With direct current, the uniformly directed movement of electrons takes place along a specific direction. Direct current can be provided by batteries and rechargeable batteries, as these have a positive and a negative pole. When connected to an electrical circuit, the free electrons in the conductor are attracted to the positive pole and move in this direction.
High-voltage direct current (HVDC) is used in particular to transmit large amounts of electricity over long distances, as the transmission losses are extremely low compared to alternating current. In this context, voltages of more than 500 kilovolts are achieved.
Despite the advantages in terms of low transmission losses, direct current transmissions often have higher costs compared to alternating current.