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

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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.