ABB, the world's leading power and automation technology group, announced the development of a new type of insulating gas mixture to replace six sulfur fluoride, making a major breakthrough in the field of switching technology.

This alternative gas mixture has a similar insulation performance to the six sulfur fluoride gas currently used in switching equipment, but because of its extremely low greenhouse effect, it will greatly reduce the impact on the environment. At the same voltage level, the ABB gas insulated switchgear using this new gas mixture can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50% over the whole life cycle.

"This great achievement has paved the way for the development of more environmentally-friendly switchgear in the coming years," said Ukir, head of the ABB group's power product business department. This gas mixture will help our customers reduce the impact on the environment and reflect ABB's commitment to "create a better world with power and efficiency" through technological innovation.

In recent decades, with the excellent physical properties, six sulfur fluoride gas has been widely used in electrical industry for electrical insulation and current interruption. The six sulfur fluoride gas under certain pressure has higher dielectric strength than other insulating medium, which will help the gas insulated switchgear to operate safely and reliably, at the same time, it greatly reduces the size of the switch equipment and meets the installation and use in the limited space. However, six sulfur fluoride is a typical greenhouse gas, and power grid and enterprise users need to handle them carefully throughout the operation cycle. It is very costly to regulate and manage six sulfur fluoride, especially when the substation is decommissioned.

This new technology will take the lead in the application of a substation in Zurich, Switzerland, and is applied to the pilot project of ewz of Swiss electric power company. In addition to 170 thousand volts high voltage gas insulated switchgear, ABB will also apply this new gas mixture in medium pressure gas insulated switchgear.

In power system, switchgear is used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment to improve the reliability of power supply. With gas insulated switchgear technology, key components such as contacts and conductors are protected by insulating gases. The compact, reliable and stable performance enables gas insulated switchgear to be the preferred solution for urban and space constrained or harsh environments.

ABB launched the high pressure gas insulated metal closed switch equipment in 1960s, and continuously promoted the development and innovation of the technology. The series of products with voltage grade from 72 thousand and 500 volts to 1 million 200 thousand volts have been introduced. As a market leader in this field, ABB has installed more than 23000 intervals of high pressure gas insulated metal enclosed switchgear on a global scale. This latest breakthrough will further reduce carbon emissions while ensuring the efficiency and reliability of switchgear.