Medium-voltage energy distribution systems are being upgraded with climate-friendly switchgear.
According to a European Union decision, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas used for insulation in electrical switchgear must be phased out from 2026. This is because, if equipment is improperly disposed of or dismantled, the gas can escape into the atmosphere and is many times more harmful in terms of the greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide.
The Graz-based energy supplier Energienetze Steiermark GmbH, which serves more than half a million customers, is getting ahead of this regulation by replacing its medium-voltage switchgear. During the three-year project, modernization will be carried out up to 24 kV in so-called secondary distribution. Secondary distribution supplies energy from medium-voltage substations to larger industrial consumers and low-voltage networks.
Under the framework agreement, Siemens will supply fluorine gas-free switchgear from its blue GIS portfolio. These models use so-called Clean Air technology as an insulating medium, which Siemens developed with climate protection in mind. This insulating medium contains only components that naturally occur in ambient air, such as oxygen and nitrogen, and is also stable, non-toxic, non-flammable, and can be used at all application temperatures. Since no toxic decomposition products are generated during the switching process, the switchgear can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner at the end of its life cycle, which can be up to 40 years under normal operating conditions.
The new switchgear, which also carries Siemens’ EcoTech sustainability certification, not only reduces the CO2 footprint of the system installation but is also equipped with intelligent sensors, paving the way for the digitalization of the electricity grid and thus making it even more sustainable.
This is not the first energy supplier to choose the blue GIS portfolio to make its equipment more climate-friendly. At the Volckamerstrasse transformer station in the German city of Nuremberg, for example, one such device has already been in operation since November 2024, and the local energy supplier plans to install more than 200 stations during this year.