higher rack densities, AI workloads, and efficiency pressures are pushing operators toward more compact and controllable distribution designs. Protection systems must support high availability while still allowing safe isolation, maintenance, and fault clearance.
Mersen’s launch sits within a broader shift in electrical design. As AC and DC systems increasingly operate side by side, protection products need to be more flexible without weakening fault interruption performance or compliance. The component market is becoming more specialised, with electrification and power electronics driving requirements that traditional protection ranges were not always built to address.
