ABB LTD Since the 1980s, medium voltage gas insulated switchgear (GIS) has set the standard for compactness, safety and availability. Our society is relying more and more on electricity in every minute of our life.
Historically, one drawback of gas-insulated switchgear is that it is based on SF6. SF6 has a very high global warming potential, which required my colleagues and me to think of new solutions for switchgear.
In my 26 years with ABB, working on the development of GIS, finding alternatives to SF6 has been the most challenging and interesting mission.
Intensive research resulted in the development of new switchgear using AirPlus as insulation gas, keeping all the advantages of SF6 design while reducing the global warming impact by 99.99%. AirPlus has shifted the paradigm.
AirPlus enables low pressure design in medium-voltage switchgear with alternative insulation gas. In the event of a leak, resulting in the loss of overpressure, the equipment can continue operating well enough to support availability expectations, but allow technicians to diagnose and deal with the fault without shutting down. This we call "run flat" design, similar to a vehicle with run-flat tires.
In addition, AirPlus offers a high grade of safety of the insulation gas itself, both while it's in use and at the end of its life. On average, SF6 stays in the high atmosphere 3,200 years; AirPlus lingers for just 16 days. The environmental impact between the two options cannot be overemphasized.
The demand for medium voltage switchgear will continue to increase, whether that's in the ever-growing number of data centres, in electric vehicle charging or in the distributed energy generation. AirPlus offers the potential to achieve this with minimised environmental impact to support our global climate goals of carbon neutrality.
The EU plans to revise the F-gases regulation in early 2022. They will consider restrictive measures on the usage of SF6 in new products. Needless to say, there's been an increased interest from utilities and network operators in alternatives. They are interested to learn about the advantages of ABB's technologies. More importantly, they are keen to install equipment with these sustainable SF6-free solutions, a benefit for the Earth and its citizens.
- Energy efficiencybookmark_borderSubscribe
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- AirPlus
- electrification
- gas insulated switchgear
- GIS
- medium-voltage switchgear
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ABB Ltd. published this content on 09 December 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 09 December 2021 09:51:01 UTC.
