An overcurrent protection device is for protecting a load arranged in a DC grid. The load is coupled to a supply busbar, which is connectable to a supply potential of the DC grid, in the DC grid via the overcurrent protection device. The overcurrent protection device is designed to ascertain a current trigger value based upon a detected value of a current flowing through the overcurrent protection device and a trigger characteristic which is assigned to the load and is based on the current; compare the current trigger value with a threshold, and either trigger the overcurrent protection device or not, based upon the result of the comparison. The current is taken into consideration together with a first or a second factor in the trigger characteristic based upon the current direction.