<p>A new traveling wave (TW)-based methodology to optimally detect faults in HVDC transmission lines (TL) is proposed in this paper, aiming to minimize the fault location error. Basically, an optimal digital filter is defined using optimization techniques to detect the fault-induced wave fronts and use the corresponding arrival time instants identified at both TL buses to determine the fault location. The proposed solution is validated through several short-circuit simulations carried out in a bipolar direct current network, being the fault parameters varied in each simulation, such as type, location and resistance. The performance of the proposed methodology is compared against other traditional methods reported in the literature. From the obtained results, the proposed technique has shown to be more accurate due to an optimization technique being applied to find an optimal solution to detect faults, resulting in a customized TW-based fault detector solution for each considered power grid.</p>