Novel dry air switchgear technology to reduce industry’s dependence on SF6

Nuventura develops medium voltage (MV) gas insulated switchgear (GIS) which replaces SF6 - the world's strongest greenhouse gas - with dry air.

Annual SF6 emissions are 8,100 t, equal to the CO2 emissions by 100m cars. 85% of SF6 gas is used as a GIS insulating medium. Though recycling of SF6 is possible, it is usually not done due to difficulty & cost.

It can be expected that SF6 that exists now & that is produced in the future will persist for thousands of years, whether in GIS equipment or, ultimately, in the atmosphere. SF6' atmospheric lifetime is 3,200-years.

MV power grids (12-40.5 kV) use 3 types of switchgear: air insulated switchgear (AIS), solid insulated switchgear (SIS) & gas insulated switchgear (GIS). AIS have a large physical footprint, costly maintenance, & inability to meet the demands of urban grids. SIS works only in rare & highly specialized use cases.

Nuventura combines the advantages of GIS & AIS in a new dry air switchgear that is sustainable, safe & reliable.