GE wins funding for SF6-free technology
GE has been awarded a total of $3.7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for two related projects to help accelerate the decarbonization of the U.S. electrical grid.
The first award in the amount of $2.3 million to GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business relates to the development of a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)-free 245 kilovolt (kV) dead tank circuit-breaker. The new circuit-breaker will use GE’s g3 gas insulating and switching technology, which has a global warming potential that is 99% less compared with SF62, to deliver the same high performance as a traditional SF6 circuit-breaker. As g3 products have the same dimensions as SF6 equipment, there is no increase in emissions during the manufacturing process from additional material.
The second award to GE Research Center in the amount of $1.4 million is part of a $2.7 million project led by the University of Connecticut that will focus on the life cycle management of g3 products, mainly gas leakages and byproduct detection, capture and monitoring tools.
“SF6 is a significantly more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and can remain in the atmosphere for up to 3,200 years. ARPA-E anticipates that any technology developed to replace SF6 could have a significant and widespread global impact as countries look to reduce, regulate, or eliminate SF6 emissions from their electrical grids,” said Dr. Isik Kizilyalli, ARPA-E Associate Director for Technology.
“We are honored that ARPA-E recognizes the importance GE’s g3 gas technology. This funding will help demonstrate the applicability of g3 gas for the commonly used 245 kV voltage level used by transmission operators in the U.S.,” said Danielle Merfeld, Chief Technology Officer at GE Renewable Energy. “One of the major advantages of GE’s g3 gas is that this fluoronitrile-based solution is scalable to higher voltage levels. As part of this project, the 245 kV g3 circuit breaker will be scaled to 550 kV, which helps accelerate market acceptance of SF6-free technology and support the U.S.’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”
Source: GE Grid Solutions
Photo (for illustrative purposes): Sunny sky / Jun Won Seo / Pixabay / Free for commercial use
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