Method and system for a gas tube-based current source high voltage direct current transmission system

A method of transmitting electrical power using direct current (DC) transmission, said method comprising:

• receiving alternating current (AC) electrical power;
• transferring current from a first switching device of a plurality of converter switching devices to a second switching device of the plurality of converter switching devices by sequentially turning on and turning off the first and the second switching devices at selectable times;
• generating a direct current (DC) flow of electrical power using the transferred current;
• and
• generating an alternating current using a plurality of inverter switching devices by sequentially turning on and turning off the inverter switching devices at selectable times;
• wherein transferring current from a first switching device of a plurality of converter switching devices to a second switching device of the plurality of converter switching devices comprises transferring current from a first gas tube switch of a plurality of converter gas tube switches to a second gas tube switch of the plurality of converter gas tube switches.

A power converter channel comprising:

• an AC-DC converter comprising a first H-bridge switching circuit electrically coupled to the electrical source, said first H-bridge switching circuit comprising a plurality of first legs electrically coupled in series parallel with respect to each other, each first leg of the plurality of first legs comprising at least one first switching device;
• a DC-AC inverter comprising a second H-bridge switching circuit electrically coupled to said AC-DC converter, said second H-bridge switching circuit comprising a plurality of second legs electrically coupled in series parallel with respect to each other, each second leg of said plurality of second legs comprising at least one second switching device;
• and
• a commutating circuit communicatively coupled to one or more first and second switching devices of at least one of said first and second H-bridge switching circuits, respectively, said commutating circuit configured to “switch on” a respective one of said one or more first and second switching devices during a first portion of an operational cycle of at least one of said first and second H-bridge switching circuits, respectively, and said commutating circuit further configured to “switch off” said respective one of said one or more first and second switching devices during a second portion of the operational cycle of said at least one of said first and second H-bridge switching circuits respectively;
• wherein at least a portion of said switching devices comprise a plurality of gas tube switches;
• and
• wherein the commutating circuit is further configured to transfer current from a first gas tube switch of the plurality of gas tube switches to a second gas tube switch of the plurality of gas tube switches.