EU funding accelerates GE’s development of world’s first SF6-free 420kV circuit breaker

• 4 years ago (2020-02-17)
• David Flin

Distribution 108 Europe 1061

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GE Renewable Energy ’s Grid Solutions business has been awarded €2.2 million through the European Commission’s LIFE climate action programme to help fund the development of an SF6-free 420kV 63kA gas-insulated substation circuit breaker.

The new circuit breaker will rely on GE’s Green Gas for Grid (g3) technology. This results in the same performance and size as a traditional SF6-insulated circuit breaker, but with a gas mass having a more than 99 per cent reduced CO2 equivalent value.

Upon completion in 2022, the g3 circuit breaker is expected to be the first SF6-free 420kV gas-insulated substation circuit breaker in the world.

Vera Silva, Chief Technology Officer at GE’s Grid Solutions, said: “Our g3 technology is a game-changing alternative to SF6 for high-voltage equipment, and is part of GE’s broader efforts to help the electricity transmission and distribution industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.”

Yannick Kieffel, Grid Solutions’ Materials and Eco Design Team Leader and Project Leader for the EU-funded g3 project, said: “Because 420kV is the highest voltage level used in most European countries, a proven g3-insulated 420kV circuit breaker will demonstrate that g3 technology can be applied to other high-voltage levels, as well as all other gas-insulated substation components, such as disconnectors, earthing switches, and voltage transformers.”

GE’s Grid Solutions teams will work with several European partners on the g3 project. These include the Czech Republic’s Brno University and Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology, who will build the scientific database; the French company CEA, which will participate in the circuit breaker development; and transmission system operators that will help test and implement the final product.