Application of saturated core fault current limiter is an effective method to limit the fault current in a high-voltage large-capacity power system. In order to reduce the high excitation energy consumption and enhance the clipping performance of saturated core fault current limiter

a hybrid-biased saturated core fault current limiter（HSFCL） based on permanent magnet（PM） is proposed in this paper. The equivalent magnetic circuit and electrical circuit are established to explain the principle of HSFCL. The operating characteristics of HSFCL

especially the effect of PM on its performance

are investigated. The finite element analysis（FEA） model of HSFCL is established and performed in Maxwell-3 D. The simulation results verify that the proposed HSFCL can limit fault current effectively. Increasing amount of PM will reduce excitation energy consumption

which will weaken the clipping performance and reduce the utilization rate of magneto motive force. The experimental results obtained from a 220 V/10 A prototype validate the effectiveness of the proposed structure and the method.