Hitachi Energy has unveiled the 420-kilovolt (kV) circuit-breaker, part of the energy company’s EconiQ high-voltage portfolio aiming to develop eco-efficient alternative solutions to sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
According to Hitachi Energy, the latest tech is a world-first and marks a key milestone in the industry to transmit large amounts of electricity over long distances while eliminating significant volumes of SF6. air break switch
“This 420kV breakthrough is a demonstration of our technology that is reliable and scalable to reach ultra-high-voltage levels with the lowest carbon footprint,” stated Markus Heimbach, managing director, high voltage products within Hitachi Energy.
“We are enabling our customers and the industry as a whole to rapidly transition to eco-efficient solutions to advance a sustainable energy future for all,” he added.
The global tech company cites past need to leverage SF6 in order to create compact substations, despite the fact that SF6 is nearly 25,200x more potent of a GHG than CO2 with an atmospheric lifetime of 3,200 years.
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They also claim how this is the only technology to enable a fast phase-out of SF6 while ensuring transmission grid reliability.
Their 420kV circuit-breaker, which was showcased at CIGRE Session 2022 in Paris, has also performed all relevant tests described in the IEC and IEEE standards for 63kA, 5000A, 50 and 60Hz.
This news comes in as Hitachi Energy announced that they will install a circuit-breaker for Eversource, an energy company in the US.
Hitachi Energy will install the EconiQ 420 kV Dead Tank Breaker (DTB) at an Eversource 345kV substation by mid-2023. The technology is based on their 420kV circuit-breaker and is hoped to support with Eversource’s sustainability goals.
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