University Of Manchester And National Grid Team Up To Develop SF6-Free Retrofill Solution For Electricity Network
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
This is the introductory paragraph.
National Grid and the University of Manchester are to collaborate on a four-year project to develop a full-scale demonstrator at the Deeside Centre for Innovation, designed to test at scale how the UK can retrofill sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) across its network of high-voltage equipment.
Note.
- Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is a gas commonly used in the power industry to provide electrical insulation and arc interruption.
- Eighty percent of sulphur hexafluoride is used in the electricity industry.
- According to Wikipedia, sulphur hexafluoride has several important applications, including a medical one in eye surgery.
- But sulphur hexafluoride is a is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that is 25,200 times greater than CO2.
It certainly looks to be a good idea to see if the sulphur hexafluoride can be eliminated from electrical equipment and other uses, that may release the gas into the atmosphere.
These paragraphs from the press release outline the project.
The £1.9m project will see experts at Manchester help determine how National Grid can develop a retrofill solution to replace SF6 with an environmentally friendlier alternative without having to replace or otherwise modify the existing equipment.
This solution – to be demonstrated at National Grid’s test facility the Deeside Centre for Innovation – will mean National Grid can avoid the environmental impact and cost of replacing equipment otherwise fit for many more years’ service.
It is not the first time National Grid and the University of Manchester have teamed up on a project exploring SF6 alternatives – a previous initiative which concluded in 2020 is now up for an IET Engineering & Technology magazine innovation award for ‘Best Innovation in Net Zero and Sustainability’.
The press release also says this about the Deeside Centre for Innovation.
National Grid’s Deeside Centre for Innovation in North Wales is the first of its kind in Europe, where electricity network assets can be tested under real life conditions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It certainly seems that National Grid and Manchester University are on top of the problem and have the resources to achieve success in the project.
The Russian Attack On Ukraine
You may wonder what this has got to do with improving transformers and switchgear in Manchester and Wales.
Recently, the Russians have been targeting the Ukrainian electricity network. Are Ukrainian transformers and switchgear insulated with sulphur hexafluoride and if they are how of this potent global warming gas has been released into the atmosphere?
The Anonymous Widower 
We spent all that angst over fridges and CFCs and all the while the whole of electrical supply industry globally is using SF6.
According to sources it is the most potent greenhouse gas currently known, with a global warming potential of 23,900 times that of CO2 over a 100 year period (SF6 has an estimated lifetime in the atmosphere of between 800 and 3,000 year.
Luckily at least Hitachi Energy are working on the problem https://www.hitachienergy.com/uk-ie/en/news/press-releases/2022/11/hitachi-energy-to-provide-world-s-first-sf6-free-420-kv-gas-insulated-switchgear-technology-at-tennet-s-grid-connection-in-germany
Comment by fammorris | November 20, 2022 |
The good thing is that Manchester University have a solution, where one fluid is just exchanged for another.
Did you see this in the press release.
“In a separate pilot project last year National Grid and Hitachi Energy developed and deployed a world-first solution at Richborough substation in Kent to replace SF6 with a greener alternative, marking a key step in National Grid’s ambition to reduce its SF6 emissions by 50% by 2030. The new demonstrator with Manchester will explore how the retrofill solutions might be applied across more of the network.”
It would appear that National Grid are giving the problem, the full Monty!
Comment by AnonW | November 20, 2022 |