Nexans goes greener with gas switch for high-voltage cables

Nexans High Voltage laboratory has carried out a 420 kV HVAC electrical type test with the use of g3 inside the termination, a gas said to have significantly reduced impact on the environment compared to the most commonly used SF6.

According to Nexans, sulphur hexafluoride gas (SF6) has been extensively used in the transmission grid for its remarkable properties as a high-strength gaseous dielectric medium and arc suppression.

However, its potent greenhouse gas behavior, global warming potential of about 23,000 times that of CO2, remaining in the atmosphere for up to 3,200 years, led research engineers to develop and experiment alternative gas.

To reduce the potential impact of emissions, with the support of General Electric, Nexans High Voltage laboratory in Calais, France, chose Green Gas for Grid (g3) as an alternative gas to SF6.

g3 is said to have a significantly reduced impact on the environment compared to SF6, especially for the Global Warming Potential (GWP): 98% less than common technologies.

Nexans states that this breakthrough will allow it to offer reliable green solutions to connect high voltage cables.

To remind, the French company recently opened a high-voltage subsea cable plant in Charleston, South Carolina, the first such facility in the United States.

From the new facility, Nexans will deliver subsea cables up to 525 kV HVDC and 400 kV HVAC, covering the full range of needed products for export cables for offshore wind and subsea interconnections.