Converter cells for HVDC applications store large amounts of energy. This energy might be dissipated in a very short time in case of a shoot-through fault. Measures to avoid shoot-through or handle the extreme currents during a fault and prevent damage from neighboring components are essential to ensure a continued operation of the converter. With future high-voltage silicon carbide semiconductors, cell voltages can be increased leading to higher stored energy per cell. In cells with thyristor-based semiconductors, e.g. IGCTs, a di/dt reactor may have to be employed. This paper presents a method to handle the dissipated energy during shoot-through which makes use of the inherently needed di/dt reactor. The majority of the stored energy in the cell can be dissipated in a dedicated discharge loop formed by the reactor and an antiparallel bypass thyristor. After diverting the fault current into the dissipation loop, there is no current through any other component of the cell.