ISSUE 26

February 2023 transformer-technology.com ISSN 2642-2689

POWER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY

GREEN ENERGY

Transitioning to Green Energy

Interview with Markus Heimbach, Executive Vice President and the Managing Director at Hitachi Energy
Clean Energy
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4 TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Contents

Table of
Index
16
Table of Contents_04
Editors & Impressum_10
Editor’s Letter_14 Green Hydrogen:
Green Hydrogen: Powering Powering a
a Low-Carbon Future_16 Low-Carbon Future
SF6-Free High-Voltage Technology
for a Grener Future – Interview with
Markus Heimbach_26
How to use battery load units in
process of repair or recycling of EV
batteries?_32
Inflation Reduction Act and
Infrastructure Bill to transform
US long duration energy storage 26
market_36 Interview with
Key Technologies toward Markus
Heimbach
Renewable Energy – Interview with Executive Vice
President and the
Kevin Meagher_42
Managing Director
From the dawn of electric at Hitachi Energy

vehicles to a fully
electrified
world_50
Transformer Technology February 2023 5

Issue 26

42
Interview with
Kevin
Meagher
Chief Science
Officer for The Sun
Company

32
How to use battery
load units in process 50
of repair or recycling From the dawn of electric
of EV batteries? vehicles to a fully electrified
world: How IoTecha and its
partners are building the
future of infrastructure
36
Inflation Reduction Act
and Infrastructure Bill to
transform US long duration
energy storage market
6 TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Contents

Table of
Index
The Green Energy Revolution_54
Natural Esters: Insulation Fluids for
Green and Reliable Transformers –
Interview with M. Wrobel and
R. Jardón_58 54
E-Mobility Development Requires Expert opinion
Interdisciplinary Approach, Deep The Green Energy Revolution
Knowledge and Battery Testing_66
Regulations Paving Way for 58
Widespread Installation of Smart Interview with
Chargers_70
Clean and Green Energy and Roberto Jardón54
Dr. Miroslaw Wrobel
CEO/CTO & Co-Founder Expert
of opinion
Gamechangers – Interview with Passero and Regional Technical
The Green Energy
Leader at Cargill BioIndustrial -
Diane Cherry_74 Power Generation Revolution
Expert QA with Andrea
Ghidini_80
Transitioning to Green
Energy_84
Protecting Equipment
with Powder Elevates
Protection and
Sustainability_88
Coming in March_93
Transformer Technology February 2023 7

Issue 26

80
Expert QA with
Andrea Ghidini
Sales Manager
at TMC Transformers

84
66 Expert opinion
E-Mobility Development Requires Transitioning to Green Energy:
Interdisciplinary Approach, Deep Knowledge How Utilities Can Leverage
and Battery Testing – How Cesi is Contributing Thermal and Visual Monitoring

70
Regulations Paving
Way for Widespread
Installation of
Smart Chargers

74
Interview with
Diane Cherry
Principal consultant
at Diane Cherry
Consulting

88
Protecting Equipment with
Powder Elevates Protection
and Sustainability
A BETTER ENERGY FUTURE IS
A FUTURE OF COLLABORATION
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10 EDITORS &
IMPRESSUM

Impressum TAB Executive Advisor,

The Chair and Managing Editor
Alan M. Ross, CRL, CMRP
Transformer maintenance and
reliability

Technical Advisory Board (TAB)

Executive Advisors TAB Executive Advisor
Alan M. Ross, CRL, CMRP Corné Dames
The Chair and Managing Editor Independent transformer
Corné Dames consultant Transformer oils
Independent transformer consultant
Transfomer oils
Ben Lanz, IEEE PES Senior Member
Power system reliability, asset management
and diagnostics TAB Executive Advisor
Technical Advisory Board Members Ben Lanz, IEEE PES Senior Member
Diego Robalino, PhD, PMP Power system reliability,
IEEE Senior Member asset management
Tony McGrail and diagnostics
Asset management & Condition monitoring
Edward Casserly, PhD
Senior Scientist, Transformer oils TAB Member
Maria Lamorey
Diego Robalino PhD, PMP
Industrial OEM manufacturing
IEEE Senior Member
Alan Sbravati, ME, MBA
Transformer insulating materials Transformer condition
Marco Tozzi, PhD assessment and
Diagnostics and asset monitoring diagnostics
Curtus Duff
Power transformer design
Traci Hopkins, IEEE Member
Transformer Condition Assessment
Jon Trout, PE
TAB Member
Electric utility
Michael Riccio, CRL, IRT CAT-1
Tony McGrail, PhD
Reliability, Electrical safety Asset management &
Alexander Doutrelepont Condition monitoring
High voltage bushings & insulators
Ed Khan
Power Systems, Relay protection, Training
Graphic design
BE Koncept Communication Boutique TAB Member
Photo Cover Edward Casserly, PhD
Shutterstock Senior Scientist,
Transformer oils
Sales & Marketing
Rachel Linke
[email protected]
Kevan Sears
[email protected]
Sales & Marketing Americas TAB Member
Jose Mora Maria Lamorey
[email protected] Industrial OEM
Sales & Marketing Mexico manufacturing
Fernando Campos
[email protected]

Sales & Marketing Brazil

Marcelo Braga
[email protected] TAB Member
Marketing Global Alan Sbravati, ME, MBA
Marin Dugandzic Transformer insulating
[email protected] materials
Transformer Technology February 2023 11

Issue 26

Editors
TAB Member
Marco Tozzi, PhD
Diagnostics and asset
monitoring

ISSN 2642-2689 (Print)

ISSN 2642-2697 (Online)
TAB Member
DIGITAL Membership Curtus Duff
Free Power transformer design
Transformer Technology magazine is a quarterly
magazine published by APC MEDIA LLC, 2152
Caper Dr., Marietta, GA 30064, USA. Published
content does not represent official position of APC
MEDIA LLC. Responsibility for the content rests TAB Member
upon the authors of the articles and advertisers, Traci Hopkins
and not on APC MEDIA LLC. APC MEDIA LLC Transformer Condition
maintains the right to keep the textual and Assessment
graphical documents submitted for publication.
Copyright and reprint permission
Abstracting is permitted with credit to the source.
Libraries are permitted to photocopy isolated
pages for private use of their patrons. TAB Member
For other copying, reprint or republication Jon Trout, PE
permission requests should be addressed to Electric utility
[email protected]
Publisher:
APC MEDIA LLC
2152 Caper Dr.
Marietta, GA 30064, USA
TAB Member
transformer-technology.com
Michael Riccio, CRL, IRT CAT-1
Reliability, Electrical safety

TAB Member
Alexander Doutrelepont
High voltage bushings
& insulators

TAB Member
Ed Khan
Power Systems,
Relay protection, Training
12 ADVERTISING
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14 LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR

Dear Readers,

Our focus this month is on Green Energy and the Starting in March, and continuing going forward,
transformation taking place in the power indus- even though each issue is “themed”, we will have
try globally. I mentioned recently that at the Re- separate sections for Transformer focused content,
newable Energy, RE+ Conference, and Expo in Power Systems content, Green Energy content, and
Anaheim, California last year, we were able to in- Women in Power Systems content. While each is-
terview 29 SME’s and thought leaders who spoke sue might have a very strong focus on one of these
about the innovation and developments taking content areas, we hope to cover all of the change
place in the green energy space. We came away taking place in both technology and in how each
content rich, and some of those interviews are here of these areas will impact the global power indus-
in this issue. We could not do all of the interviews try going forward. While our geographic focus will
justice, so over the year we will be adding a new remain the Americas and Europe, much of our
feature to our Digital Magazines to cover expanded content will have relevance throughout the globe.
content areas of Power Systems and Green Ener-
gy Technologies, while continuing to provide great We believe transformers are and will always be the
content on Transformer Technology and Women "Heart of the Power System”, but given the changes
in Power Systems. elsewhere within that system, we think this is a
better way to cover the changes taking place all
I will make this letter shorter than most because around us. It will also expand our community as
I believe I cover a lot of what this issue is about in we rebrand ourselves as APC Technologies, a better
the article I wrote on where green and clean energy description of our brand.
is focused. One of the great joys I have as Managing
Editor is to be exposed to so many great technol-
ogies, ideas and movements within the power in-
dustry. Having just returned from the DistribuTech
International Conference and Expo in San Diego,
which we will cover in our March issue, I am thank-
ful for all of the thought leaders I was able to in-
terview, each of whom raised my own awareness
of how great a change we are undergoing in the
power industry.

One senior executive said it best:

After 30 years of working

in the power industry,
I have never seen as much of
an appetite for change as
I am seeing right now. And it
bodes well for society as a
whole as we grapple with
some very tough issues on a
global scale, decarbonization,
decentralization and
digitalization.
Transformer Technology February 2023 15

Issue 26

In the meantime, enjoy our first foray into Green

Alan M Ross
Energy Technology, with articles of importance
and interviews with key thought leaders from the
industry. Moving forward, I would love to hear from
you, our community members, on any of the sub-
jects we will cover as a way of serving you better.
Our vision is to be the “Digital Voice of the Power
Industry” and that vision becomes clearer as we
make these changes going forward. We will forev-
er have Transformer Technology as our own heart,
but we are also cognizant of the fact that we have
been given a platform as a trusted source for infor-
mative, enlightening and inspiring content for the
power industry, and we take that role as a “trusted
provider” very seriously at APC Technologies.

If you are interested in providing content for any

of our targeted areas, please feel free to connect
with me personally at [email protected].

Onward and Upward!

Managing Editor
Alan M Ross

Technical Director
CRL, CMRP

APC Media
16 POWERING A
LOW-CARBON
FUTURE

Green Hydrogen:
Powering a Low-Carbon Future
by Dr. Ahad Esmaeilian

Green hydrogen

is considered a versatile and potentially

transformative technology in the transition

Dr. Ahad Esmaeilian is Vice President of Clean
to a low-carbon energy system. Its ability to Energy at Audubon Engineering Company.
He holds bachelor and master’s degrees in
Electrical Engineering from The University of

decarbonize various sectors and to store and Tehran, a master’s degree in Business Admin-
istration from the Clarkson University, and a
PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Texas
A&M University, and has a rich experience in
transport renewable energy makes it a key both electrical engineering and business. He
is also a Senior Member of the IEEE and cur-
rently serves as the Chairman of the IEEE PES
player in the energy transition. Grid Edge Technologies Conference & Expo.

Background

The history of hydrogen production

dates to 1800s, when scientists first
discovered that hydrogen could be
produced from water through the
process of electrolysis. However, it
Transformer Technology February 2023 17

Issue 26

wasn't until the 20th century that renewable energy sources such as the electrolysis of water, where an
hydrogen began to be used as a fuel wind or solar power, rather than fossil electric current is passed through
on a large scale. Initially, hydrogen was fuels. In recent years, interest in green water, splitting it into hydrogen and
mainly produced using fossil fuels hydrogen has grown as a means of oxygen. The electricity used in this
such as natural gas, leading to the using renewable energy to produce process can come from a variety of
emission of greenhouse gases. hydrogen without emitting carbon. The renewable sources such as solar, wind,
Green hydrogen is produced using production of green hydrogen involves or hydroelectric power.
18 POWERING A
LOW-CARBON
FUTURE

Source: https://ktproject.ca/hydrogen-an-introduction-to-the-clean-energy-of-the-future/

Electrolysis Technologies Additionally, the efficiency of alkaline electrolysis cells require the use of
electrolysis decrease as the tempera- a precious metal catalyst such as
There are several different electrolysis ture increases above 80°C. platinum, which increases the cost of
technologies currently available, the technology.
each with its own set of advantages Proton exchange membrane (PEM)
and disadvantages. The three major electrolysis. Solid oxide electrolyzer (SOE)
electrolysis technologies are: PEM is a type of electrolysis SOE is a type of electrolysis technology
technology that utilizes a proton- that utilizes a solid oxide material
Alkaline electrolysis conducting polymer membrane as the as the electrolyte. The electrolyte
Alkaline electrolysis is one of the electrolyte. The membrane selectively is typically composed of ceramics
oldest and most mature electrolysis allows protons to pass through, but not such as zirconia or yttria-stabilized
technologies. It uses an alkaline electrons, resulting in high electrical zirconia. The solid oxide electrolyte
solution, such as potassium hydroxide efficiency of around 60-70%. PEM allows for the movement of both
(KOH), as the electrolyte. Alkaline electrolysis cells are relatively compact ions and electrons, resulting in high
electrolysis cells have a relatively high and lightweight, making them well electrical efficiency of around 60-80%.
efficiency and are able to operate at suited for small-scale and portable SOE cells are able to operate at high
relatively low temperatures, which hydrogen production systems. temperatures, typically 700-1000°C,
makes them well suited for use in Additionally, PEM electrolysis cells which allows for high efficiency and
large-scale hydrogen production. are able to operate at a relatively low the ability to use waste heat as a
The efficiency of alkaline electrolysis temperature range of 20-80°C. This source of energy. This high operational
cells ranges from 70-80%, with an range of temperature and efficiency temperature also allows SOE cells to
operational temperature range of makes PEM electrolysis well suited be used in a variety of applications
25-80°C. Moreover, alkaline electrolysis for a wide range of applications, such as hydrogen production, power
is relatively tolerant to impurities in particularly in the transportation and generation, and carbon capture.
the water, which can decrease the power generation sectors. However, However, SOE cells are a relatively new
capital costs. However, the use of PEM electrolysis cells can be sensitive technology and further research is
an alkaline electrolyte, such as KOH, to impurities in the water, which needed to optimize their performance,
can be corrosive, resulting in higher can decrease the cell's lifespan decrease their costs and improve
maintenance costs over time. and efficiency. Furthermore, PEM their reliability.
Transformer Technology February 2023 19

Issue 26

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360128516300260#f0010

Industry Applications generation, green hydrogen offers in the transition to a sustainable

a clean, efficient, and sustainable energy system. The adoption of green
Green hydrogen has the potential to energy solution. With its versatility and hydrogen across various sectors
revolutionize multiple sectors across scalability, green hydrogen has the has the potential to drive economic
industries. From transportation potential to significantly reduce carbon growth, create new jobs, and provide
to heating and cooling, and from emissions and contribute to a low- energy security, making it a critical
industrial processes to power carbon future, making it a key enabler component in the global energy mix.

Source: https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2scale
20 POWERING A
LOW-CARBON
FUTURE

Power Generation, provide their customers with lower the overall carbon intensity of the
Heating & Cooling carbon emission electricity, heating delivered energy. As the percentage of
and cooling solutions. This can be hydrogen in the blend increases, the
Green hydrogen can be used achieved through a process known carbon emissions from the natural gas
by utilities to decarbonize their as hydrogen blending, where a small pipeline will decrease. This provides a
natural gas distribution pipelines, percentage of hydrogen is added to the stepping-stone for utilities to transition
and thermal power generations to existing natural gas pipeline, reducing their customers to a low-carbon
Transformer Technology February 2023 21

Issue 26

energy source, without requiring This can help to significantly reduce energy, which can then be used to
significant infrastructure changes. the carbon emissions from the meet demand during periods of
Additionally, green hydrogen can also heating and cooling sector and low renewable energy generation.
be used as a standalone energy source contribute to a more sustainable Green hydrogen can also be used to
for heating and cooling, either through energy system. In the power and balance the electricity grid, helping to
direct use or through conversion to utilities sector, green hydrogen can integrate more renewable energy into
electricity through fuel cells. be used to store excess renewable the system.
22 POWERING A
LOW-CARBON
FUTURE

Hydrogen blending into the natural that is currently reliant on fossil fuels. Forum, hydrogen fuel cell ships could
gas power generation turbines or In the transportation sector, green reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90%
distribution pipelines faces several hydrogen can be used to power fuel in comparison to conventional ships.
challenges, including: cell vehicles, which convert hydrogen In the aviation sector, green hydrogen
into electricity to power the vehicle's has the potential to power aircrafts, as
• Technical compatibility: Hydrogen electric motor. According to a study by well as to be used in the production of
is a highly reactive gas, and the European Commission, hydrogen synthetic jet fuels. Several OEMs and
blending it with natural gas fuel cell vehicles could account for up startups are investing into designing
requires ensuring that the existing to 14% of new car sales in Europe by and piloting vessels and airplanes that
natural gas pipelines, appliances, 2050. The technology for light-duty could rely on green hydrogen/ammonia
and meters are compatible with fuel cell cars is currently at a mature as their source of fuel. According
hydrogen gas. stage and several Original Equipment to a study by the International Civil
Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Toyota, Aviation Organization, hydrogen has the
• Safety concerns: Hydrogen is a Honda, Hyundai, and General Motors potential to reduce the aviation sector's
flammable gas and requires special are currently producing and selling CO2 emissions by up to 80%.
handling and storage procedures fuel cell vehicles. The state-of-the-
to ensure safety. This requires the art technologies in light-duty fuel cell The use of green hydrogen in the
development of appropriate safety cars include the use of PEM fuel cells transportation sector faces several
protocols, risk assessments, and and high-pressure hydrogen storage challenges, including:
hydrogen leak detection systems. systems. These technologies have
enabled the development of fuel cell • Infrastructure: The development
• Cost: The production and vehicles with a high driving range, and of hydrogen fueling infrastructure
transportation of hydrogen, as low emissions. is necessary to support the
well as the retrofitting of existing widespread adoption of green
natural gas infrastructure Captive fleets, such as buses, delivery hydrogen in the transportation
to accommodate hydrogen vans, port and airport ground support sector. This includes the
blending, can be expensive. The equipment, can also rely on green construction of hydrogen
development of cost-effective hydrogen as the fuel source. These production and fueling stations, as
hydrogen production and vehicles typically operate within a well as the deployment of hydrogen
transportation technologies is specific area and return to a central storage and transportation
critical to the success of hydrogen depot at the end of each day. This technologies.
blending. makes it feasible to build a hydrogen
refueling station at the depot, providing • Cost: Green hydrogen production
• Hydrogen production and a convenient and reliable source of fuel and fueling are currently more
distribution infrastructure: for the fleet. expensive than traditional fossil
The development of a hydrogen fuel-based transportation systems.
production and distribution Several OEMs such as Toyota, Daimler, The development of cost-effective
infrastructure is necessary to Volvo, and Nikola Motors are investing green hydrogen production and
support the widespread adoption in the development of hydrogen fuel fueling technologies, as well
of hydrogen blending. This requires cell trucks. These companies are as economies of scale in the
significant investment in renewable currently testing and demonstrating production and distribution of
energy sources, hydrogen prototypes of hydrogen fuel cell trucks, green hydrogen, is critical to
electrolyzers, hydrogen storage, and some have even started to take making green hydrogen a viable
and hydrogen transportation pre-orders for commercial production. alternative to fossil fuels in the
technologies. According to a study by the Hydrogen transportation sector.
Council, a global CEO-led initiative, it is
• Regulatory and policy support: estimated that by 2030, hydrogen fuel • Fuel cell technology: The use of
The development of appropriate cell trucks could account for around green hydrogen in transportation
regulations and policies to support 14% of the global truck market, which requires the development of
hydrogen blending is necessary is expected to be worth around $230 advanced fuel cell technologies
to ensure its safe and efficient billion. The study also estimates that that can effectively convert
deployment. This includes the by 2050, hydrogen fuel cell trucks could hydrogen into electrical energy to
development of standards reduce CO2 emissions by 6 gigatons power vehicles. These technologies
for hydrogen blending, safety per year, which is equivalent to taking need to be cost-effective, durable,
protocols, and the licensing 1.5 billion cars off the road. and reliable, and they need to meet
of hydrogen production and the performance requirements of
distribution activities. Green hydrogen can also be used as the transportation sector.
a marine fuel, reducing the carbon
Transportation Sector emissions of ships and helping the • Regulatory and policy support:
shipping industry to meet its emission The development of appropriate
Green hydrogen has the potential to reduction targets. According to a regulations and policies to support
decarbonize the transportation sector study by the International Transport the use of green hydrogen in the
Transformer Technology February 2023 23

Issue 26

transportation sector is necessary greenhouse gas emitters, with The production of glass requires
to ensure its safe and efficient hydrogen being used in the high temperatures and energy,
deployment. This includes the production of various chemicals making it a significant contributor to
development of standards for such as ammonia and methanol. carbon emissions. Green hydrogen
hydrogen fueling, vehicle safety Green hydrogen has the potential can be used as an energy source
protocols, and the licensing to replace the use of fossil fuels in in the melting process of glass to
of hydrogen production and this industry, leading to significant heat the furnaces that melt the raw
distribution activities. reductions in carbon emissions. materials into liquid glass. The use
The market size for green hydrogen in of green hydrogen in this process
• Public awareness and perception: the chemicals industry is estimated can reduce the carbon footprint
The public perception of green to reach $17.5 billion by 2050. of the glass industry and make it
hydrogen as a safe and viable more sustainable, as it replaces
energy source for transportation In the oil and gas industry and traditional energy sources such as
is critical to its widespread refineries, hydrogen can be used in natural gas. The market size for
adoption. Raising awareness about a variety of processes to improve green hydrogen in the glass industry
the benefits of green hydrogen, efficiency, reduce emissions, is estimated to reach $1.9 billion
including its clean and sustainable and upgrade heavy crude oil into by 2050.
characteristics, will be necessary lighter products. Some specific
to overcome any public skepticism. applications include hydrotreating, In the microchip industry, hydrogen
hydrocracking, and hydrogenation. is used as a reducing agent in the
Industry Feedstock Hydrogen can also be used as a fuel production of silicon wafers, the
to power operations in the industry, basic building blocks of microchips.
Green hydrogen can be utilized as replacing fossil fuels and reducing During the process, hydrogen reacts
a feedstock in the production of emissions. The market size for with silicon dioxide to form silicon
fertilizer, chemicals, fuels, steel, green hydrogen in the oil and gas and water, producing a purified
cement, glass, and microchips. industry and refineries by 2030 is silicon crystal. The use of green
The versatility and scalability of estimated to reach $18.2 billion. hydrogen in this process can help
green hydrogen make it a promising reduce the carbon footprint of the
solution for reducing the carbon The steel industry is one of the microchip industry, as it replaces
footprint of these industries largest producers of carbon dioxide traditional hydrogen made from
and advancing towards a more emissions, with the production of fossil fuels. The market size for
sustainable future. According to steel using significant amounts of green hydrogen in the microchip
a study by the Hydrogen Council, energy and hydrogen. In the steel industry is estimated to reach
hydrogen has the potential to reduce manufacturing process, green $3.6 billion by 2030.
CO2 emissions in the industrial sector hydrogen can be used to replace as
by up to 6 Gt by 2050. a reducing agent in the production The applications of green hydrogen
of iron, removing oxygen from the as a feedstock in various industries
The use of green hydrogen in the ore to produce pig iron. The use of extend beyond the few examples
production of fertilizers can help green hydrogen in this process can discussed previously. Although
reduce the carbon footprint of this reduce the carbon footprint of the the challenges specific to
industry, which currently accounts steel industry and make it more each industry may differ, the
for approximately 2% of global sustainable. The market size for general challenges faced by the
greenhouse gas emissions. In the green hydrogen in the steel industry transportation and utility sectors
fertilizer industry, hydrogen is used is estimated to reach $7.3 billion are also relevant to these other
as a feedstock for the production by 2050. industries. The challenges facing
of ammonia, which is the basic the wider adoption of green
building block for many fertilizers. The The cement industry is also a hydrogen in various industries
process of producing ammonia starts significant contributor to global include factors such as the
with the reaction of nitrogen from the carbon emissions, with the current high cost of production,
air with hydrogen to form ammonia, production of cement consuming the lack of scalable production
Haber-Bosch process, which a large amount of energy. Green methods, difficulties in storage and
traditionally uses natural gas as the hydrogen can be used to heat transportation due to hydrogen's
source of hydrogen. The ammonia the kilns used to produce cement low density and the need for
can then be processed further to clinker, which is then ground into specialized infrastructure, a
produce various fertilizers, such as cement powder. The use of green shortage of technical expertise in
urea and ammonium nitrate. By 2030, hydrogen in this process can reduce utilizing green hydrogen, and an
the market size for green hydrogen in the carbon footprint of the cement uncertain policy and regulatory
the fertilizer industry is estimated to industry, making it more sustainable environment. Addressing these
reach $3.8 billion. and environmentally friendly. challenges will be crucial to
The market size for green hydrogen expanding the use of green
The chemical industry is one of in the cement industry is estimated hydrogen as a feedstock in a wider
the largest energy consumers and to reach $5.2 billion by 2030. range of industries.
24 POWERING A
LOW-CARBON
FUTURE

What is Next? system. Its ability to decarbonize various

sectors and to store and transport
In conclusion, green hydrogen is renewable energy makes it a key player
considered a versatile and potentially in the energy transition. The global
transformative technology in the green hydrogen market is expected to
transition to a low-carbon energy reach around $80 billion by 2030, and
Transformer Technology February 2023 25

Issue 26

over $2.5 trillion by 2050. Despite the higher than the cost of hydrogen by 2030, making it competitive with
potential benefits of green hydrogen, its produced from natural gas, which is hydrogen produced from natural gas.
large-scale production and use are still in around $1 to $2 per kilogram. However, The additional governmental subsidies
their early stages. The cost of producing as the technology and economies of and incentives in USA and across
green hydrogen currently ranges from $3 scale improve, the cost is expected the world will further enable the cost
to $6 per kilogram. This is significantly to decrease to $1 to $2 per kilogram reduction and technology advancement.
26 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Markus Heimbach
 Transformer Technology February 2023 27

Issue 26

Managing Director at Hitachi Energy

Executive Vice President and the
SF6-free high-
voltage technology
needs to be reliable
and scalable in

Interview with Markus Heimbach

order to achieve
the lowest carbon
footprint and
accelerate the
energy transition.
Photo: Hitachi Energy
28 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Alan Ross: Hello, I am Alan Ross, the Managing gases. It has a global warming potential in the
Editor of APC Media. I am thrilled to have as range of 25,000. It stays in the atmosphere
my guest today Markus Heimbach. Markus is for more than 3000 years. Even though the
the Executive Vice President and the Managing overall contribution of SF6 to global warming is
Director at Hitachi Energy for High Voltage not high percentage-wise, it's still in the range
Products. Markus, welcome. Thank you for being of 0.5%. And considering the use of SF6 , it is
here today. not negligible. Hence, there has been ever-
increasing pressure over the last decades to
Markus Heimbach: Thank you very much for phase out SF6 , with all the global warming and
inviting me, Alan. climate change discussions.

AR Today I want to talk to you about SF6

because it is such a big topic in the
industry right now and rightfully so. But before
AR It seems like there are a lot of
different companies that are taking
this approach. And my concern was that we
we get there, I want to ask you a little bit about had different standards and the ultimate end
your background. I know you were with ABB user was going to be confused about how one
for 20-some-odd years prior to the Hitachi ABB was to replace SF6 . Could you talk a little about
transformation. So how long have you been in the standard that was developed for all the
your current role? companies, including Hitachi Energy, creating
alternatives for SF6 ?

MH I have been with ABB, then Hitachi

ABB and then Hitachi Energy for
more than 25 years in total. And I have been MH At the moment, we can say that
there are mainly three global players
in my current role for roughly four years. working in that area in high-voltage products.
At the very beginning, each of them had their

AR Excellent. Therefore, you've got a

great background in high voltage.
You've also got a great background in SF6 gas
own solution. We then all started looking
at what would be best for the industry and
somehow, we came together with GE and agreed
and that's specifically what I want to talk about. on a very similar solution that has the same
People may not know but it has been a brilliant foundation. It's for sure different when it comes
insulator for a lot of primary breakers, and a to the breaker itself, and it's different when it
lot of products. Tell me a little bit about when comes to the switchgear, but it's basically using
SF6 first came on the market. What was the the same solution, just as SF6 was a similar
thinking back then? solution for the industry until now. I do believe
this is important because the customer doesn't

MH As you already said, Alan, SF6 is

a brilliant gas for insulation; it
helps high-voltage products become more
want to deal with the complexity of every
supplier and their different solutions. So, from
that point of view, this was a move to enable a
and more compact. SF6 is not only very good faster transition.
when it comes to insulation, but it is also a
brilliant gas when it comes to arc quenching
or basically interruption, which is the primary
goal of every circuit breaker. So, with these
AR When you do that, look at things from
the perspective of the end users, what
are the things that you, the developers of the
two excellent possibilities that SF6 provides, it replacement technology should be thinking
was a revolution in the high-voltage industry about? What are the things that they should
to make the whole equipment more cost- consider with these major changes?
efficient, smaller, and more compact, reducing
the footprint for the substations and enabling
the development of a gas-insulated switchgear,
which is reducing 95% of the complete
MH First and foremost, the new solution
has to be as reliable as SF6 is today.
Otherwise, we cannot provide reliability to the
footprint compared to air-insulated switchgear equipment and to the overall grid. Secondly, we
substation. need to achieve a balance between a gas that
is as good at interruption and insulation, but is

AR In consequence, we know it was a

revolution and it was great. However,
on the flip side, there's a problem with SF6.
significantly better than SF6 when it comes to
the global warming potential. And at the end
of the day, we also need to have a solution that
Now, talk a little bit about that. somehow fits into the concept of the existing
substation.
Photo: Hitachi Energy

MH As said, we have these two brilliant

properties of SF6 the insulation
and the interruption. But on the other hand, AR So SF6 is kind of ubiquitous. Is it
and the new alternative solution
it is also one of the most potent greenhouse interchangeable for the end user?
Transformer Technology February 2023 29

Issue 26

MH First of all, what is in this big

transition? We are not going from
one gas to another gas. We are going from a
MH Our solution is called EconiQTM.

gas to a gas mixture. We are using CO2 , which

is the second-best when it comes to inter-
ruption. And we are using a gas which is called
AR I really appreciate you sharing the
insight because right now there is a
lot going on in the high-voltage world. There's
C4-flouronitriles for improving the insulation a lot going on in the utility world. And being
performance of the CO2 , which is the main able to have companies work together to solve
gas or the carrier gas. Then, we need the O2 to a problem is the only way that we're going to
prevent soot after switching. So that is basically move forward. There will be no one proprietary
the gas mixture that we and GE are using. solution for the most part, right? And the fact
As a result, the gas is interchangeable with the that companies have worked together to create
equipment from the customer to maintain the a solution, thinking of the end user is fantastic.
gas filling and all this equipment.
Tell me, Markus, what do you think is the normal

AR Okay, so that makes it a lot easier. But

when we say SF6 gas, there's one. What
utility timeline for changing things out?

are we going to call this? Just new gas? What has

Hitachi Energy named their solution? MH It's a huge challenge and it cannot
be done by just one company.

Hitachi Energy’s breakthrough EconiQTM 420-kV circuit-breaker unlocks the widest range of eco-efficient switchgear applications.
30 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Hitachi Energy’s EconiQTM high-voltage portfolio roadmap eliminates SF6 and accelerates the energy transition.

SF6 is also one of the most potent

greenhouse gases. It has a global undergoing the last type test for a 420 kV
solution. We have already sold both prototypes
warming potential in the range of and pilots to Eversource, for example, from the
25,000. It stays in the atmosphere for DTB side, the tank breaker side, into the US.
more than 3000 years... And considering We have also sold to TenneT and to National
the use of SF6 , it is not negligible. Grid in Europe, 420 kV GIS, which will be
Hence, there has been ever-increasing installed somewhere between the middle of
this year and the end of next year. We are now
pressure over the last decades to about to industrialize the solution and we
phase out SF6 . can ramp up our offer so that we can provide
the market according to the needs for SF6-
It is a huge challenge for us to develop a portfolio. free switchgear as soon as possible and across
At the end of the day, we need to have a portfolio voltage ranges. And our overall goal is to have
which is matching the whole SF6 portfolio in all the whole portfolio developed around 2025.
voltage ranges, interruption, and current ranges,
which have been deve-loped for decades. And
now we have a huge pressure to phase out SF6 ,
mainly within this decade, at least in Europe and
AR That's still a very aggressive solution
time-wise. This ground-breaking and
I applaud Hitachi Energy and your peers who
probably soon in the US as well. It is a huge effort have worked on this because sometimes these
to have good people who are able to develop this solutions get talked about, but they're not
new solution. When it comes to the timeline, practical to implement. And you've got a practical
from a utility point of view, we are now implementation of that.
 Transformer Technology February 2023 31

Issue 26

Hitachi Energy’s EconiQTM Retrofill replaces SF6 in existing high-voltage equipment with an eco-efficient gas mixture.

The new solution has to be as reliable

as SF6 is today... Secondly, we need to You need to have a seamless approach going
forward. And what helps us here very much as
achieve a balance between a gas that is it is not just the technical challenge of building
as good at interruption and insulation, up a portfolio. Also, it is something that is good
for the people and for society. And this is a
but is significantly better than SF6 huge motivation that makes everybody go the
when it comes to the global warming extra mile to go achieve the roadmap that we
have defined. And I appreciate that you are
potential... And at the end of the day, commenting on how aggressive it is.
we also need to have a solution that
somehow fits into the concept of the
existing substation.
AR One of these factors that are crucial
in making this happen is the next
generation of engineers. They want to make the
world a better place. What you have done and
I appreciate that. Is there anything else you what you are doing does exactly that. So, anybody
would like to reflect upon? who's thinking about going into this industry, will
work with people that make the world a better

MH The huge transformation which we

are doing here in Hitachi Energy being
place. Thank you for doing that, Markus. You're
one of the leaders that is spearheading that, and I
Photo: Hitachi Energy

the spearhead of the industry is only possible appreciate that very much.
when you have brilliant people on your team.
And when you have as well, people who are not
only brilliant but who work as one team. MH Thank you very much. Alan. It was a
pleasure to talk to you.
32 RECYCLING EV
ADVERTORIAL
BATTERIES

HOW TO USE IN PROCESS OF

BATTERY LOAD REPAIR OR RECYCLING
UNITS OF EV BATTERIES
It is becoming critical to recycle batteries to ensure environmentally
Shutterstock, DV Power

friendly battery production, prevent human health risks due to

Photo: Shutterstock

inadequate disposal of certain types of batteries, as well as to secure

very scarce and valuable raw material for production (nickel, cobalt,
lithium, etc), which reduces the costs of new batteries.
Transformer Technology February 2023 33

Issue 26

A rapidly increasing demand for batteries, especially in automotive industry and

energy storage solutions, combined with more stringent battery usage and dis-
posal regulations, is putting pressure on battery manufacturers to optimize their
waste management.
It is becoming critical to recycle batteries to ensure environmentally friendly
battery production, prevent human health risks due to inadequate disposal of
certain types of batteries, as well as to secure very scarce and valuable raw ma-
terials for production (nickel, cobalt, lithium, etc), which reduces the costs of
new batteries. Increased electrification of the transport sector will probably re-
quire automotive industry to make close partnership with the recycling sector.
The increased presence of electric cars nowadays (e.g. in Norway and Sweden)
leads to increased demands for battery workshops and recycling facilities.
Typical activities for electric cars workshops are:
• Replacement of bottom boxes on the battery base due to damage or rust,
• Replacement of one or more modules with deviations in cell voltage/
capacity,
• Replacement of high-voltage contacts that were mechanically da-
maged (e.g. hit by some object, stone, etc.).
• Replacement of springs and contractors after an overload in an
AC compressor or a PTC heating element.

The battery module which has one or more weak cells cannot
be replaced with a brand new module, since the other modules are
not in a new condition. It is required to work with used parts and
modules with the same residual capacity as other modules in the
battery pack. Hence, it is required to use battery load units (e.g. BLU-
800C) and to balance and measure the capacity of the module which
is intended to fit into the battery. This is done in the following way:
• Both modules (one which needs to be replaced and one which will fit
instead of the malfunctioning one) are charged to 90% SOC.
• With use of battery load unit, both modules are discharged up to 30% SOC.
• Deviations in battery cell voltage are being monitored during this process and
compared with the specification given in the technical data from car suppliers
(Typically 10 mV to 0.50 mV results between the different cells in a battery).

The replaced module is usually very suitable for the second lift application
such as a battery for solar panels, etc.
However, in some cases it is impossible to repair the battery pack, due to many
modules damaged by water or some other cause. The damaged battery packs
and modules needs to be prepared for the transport and recycling process in a
safe and efficient way.
A few examples of damaged battery modules are presented in the following
figure:

Figure 1.
Damaged battery packs
34 RECYCLING EV
BATTERIES

When it is decided that the battery has reached its

end of life, the main question is: How to prepare the
battery for the recycling process in a safe and se-
cure way?
Fully discharging batteries before entering the
recycling process is a crucial step to ensure
safe and secure transport and disassembly.
It is necessary to remove any remanent en-
ergy even from batteries with a very low
State of Health (SoH).

Battery systems with nominal volt-

ages of 400 Vdc or 800 Vdc are com-
monly used in newer generations
of electric vehicles (e.g. Porsche
Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, Lucid Air,
Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the Kia EV6).
There are some predictions that
most of the EV industry is going to
shift to 800 V by 2025, but this will de-
pend on the decisions of the main ma-
nufacturers in the industry.
Considering the fact that we already ha-
ve 400 V and 800 V systems available, for the
recycling of batteries in the automotive in-
dustry it is important to have a Battery Load
Unit capable of fully discharging such systems,
from 800 Vdc down to 0 Vdc. To make that pro-
cess more efficient, it is vital to ensure regulated
current that is closely monitored during the en-
tire discharge.

To avoid such uncontrolled temperature

rise, besides monitoring the battery
voltage and discharge current during the
entire process, it is important
to ensure temperature monitoring
as well.

Due to specific battery charac-

teristics, one deep discharge will
not be enough for extracting all the
remanent energy from the battery.
Due to the battery voltage rebound,
a rapid voltage increase will oc-
cur after the load is disconnected
from the battery, even if the battery
was previously discharged at 0 Vdc.
To prevent the battery voltage re-
bound, the Battery Load Unit should be
used in combination with the Zero Voltage
Discharge Module ZVD80. Besides enabling
regulated (constant) current during the entire
discharge process, the module drains remanent
energy by short-circuiting the battery after the
Battery Load Unit discharged it down to 0 Vdc.
The discharge current continues to be monito-
red and recorded and the battery is considered fully Figure 2.
discharged and ready for recycling after the current Battery Load Unit BLU800C used for
drops to 0 A. safe discharge of the batteries to 0 V
 Transformer Technology February 2023 35

Issue 26

The most important demand in battery recycling preparation processes is

SAFETY!
Elevated demands on the battery recycling industry are challenging it to ad-
vance the processes in order to ensure shorter discharging times. This can be
obtained by increasing the discharge currents, which can lead to an undesirable
sharp rise of battery temperature or in extreme circumstances to temperature
runaway and fire. In case of lithium batteries catching fire, toxic gases are re-
leased, life-threatening for the operating personnel.
Since the fire on lithium batteries cannot be suppressed with traditional fire
extinguishers, special airtight containers with water tanks are used during the
discharge process, as a safety measure. In case of fire, batteries are immediately
immersed in water.

To avoid such uncontrolled temperature ris-

es, besides monitoring the battery voltage and
discharge current during the entire process,
it is important to ensure temperature mon-
itoring as well.
Battery temperature can be monito-
red using several temperature sensors
placed on chosen measuring points
on the batteries or the thermal ca-
mera which have an alarm set-
ting connecting to the BLU 800
remote control dry type, and
the alarm indicates a danger-
ously high temperature over
the entire battery and stops
the discharge in a second.
In case of a sudden temper-
ature rise above the critical limit
in any of those measuring points,
the discharge process will be
stopped. The operator has the pos-
sibility of decreasing the discharge
current and continuing the discharge
when the temperature is below the crit-
ical value.

The more advanced technical solution is

to read measured parameters from the battery
monitoring system (BMS) directly and control the
Figure 3.
Detached EV battery (left) and discharge process accordingly. The BMS is usually an integral
Battery load unit BLU360V (right) part of the batteries in electric vehicles, and it is possible to ex-
tract the necessary data important for the discharging process
by using the CAN communication on BLU-C devices.

• Temperature of each individual battery cell or cell group

• Voltage of each cell or cell group
• Battery cell voltage deviation
• Isolation resistance

By monitoring the above- mentioned parameters, the operator can optimize

Photo: Shutterstock, DV Power

the discharge profile for different battery types.

In case the BMS is not installed on the battery that is being discharged, or it is
not available for any reason, BLU-C series can be used with its own battery su-
pervising system, capable of monitoring battery cell voltages and temperatures,
providing full control over the discharge process.
36 CLEAN ENERGY
TOPIC
STORAGE
MISSING

Inflation Reduction Act and

Infrastructure Bill to transform
US long duration energy
storage market
by Mark Higgins

Photo: Redflow
Transformer Technology February 2023 37

Issue 26

Much has been said about the support to get a standalone energy Moreover, battery manufacturing was
recently passed Inflation Reduction storage tax credit passed. The solar heading the way of so many other
Act’s impact on America’s clean investment tax credit – under which advanced manufacturing sectors in
energy industry. The Act, combined energy storage systems paired with our economy: overseas. For many
with programs in the Build Back and charged by solar – was the reasons, the United States leads the
Better bill, is creating a massive primary mechanism by which an world at innovation but hasn’t been
restructuring of the energy sector in energy storage project could receive competitive at mass manufacturing.
terms of project deployment scale-up, tax credits. However, this credit Battery manufacturing has followed
global supply chains, critical minerals, distorted the energy storage market the same path, with a few notable
and local manufacturing. by making storage paired with solar exceptions, where large scale
30% less expensive than standalone manufacturing largely has taken
Energy storage has long been the storage or storage paired with place elsewhere.
forgotten stepchild in the national anything else. On top of that, many
clean energy tax code, with far fewer customers couldn’t monetize the tax But things are different now.
tax benefits than other clean energy credit, so projects that were otherwise
technologies, and a lack of political viable never got built.

Mark Higgins, President, North America & Chief

Commercial Officer at Redflow is a globally-
recognised leader in energy storage strategy
and an experienced executive with deep con-
nections throughout North America's ener-
gy ecosystem. Mark served as chair of the
US Department of Commerce's Renewable
Energy & Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee,
co-founded and serves as a venture partner
at Resilient Earth Ventures, and is the former
COO and board member of Strategen where he
ran the company's global consulting business
and managed the company operations. He has
also held past leadership roles at PG&E, Sun-
Edison, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV),
MMA Renewable Ventures, the California
Energy Storage Alliance, and the Vehicle-Grid
Integration Council.
38 CLEAN ENERGY
STORAGE

The Inflation Reduction Act’s changes • 10% for being located on a As grid planners know, storage
to the tax code, combined with grant brownfield site, a census tract in doesn’t need to be co-located with a
programs in the Infrastructure Bill, which a coal mine or coal-fired renewable resource – and exclusively
stand to have a drastic impact on the power plant was closed, or in which charging from that resource – to
competitiveness of American-made there was significant employment support the grid’s resilience and
stationary energy storage – and or tax revenue from extraction or enable it to integrate renewables.
particularly long duration storage. processing of fossil fuels; and Storage Projects can now be sited
on a standalone basis or paired with
With the IRA’s creation of a • 10-20% tax credit adders for solar- whatever energy source best meets
standalone energy storage or wind-attached storage projects the grid needs and maximizes the
investment tax credit (ITC) previous in low income communities. economic viability of the energy
projects that would not have been storage resource. The result:
economically viable to use long There are apprenticeship and gigawatts of projects that didn’t quite
duration energy storage are now prevailing wage requirements for pencil before are now going to be
much less expensive for buyers. The most projects to qualify for the economically viable. Energy storage
30% base credit could in some cases maximum tax credit levels, but all told will blossom throughout the grid
cover well more than half the value these credits will result in projects in a wide range of configurations,
of a project in scenarios where tax that have significantly lower net locations, and with a diverse set of
credits can be stacked. Those tax capital costs than ever before. project objectives.
credit adders include:
Furthermore, now that energy storage Where lithium was previously the
• 10% when energy storage (and no longer needs to be charged from go-to battery of choice due to cost,
other renewable energy) projects solar PV to receive the ITC, the true with proven tech and accessibility,
can meet domestic content levels flexibility of energy storage as a grid the act will now provide space
which increase from 40-55% over resource – and enabler of a resilient for the energy storage industry
the next few years; decarbonized grid – can be unlocked. to diversify and enable the best

Storage Projects can now be sited on

a standalone basis or paired with whatever
energy source best meets the grid needs
and maximizes the economic viability
of the energy storage resource.

Photo: Redflow
 February 2023 39

technology to be chosen to suit the interest in non-lithium alternatives As a proven technology class with
deployment. include the immense supply chain one of the longest commercial track
challenges of lithium, commodity records outside of lithium ion, flow
The demand for lithium batteries has price pressures, and safety concerns. batteries are perfectly placed to deliver
grown exponentially over the last 10 Furthermore, given supply chain large scale megawatt energy storage
years, with electric vehicles dominating constraints, a lithium battery deployed cost effectively and play their part
future demand, and resulting in supply- in a stationary storage application is in contributing to an energy storage
demand imbalances and battery essentially one less lithium battery market that is expected to be valued in
shortages. Other factors driving available for electric vehicles – which excess of US$31 billion by 2029.
is not a great public policy outcome.
Until recently, however, the market
Alternative chemistries – such as hasn’t been ready, and lithium batteries
flow batteries - have always been had seemingly insurmountable
the better choice for medium to long advantages at the outset of the energy
duration storage needs. Zinc bromine storage boom. Early use cases for
flow batteries, for example, offer a low energy storage were for applications
fire risk, no degradation, an abundant like ancillary services, and to a lesser
supply chain, and the ability to work in extent, energy arbitrage, which proved
a varied temperature range, and as a how useful a battery could be for grid
result they are now a serious contender applications. However, these early use
for large energy storage deployments. cases for batteries were for power
Flow batteries are often better for applications over short bursts of time
stationary storage applications – generally use cases where the vast
because of their rugged profile and the majority of value could be captured
fact their performance doesn’t degrade from short duration energy storage
materially over their useful life. systems.

Where lithium was previously the

go-to battery of choice due to cost, with
proven tech and accessibility, the act
will now provide space for the energy
storage industry to diversify and enable
the best technology to be chosen to
suit the deployment.
40 CLEAN ENERGY
STORAGE

As a proven technology class with one

of the longest commercial track records
outside of lithium ion, flow batteries are
perfectly placed to deliver large scale
megawatt energy storage cost effectively
and play their part in contributing to
an energy storage market that is
expected to be valued in excess of
US$31 billion by 2029. Photo: Redflow
Transformer Technology February 2023 41

Issue 26

Furthermore, companies producing and are increasingly concerned storage as the energy transition
lithium batteries came out of the about potential risks of siting lithium continues to accelerate.
consumer electronics space and had batteries close to customers,
large, bankable balance sheets, unlike employees, and neighbors. Of course, no one type of battery
technology startups working on new storage will tick all the boxes. A blend
battery chemistries optimized for Thanks to recently passed legislation of battery technologies will enable
the grid. and the Biden Administration’s the establishment of a strong and
priorities, DOE is now rolling out secure energy storage-based grid,
To this day, organized wholesale more than a half billion dollars2 and according to the Long Duration
still generally aren’t valuing longer of grant funding for long duration Energy Storage Council, long duration
duration energy storage (i.e., with energy storage starting with a $350 storage could provide up to 140 TWh
a duration exceeding four hours) million pilot project grant program of energy capacity by 2040, equaling
because market design hasn’t announced in November3. Long approximately 10% of all electricity
caught up with the need for longer duration and alternative chemistry consumed worldwide.
duration storage as renewables levels projects currently have an enormous
increase. Therefore, load serving opportunity to receive a “buy down” While nobody can force changes to
entities in those markets, such as from the US government to help our energy infrastructure overnight, the
California, haven’t had an incentive make projects competitive with Inflation Reduction Act has provided all
to procure long duration storage. short duration lithium ion projects, the tools to accelerate decarbonization
However, US Department of Energy’s to prove new use cases, and to of our energy system and diversify the
ARPA-E research shows that the need support manufacturing ramp-up tools in our energy storage toolkit to
for long duration storage increases of alternative chemistries. This include long duration storage. From
significantly when renewables reach is complemented by state grant tax code changes to DOE funding
60-70% of power capacity1. programs, such as the California programs, the tailwind behind long
Energy Commission’s up to $380 duration energy storage should give it
With all this being said, perspectives million program between now and the jumpstart it needs to gain traction
of the benefits of and the need for 2024 to support long duration in the market, ramp up manufacturing
longer duration storage are finally storage projects in the state, and capacity, and bring cost down to
evolving. The state of California has by a massive infusion of loan the point where it can compete on
now started setting 8+ hour duration guarantee underwriting authority its own merits and economics. The
storage procurement goals, and at the DOE’s Loan Program Office, opportunities created by the IRA have
utilities’ integrated resource plans leading to announcements of also focused the attention of buyers
are increasingly showing the need billions of dollars of investments in on long duration storage, accelerating
for long duration storage to match future long duration energy storage their progression on the technology
supply and demand, starting in manufacturing facilities in the US. learning curve, enabling them to
markets with significant amounts These programs can give long effectively evaluate and compare
of solar PV such as the southwest duration technologies the boost they long duration technologies with their
and Texas. Furthermore, permitting need to both bring down their capital established peer technology, lithium
authorities are increasingly seeing costs to meet or beat that of lithium, ion. So, welcome to the next chapter
lithium batteries through the lens and to help overcome the structural in the clean energy economy – it’s
of fire risk, and the alternative market compensation disincentives going to be an exciting decade for the
chemistries of flow batteries are for utilities to start buying longer- US energy transformation, and for the
viewed as a safer chemistry. Many duration storage systems, even maturation of long duration storage
commercial and industrial customers though in many markets, integrated technologies and the critical role they
of behind-the-meter storage are resource planning shows a well- can play in ensuring a reliable and
also scrutinizing the safety of lithium defined need for long duration clean 21st century grid.

1
https://www.ldescouncil.com/assets/pdf/journey-to-net-zero-june2022.pdf / p.11
2
https://www.energy.gov/oe/articles/long-duration-energy-storage-everyone-everywhere-initiative-notice-intent-and-request
3
https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-nearly-350-million-long-duration-energy-storage
 Chief Science Officer
42

Interview with Kevin Meagher for The Sun Company

FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Kevin Meagher
 Transformer Technology February 2023 43

Issue 26

The changes in the industry

are this bizarre convergence
of unfortunate events both
from climate change and
the resiliency factor that
that's bringing into play,
as well as the realization that
distributed energy makes a
lot more sense for resiliency,
not just for reliability on
the macro grid."
Photo: The Sun Company
44 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Alan Ross: Hi. I'm Alan Ross, Managing Editor And that company in particular has focused
of APC Media. My guest is Kevin Meagher, he is on what I believe is one of the really key
the Chief Science Officer for The Sun Company. technologies towards renewable energy, which
Kevin, thank you for joining us. Could you tell us is energy storage. We are currently developing
how you got started in all of this and how you our own flow battery, which I know you have
became the CSO of The Sun Company? some previous experience with, but it's a
particular technology that's exceptionally well-
Kevin Meagher: I actually started in mission- suited to stationary applications like energy
critical applications, analytics really, in the storage. And the combination of energy storage
semiconductor days. And there are industries and the rapid expansion of renewable energy is
that are very dependent on consistent, just exciting. It's never been more exciting than
reliable power and that slowly migrated from right now to be in this industry, for sure.
semiconductor manufacturing to power. I've
spent about 25 years at the beginning of the
microgrid space working with a lot of battery
technologies and battery startups for different
AR Is it utility-scale?

organizations and then had an opportunity

after I sold my previous company, to meet up
with and join The Sun Company. And The Sun
KM It is utility-scale, but we're not
focused on utilities. So, in fact,
one of the things that we're doing is what
Company proclaimed a vision that is all about we refer to as Independent Renewable
the democratization and rapid advancement Energy Power Plants. They're areas that are
of renewable energy everywhere. designated with the greatest possible amount
 Transformer Technology February 2023 45

Issue 26

of energy storage. But they do not have to be distributed energy makes a lot more sense for
connected to the utility either because there resiliency, not just for reliability on the macro
is no adequate service in the location like the grid. And there are other technologies like EVs
desert in California or in other places. So it is that are really driving even more reliance on
only connected to the utility when it makes reliable energy than we've ever seen before.
sense. And I believe it makes tremendous And then you throw in the Ukraine war and
sense. I'm one of those people who believe just the geopolitical problems that everybody's
that microgrids will enhance the reliability concerned about like supply chains, available
and resilience of the macro grid instead of technologies. And it doesn’t just concern power
the other way around. Add to that the flow people anymore but everyone.
battery we are developing in collaboration
with a couple of the Department of Energy
national labs. AR One of the challenges that we most
often hear about is the fact that we
have built a sub-optimized grid. There is no real

AR When the hurricane hit five years ago

in Puerto Rico, I was the president
of an organization called the Electric Power
interoperability. How does what you do affect
interoperability? How is The Sun Company
becoming part of that interoperability
Reliability Alliance. We were asked by the DOE equation?
to look at the proposal to spend $5 billion to
rebuild it. Our answer was that they should do
storage and microgrids instead of big generation
plants and sending power over the mountains.
KM Like many companies of our size, we
are heavily dependent on enterprise
software technology, which absolutely embraces
interoperability as a primary consideration and
If we had done Puerto Rico that way, the last one of the most important things to think about
hurricane would not have had the impact that is the impact of cybersecurity on these mission-
it did again. We are coming to realize that the critical systems. So we've got the hardware
old system has done well for us but that it's not components and all of the management of
working anymore. that from a power perspective and then the
overlay of that, as we call it, our digital twin,

KM And it's funny because in every

other advanced technology today,
we always go to distributed architectures as the
which is this idea of designing a physical system
electronically and then being able to simulate
and modify that as well as operate it. I'm an
right solution. But it's been more difficult to do IEEE guy too, so I completely understand a lot of
with power partly because power is a different the reliability concerns. And I think they come
animal. Firstly, nobody's going to get killed from partly from the question of interoperability
having a bad cell phone but you can definitely on the power side. Most people still associate
kill people with power and start fires. So it's a interoperability with communications protocols.
lot more complicated problem. But there's no And the predominant communications protocol
question in my mind that it's the right approach. in the power industry still is the modulus. It's
20 years old, but it's the cheapest thing for a

AR Let's talk about the idea that we're at

a point, the inflection point where the
whole decarbonization and renewable energy
manufacturer to put on a board. So that's what
they do.

movement is happening rapidly. Battery storage The key to making this work is recognizing
has got to be a big part of that solution or else the fact that there is a significant amount of
it just doesn't work at scale. So talk about the installed equipment that you have to work
industry. From what you have seen, where we with. You don't have the luxury of replacing
are today, and what are the current challenges everything. So you have to be open architecture,
that we're going to face? if not necessarily open source, but you have to
be open architecture and you have to embrace

KM I was fortunate enough to have been

heavily involved in the DOE Sunshine
Initiative and I believe that is one of the most
the standards like IEEE 2030 on our microgrid
site. That makes all of this a requirement in order
to meet that standard.
successful Department of Energy programs
that ever happened by far. And they're now
doing something similar with the Grand Energy
Challenge, trying to structure it the same
AR You're doing something at The Sun
Company to change the world for the
better but nobody can do it all alone. So talk a
Photo: The Sun Company

way in a similar approach. But the changes little bit about how The Sun Company specifically
in the industry are this bizarre convergence is addressing changing your world.
of unfortunate events both from climate
change and the resiliency factor that that's
bringing into play, as well as the realization that KM I have to give a shout-out to our CEO,
Joley Michaelson. She's an unusual
46 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

We want is to make a difference.

And we're going to make a difference
by delivering what we believe will be
the best energy storage technology
for stationary applications, as
well as being able to address this
democratization of power so that it's
ubiquitous in its application rather
than centralized.

visionary who has a passion for building through a lot of trials and tribulations over the
an organization that has some of the best past 15 years and have decided that we want is
standards, objectives, and values that are well to make a difference. And we're going to make
articulated and she makes sure we as a company a difference by delivering what we believe
live them. And part of that is also recognizing will be the best energy storage technology for
that to be successful, a company has to embrace stationary applications, as well as being able to
all of the people that it impacts, not just the address this democratization of power so that
people who can afford something. So we look it's ubiquitous in its application rather than
at what the requirements to deliver renewable centralized.
generation are. And if there is an impediment
to that or a dependency on something else, how
do we solve that dependency? We are a unique
collection of talented people that have lived
AR I’d like to talk a little about the whole
idea of flow batteries. I was sold on
them ten years ago and I didn't even know
 Transformer Technology February 2023 47

Issue 26

what they were, but I thought they sounded not having the environmental concerns. And
like something that could be a game changer as you said, flow batteries are unique. With the
because of the scale and the fact that they don’t exception of maybe annual servicing on pumps
depend on lithium. Tell me a little bit about and switches, they really don't wear out. The
what The Sun Company does in that space. electrolyte doesn't wear out. They don't require
any special environmental conditions. And new

KM The technology we use was

developed at the PNNL lab and it's
advances have started happening a lot more in
Europe now as well. A couple of months ago,
Photo: The Sun Company

the highest energy density that we can get in a there was a flow battery symposium in Brussels.
flow battery. We think that in order to achieve The Europeans are now very focused on flow
the kinds of penetration levels, we have to batteries. There have been huge advances in the
be able to get above 250 watts per liter. So past couple of years. Vanadium batteries were
starting to get to the low end of lithium, but one of the early ones.
48 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

With the exception of maybe annual

servicing on pumps and switches,
flow batteries don't really wear
out. The electrolyte doesn't wear
out. They don't require any special
environmental conditions.

Now the focus is on getting more energy density more stable, like the geothermal, but not ne-
to get a smaller size. Because you really want cessarily so. And the power electronics will be in
to get a flow battery that will fit in a residential your garage.
environment. Ultimately, that's where you want
to be. I’m talking about homes, where you need
high energy density, very good efficiency, and a
footprint that ensures that you have extensive
AR That's excellent. The Sun Company
hasn't been around for a long time.
But obviously there's a pedigree with your CEO,
runtime on a 200 amp circuit. yourself and many others. A lot of other people
talk to me about the value system that makes it

AR That is a game changer. Are these going

to be above-ground underground?
work.

KM It's likely that the tanks will probably

be below ground just because it's
KM I'm old enough to have been around
a lot of organizations and companies
that have professed a level of concern, whether
 Transformer Technology February 2023 49

Issue 26

they now refer to it as ESG or not, that is more of life and your life balance to the way you
for a report or more for talking points in an interact with other people around you. And it's
interview as opposed to the way they live it. the grit to be able to get through all that and
And the difference with The Sun Company is a small set of values that really represent an
that Joley leads by example. It's exactly what extraordinary approach to problem-solving.
she says. We are always discussing not only It's getting everybody on board and everybody
doing things for The Sun Company but making to believe it.
sure we do things for our local communities
as well. We ask our team members what
AR That is absolutely excellent. Thank
Photo: The Sun Company

they’re doing, how they're volunteering, what you so much for being here today,
they're involved in, and how can we help in Kevin.
that process. As well as just some very simple
things, whether it's authenticity, which is
maybe the most important one, the quality KM Thank you so much for the
opportunity, Alan, I appreciate it.
50 FUTURE OF
INFRASTRUCTURE

From the dawn of How IoTecha and its

electric vehicles to a fully partners are building the
electrified world future of infrastructure

Electric vehicles are everywhere now, and that’s no The answers to these questions are complex and
exaggeration. Gone are the days when private cars were multifaceted, involving thousands of people who have
the only type of transportation to be electrified — today, been working for years to divest our world from non-
cargo trucks, buses, motorcycles, boats, planes, delivery renewable energy sources and all the geopolitical baggage
vans, and more have joined their ranks in countries all that comes with them. A vital common thread weaving
over the world, alongside specialized infrastructure to all these efforts together is the story of IoTecha — a
support all manner of electric transportation. company that is helping create a large-scale, unified
EV charging system through cross-industry collabora-
The infrastructure that makes these vehicles work tion, where all the moving parts are interoperable with
together with the energy ecosystem is perhaps even more each other.
transformative than the explosion of electrified
transportation itself. But the process of developing this By focusing on interoperability and connectivity between
still-growing electric vehicle (EV) support did not happen vehicles, chargers, the power grid, and the energy
overnight, nor did it happen on its own. So how did we get environment at large, the people behind IoTecha helped
here? What makes this network tick? And what does all set the stage early on for the wide-scale electrification of
this mean for where we’re headed? vehicles of all kinds. But in doing so, they also achieved
 Transformer Technology February 2023 51

Issue 26

something else — creating the conditions for electrification other players in the EV sector to encourage the adoption
to eventually transform society itself and meet head-one of the Combined Charging System (CCS), which imple-
climate challenges that affect all of us. ments ISO 15118, as the basis for interoperability within
the industry.
Before digging into where we are today, let’s take a
look at how far we’ve come. Why is this so important? As the nationwide, sustainable
charging network continued to develop, IoTecha’s pro-
As we all remember, the first hybrid EV to gain widespread ducts allowed charger manufacturers to produce intel-
popularity was the Toyota Prius. However, while the Prius ligent chargers more easily, more rapidly, and more
was an important step toward greening the auto industry, efficiently, while also creating improved communication
it was still an island of increased sustainability in a sea between vehicles, chargers, and the energy grid itself.
of untapped potential. Even with the advent of the next
major disruption in the EV industry years later, the all- Below, we can see the impact these technologies have
electric Tesla Roadster which triggered a boom for EVs, had on the ability of a hypothetical customer, whom we’ll
the opportunities that EVs presented for the auto industry call Nadya, to interact with the energy ecosystem around
remained largely underutilized. In addition, the Roadster her. With opportunities for interoperability between charg-
and other all-electric vehicles ushered in an era where a ers, vehicles, and grids, Nadya’s vehicle can now not only
plethora of different charging methods and connectors be connected to the local power grid in a bi-directional
appeared on the market, making the prospect of an in- fashion, but also to her home, her neighborhood, and
terconnected global charging network that worked for more. Nadya and her vehicle are now able to distribute
everyone increasingly difficult. the charging load evenly through this system, save on
electricity costs by selling power back to the grid, and cre-
To simplify charging and move the relationship between ate a more sustainable, less wasteful energy environment.
the EV driver and the energy domain forward, the way that
vehicles interacted with chargers and the power grid had Years after realizing the potential that auto
to change. That’s where the future founders of IoTecha electrification holds for our society, IoTecha’s
came in: in the late 2000s and early 2010s, they were part products like white-label chargers, testing equipment,
of an industry-wide movement to create a unified standard cloud services, and more have decreased the costs of
for EV chargers that would allow vehicles to connect with electrification, creating the foundation for a fully
the power grid more directly and efficiently than ever integrated energy environment.
before. This standard became known as ISO 15118, and
having spearheaded this and other innovations, the As the EV industry has continued to develop over the six
founders of IoTecha established the company itself in years since IoTecha was founded, aided by investments
2016 to create products that accelerate the smart in the development of a nationwide charging network,
electrification of the auto industry at large. To meet this IoTecha has taken an ecosystem approach toward ex-
goal, IoTecha collaborated and continues to work with panding EV infrastructure and making it more efficient,
Photo: IoTecha
52 FUTURE OF
INFRASTRUCTURE

more economical, and more accessible than ever. IoT.ON is a user-friendly, cloud-based tool that gives
Although the industry still has a long way to go, IoTecha operators the ability to manage the way chargers and EVs
has been able to produce tangible dividends for busi- interact with the grid through intuitive visualizations,
nesses, individual users, and the energy domain at large, unlocking the full potential of smart charging. With IoT.
and has worked with vehicle manufacturers, EV charging ON, charging station operators can achieve substantial
network operators, and more to make that happen. savings on energy costs by implementing energy man-
agement strategies such as peak shaving, which cuts
As we’ve already touched on, the first step in creating an down on high electricity consumption peaks in a charging
EV infrastructure that works for all of us is interoperability, interval by intelligently distributing the load across devices
and several of IoTecha’s products have made interoperable in the ecosystem.
charging easier than ever.
Peak shaving is only one example however, and IoT.ON
IoTecha’s charging solutions implement a variety of fea- has a range of customizable settings and modes through
tures that are crucial for sector-wide interoperability, which operators can manage tens of thousands of devices
including bi-directional power flow and Plug and Charge distributed across a wide geographic range. Only by using
capability. The ISO 15118 standard makes vehicle-to-grid a secure, scalable, and extensible platform can a stan-
(V2G) communication possible, connecting vehicles with dards-based charging infrastructure enable ubiquitous
smart electric grids through the charging hardware. ISO EV adoption across the world, and across transportation
15118 is also used for Plug and Charge, which automates applications. In the process, by collecting data and putting
authentication and payment for charging and further it to use through artificial intelligence, IoT.ON opens up
simplifies the charging process. This last point is what an exciting array of possibilities for the future of our built
these features are all about — making sure that charging infrastructure that we can only begin to imagine today.
EVs is as easy and intuitive for customers as charging
smartphones. Below, we can see how IoT.ON enables individual actors
within the energy ecosystem to distribute the charging
Yet despite the benefits these solutions have given EV load across various devices, buildings, and modes of
drivers and charging network operators, we’re still missing transportation within the network to make charging as
a crucial piece of the puzzle — a mechanism through cheap, intelligent, and scalable as possible.
which the charging system’s V2G capabilities can be
customized to fit the energy environment that charging By lowering the barrier to the widespread implementation
stations are part of. This is where IoT.ON, IoTecha’s of EV charging infrastructure, IoTecha is giving individual
modular Internet of Things (IoT) platform, comes into play. drivers, station operators, EV fleet managers, and many
 Transformer Technology February 2023 53

Issue 26

other players the ability to tailor charging systems to their distribution of decision-making power, privacy rights
specific energy needs. Each individual actor in this network guarantee, and protection of individual liberties will be the
can contribute in its own small way to making the emerg- decentralization of managerial authority over energy and
ing nationwide EV network ever more harmonious, data governance to the community level, where individuals,
accessible, and efficient, shepherding our communities acting in the best interest of themselves and their neighbors,
toward a fully electrified reality. will be able to be the masters of their own energy destinies
— just like Nadya and Tim are within today’s EV ecosystem.
A fully electrified future is no longer a pipe dream and
could be achieved by extending the innovations that The electrification of our world would bring enormous
IoTecha and its partners in the auto industry have progress, giving us the tools to create dynamic com-
developed to a host of new domains, creating an munities that respond to the behaviors of the people who
energy-efficient, responsive, and data-powered world. live with them and stave off the worst climate change
scenarios — but in order to address the emergent exter-
The total electrification of our society will take some time, nalities of this reality, we must approach this future with
but could ultimately result in a reality where everything, appropriate reverence and forethought. By working to-
including personal devices, homes, businesses, apartment gether over the coming decades, we can learn from our
buildings, utility infrastructure, transportation networks collective experiences in the auto industry to set ourselves
on land, air, and sea, and entire urban areas work in con- up for success in the long term, beyond just the next
cert with everything else. As we’ve seen from tools like product launch. This is the approach IoTecha has always
IoT.ON, such an ultra-connected infrastructure would taken and continues to foster with a wide swathe of
potentially yield a treasure trove of data that would then players in the EV sector to create today the conditions for
be used to inform how we live, the kinds of opportunities tomorrow’s successes.
we create for each other, and how efficiently we manage
our communities. If everything falls into place these vast How boldly we wish to move toward a totally electrified
datasets could lead to the development of optimized future will be a central question that politicians, business
economies, smart cities, and AI-assisted politics. leaders, consumers, and researchers will have to answer
as the 21st century progresses. But what we can do today
This revolution in data utilization could create immense is make sure we overcome our differences to intelligently
benefits for our civilization if used responsibly, but will respond to the great hurdles our civilization faces right here,
Photo: IoTecha

likely also trigger new debates around privacy, government right now. Let’s dream big, let’s use the tools at our disposal
oversight, and corporate control. The key for balancing to their full potential, and let’s continue to open new op-
efficient data-driven organization with an equitable portunities to better our world — one EV charger at a time.
54 EXPERT OPINION:
INTEGRATING
RENEWABLE ENEREGY

The Green Energy Revolution

by Alan Ross CRL, CMRP

Managing Editor of APC Media
[email protected]

The power industry is currently on weather conditions, which means Energy storage
facing a tremendous number of that their output can fluctuate
technology challenges as it works greatly. This can make it difficult to Another major challenge is finding
to adopt more green energy maintain a stable and reliable power cost-effective ways to store the
resources, such as wind, solar supply. Given this challenge, energy generated by renewable
power and geothermal, into the grid. it makes Distributed Energy sources. Currently, the most
These challenges include: Resource Management (DERM) one common form of energy storage is
of the most important challenges by batteries, which can be expensive
Grid integration for operators. Add to the problem and have limited capacity. Developing
will be the expansion of Microgrids more advanced forms of energy
One of the biggest challenges facing which have the potential to disrupt storage, such as compressed air,
the power industry is integrating supply and demand issues and pumped hydro storage and flow
Photo: Shutterstock

large amounts of intermittent further complicate things. More on batteries, will be crucial for the
renewable energy into the grid. grid integration when we discuss widespread adoption of renewable
Wind and solar power are dependent Transmission and Distribution issues. energy.
Transformer Technology February 2023 55

Issue 26

Alan Ross CRL, CMRP, is the Managing

Editor of APC Media. Alan has decades of
experience in the power systems industry
and is one of the greatest reliability experts
out there.

Flow batteries have some large amounts of energy, which Redox Flow Battery (VRFB), Zinc-
advantages over other types of makes them well-suited for use in Bromine Flow Battery, Iron Chromium
batteries, such as lithium-ion renewable energy systems. They Flow Battery, and many others.
batteries. They can store large also have a relatively long lifespan, Each of them has their own
amounts of energy, which makes as the energy storage components advantages and limitations.
them well-suited for use in can be replaced separately from
renewable energy systems. the rest of the battery. Additionally, Transmission and distribution
they can be quickly charged and
A flow battery is a type of discharged, which can be useful As more renewable energy is added
rechargeable battery in which the in applications such as grid to the grid, there will be a greater need
energy storage components are stabilization. for transmission and distribution
dissolved in liquids that are stored infrastructure to connect renewable
in external tanks or reservoirs. The However, flow batteries also have energy sources with the main grid.
liquids are pumped through an some disadvantages. They can be Building new transmission and
electrochemical cell, where they are relatively large and bulky, which can distribution lines can be expensive
converted into electrical energy. This make them difficult to install in some and time-consuming and may face
process can be reversed to charge applications. They also tend to be resistance from local communities.
the battery. more expensive than other types of
batteries, which can be a barrier to The integration of Distributed
Flow batteries have some widespread adoption. Energy Resources (DERs) such as
advantages over other types solar panels, wind turbines, and
of batteries, such as lithium- There are different types of flow energy storage systems into the
ion batteries. They can store batteries exist, such as Vanadium transmission and distribution (T&D)
56 EXPERT OPINION:
INTEGRATING
RENEWABLE ENEREGY

systems poses several

challenges. These challenges
include:

• Grid integration: as stated

attacks. Ensuring
previously, integrating DERs
the security of DERs and
into the T&D systems requires
the communication systems
coordination and communication
that connect them to the grid is
between the distributed energy
crucial to protect the integrity
resources and the central grid.
and reliability of the grid. infrastructure (AMI)
This can be challenging as DERs
into the electrical grid.
may not be able to provide the • Regulation: The integration of
same level of predictability and DERs also requires changes in
The goal of smart grid technology is to
controllability as traditional power regulations and policies, as well
improve the efficiency, reliability, and
plants. as coordination between utilities
security of the power grid while also
and regulators. In addition,
• Grid stability: DERs can introduce enabling the integration of renewable
DERs may not be subject to the
new types of disturbances and energy sources and the integration of
same regulations as traditional
dynamics into the T&D systems, distributed energy resources (DERs).
power plants, which can create
which can affect grid stability. For
challenges in terms of
example, the sudden loss of many The goal of smart grid technology
interconnection, metering, and
distributed solar panels during a is to improve the efficiency,
liability.
grid blackout can cause additional reliability, and security of the
stress on the grid. power grid while also enabling the
To overcome these challenges,
integration of renewable energy
• Grid protection: The integration utilities will need to invest in advanced
sources and the integration of
of DERs into the T&D systems technologies and develop new
distributed energy resources
can require significant changes to policies and regulations. Collaboration
(DERs).
grid protection schemes, which between utilities, regulators, and DER
are designed to detect and isolate developers will be crucial to ensure
The key components of smart grid
faults on the grid. This can be the safe, secure, and efficient
technology include:
challenging as DERs can have integration of DERs into T&D systems.
different characteristics than
• Advanced Metering Infrastructure
traditional power plants. Smart grid technology
(AMI): This includes the installation
• Communication and control: of smart meters at homes and
Smart grid technology is another
To effectively manage DERs, businesses, which can provide
important area of development for
utilities need to have real-time real-time data on energy usage.
the power industry. Smart grids use
visibility into the state of the This data can be used to improve
advanced communication and control
distributed energy resources grid operations and enable
systems to improve the efficiency
and the ability to control them customers to better manage their
and reliability of the power grid. They
remotely. This requires advanced energy usage.
also allow for greater integration of
communication and control
renewable energy sources and electric • Advanced Distribution
systems, which can be complex
vehicles. Management Systems (ADMS):
and expensive to implement.
These systems use real-time data
• Cybersecurity: As the integration Smart Grid technology refers to and advanced analytics to improve
of DERs increases the number of the integration of advanced digital the efficiency and reliability of the
connected devices on the grid, it technologies, communication systems, distribution grid by monitoring and
also increases the risk of cyber and advanced metering controlling the flow of electricity.
 Transformer Technology February 2023 57

Issue 26

substations, and control centers.

These systems can introduce new
vulnerabilities to the grid and can
be targeted by cyber attackers.
• Interconnected systems: The
power grid is interconnected
with other critical infrastructure
systems, such as transportation
and water systems, which can
create additional vulnerabilities.
• Increasing complexity: As the
power grid becomes more
complex, with the integration of
renewable energy sources and
distributed energy resources, the
number of potential vulnerabilities
increases.
• Financial losses: Cyber-attacks
on the power grid can cause direct
financial losses to utilities and
indirect losses to customers and
the economy as a whole.
• Reputation: Cyber-attacks can
• Advanced Transmission Cybersecurity also damage the reputation of
Management Systems (ATMS): utilities and can lead to loss of
These systems use real-time data The power Industry is also facing the customer trust.
and advanced analytics to improve challenge of securing the grid from
the efficiency and reliability of the cyber threats, as more and more To protect the power grid from cyber-
transmission grid by monitoring advanced technologies are integrated attacks, utilities must implement
and controlling the flow of into the grid and the number of robust cybersecurity measures, such
electricity across long distances. connected devices increases, the risk as network segmentation, access
of cyber-attacks increases. control, and incident response plans.
• Communication and Control
It's also important for utilities to stay
Systems: Smart grid technology
The power Industry is also facing up to date with the latest cybersecurity
relies on advanced communication
the challenge of securing the grid threats and to continuously
systems to connect the various
from cyber threats, as more and monitor and test their systems for
components of the grid and enable
more advanced technologies are vulnerabilities. Collaboration between
remote monitoring and control of
integrated into the grid and the utilities, government, and the private
the grid.
number of connected devices sector is crucial to share information
• Customer Engagement: Smart increases, the risk of cyber-attacks and resources to help protect the grid
grid technology can also enable increases. from cyber threats.
customers to better manage their
energy usage through tools such • Protection of critical Conclusion
as online portals, mobile apps, and infrastructure: The power grid
in-home displays. is critical infrastructure that is The power industry is facing several
essential for the functioning technology challenges as it works to
Smart grid technology can improve of society. A cyber-attack on adopt more green energy resources
the efficiency, reliability, and security the power grid could cause into the grid. These challenges include
of the power grid while also enabling widespread power outages and grid integration, energy storage,
the integration of renewable energy have severe economic and societal transmission and distribution, smart
sources and the integration of consequences. grid technology, and cybersecurity.
distributed energy resources. However, To address these challenges,
the implementation of smart grid • Vulnerabilities in communication the industry will need to invest in
technology also poses challenges, systems: Smart grid technology research and development, as well
such as the high cost of deployment, relies on advanced communication as work closely with government and
Photo: Shutterstock

the need for advanced communication systems to connect the various other stakeholders to develop and
and control systems, and the need for components of the grid, such as implement new technologies and
robust cybersecurity measures. advanced metering infrastructure, policies.
 Interview with Dr. Miroslaw Wrobel CEO/CTO & Co-Founder of Passero
58

and Roberto Jardón and Regional Technical Leader at Cargill BioIndustrial - Power Generation
FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Roberto Jardón

Photo: Cargill , Passerro

 Issue 26
Transformer Technology
February 2023

Miroslaw Wrobel
59

Natural Esters: Insulation Fluids for Green and Reliable Transformers

60 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Synthetic esters started in the What do we know about natural esters from a
70s as the second generation. laboratory data standpoint?

But at some point, several Miroslaw Wrobel: We know much already, Alan.
additional questions arose: can Esters will be a very good fluid, for instance in
urban areas where we have a transformer close
we make fluid based on bio-based to people’s homes, and that is for two reasons.
material that also solves the fire Firstly, due to their fire-retardant properties.
safety issues? The flash point of natural esters is much higher
than with mineral oil. Secondly, unlike crude
oil derivatives, it's not toxic, and that is very
Alan Ross: Hello, I am Alan Ross and this is more important. We already know that the ester can
than an APC Media interview. It is in fact a big handle the overload of the transformer much
reveal. With us today are two extraordinary better than mineral oil. If you think about all
experts. One is Miroslaw Wrobel the CEO, CTO, the electrification levels we want to achieve
and Co-Founder of Passerro and the other in the future, like electric cars, and everything
is Roberto Fernandez Jardón, the Technical else that has to be electric and digital, just think
Leader for Europe and Turkey at Cargill in about the amount of power that we will need.
the Insulating Liquids Division. And that's But changing out all the transformers in urban
really what we're here to talk about, natural areas would be extremely difficult. So why not
and synthetic esters. and some of the things just change the oil instead?
that we found out as these gentlemen
have worked together and people
from Cargill and Passerro have worked Changing out all the transformers
together. But first of all, why do we need in urban areas would be
ester oils? When did their story start?
Why did somebody have the idea to extremely difficult. So why not
make oil out of plants and to put it in just change the oil instead?
transformers?

Roberto Jardón: Well, natural esters were the

first natural step, when we were thinking about
the development of insulation fluids. We started
AR So, if I understand you correctly,
Miroslaw, is that the data we’re
gathering is showing some really positive,
in the 70s with silicon oil and some other fluids unique values to esters. Anything else you
just to breach a gap in fire safety that mineral would like to add, Roberto?
oil can’t deal with. Synthetic esters started in
the 70s as the second generation. But at some
point, several additional questions arose: can
we make fluid based on bio-based material that
RJ Yes, I just want to add to what Miroslaw
said. In addition to the higher flash point,
esters are also better at handling moisture in the
also solves the fire safety issues? In addition transformer which makes a huge difference. And
to that, it is biodegradable, and it comes from that was something that was discovered while
a renewable source. So some very smart guys the FR3 was being developed. The initial tests
that were working at Cooper Transformers at were conducted in real-life transformers and
that time decided to explore if it could be made distribution transformers.
to work in the electrical field. And after several They realized that the paper and the solid
years of research, and a lot of different kinds of insulation aged much slower when immersed in
oils and plants, they came up with a very nice natural ester than in mineral oil. We can discuss
solution that added together all the properties that a little. But the main idea is that we are
that the transformer manufacturer was willing having the same hardware installation around
to have in insulation fluid and additionally mineral oil and natural ester. And with natural
having all these fire behavior that they were ester, the transformer may last two to three times
looking for. longer. And there are two ways of approaching
this. We can have the transformer working in the

AR So it could be said that safety was an

important instigator, particularly fire
safety. And since then, Cargill has developed
same conditions, but longer, or we can explore
the transformer working at higher temperatures.
Both of these options are very important for
a fire retardant, solution, FR3. But since those handling overloads and this change in the energy
early days, we have found there are a lot of consumption profile that Miroslaw was talking
other advantages to natural esters as opposed about.
to synthetic ones. And there is a difference
Photo: Cargill

between the two. We're going to get a little bit

into it. Miroslaw. Let me ask you this question: AR Yes, absolutely. In the case of
esters, we're finding that the law of
Transformer Technology February 2023 61

Issue 26

will go through the roof. Changing to ester oils

will be the best way to bring these maintenance
costs down.

We have over 160,000 data sets from Cargill and

we go with the data in all different dimensions,
and compare it with the isolating oil data. And
I have to tell you, it is absolutely astonishing!
The readings are almost perfect! Until now the
huge nightmare of the mineral oil isolating
transformer has been the acids and water inside
it, degrading it and causing problems. These
don't play any role with Cargill’s FR3 and other
esters. Instead of degrading, the BDV values are
almost on the high because in a natural ester,
the water reacts with the acids, hydrating them.

Changing to ester oils will be

the best way to bring
maintenance costs down.
So now you have less acid in the transformer,
which means that the paper and the solid
cellulose material stay stable for much longer.

unintended consequences was getting much

more benefit, especially today. The demand for
medium-sized transformers has gone crazy.
Two years ago, we had a supply chain issue.
Today we have a demand curve issue. The
demand curve is going through the roof. So
retrofitting old transformers can keep them
lasting longer while you wait for a replacement.

MW We are considering the feasibility

of switching isolating oil from
mineral to biodegradable. There is a deep need
to know how the oil is behaving and if our
diagnostic and monitoring method is still fit
for our purpose to gather the new information.
For the last 100 years, we have been using
transformers with mineral oil. The biggest
question now is whether we can we apply all
those standards to the ester oils, and whether
we can expect the same behavior of green oil
isolating systems. Mineral oil insulation has
many disadvantages, but we take this into
account and we try to counteract this with
technical solutions like the berms under the
transformers, and the constant replacement of
the oil. But all of these “fixes” create costs and if
the need for the transformers and the electrical
power will grow as much as we think, these costs
62 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

You have to use something else. Another point

is the different viscosity of the oil. The heat
capacity is higher than with mineral oil and this
means that you can transform more energy
out of the core. Even better: You can make a
smaller, more compact transformer. This means
less copper and just generally fewer materials
inside the transformer, which is great.

But we will probably have to have to think

about different sensors to put on the ester
transformer than on the mineral oil ones.
DGA for mineral oil is one of the most
important things to monitor. Large
transformers have something like eleven
DGA gases and the behavior of gases in ester-
filled transformers is different. Here other
factors like the flash point temperature the
distribution of the temperature from the core
and the viscosity are much more important.
A vital aspect of the different viscosity of
natural esters is, for example, the lubrication of
the windings. Because if you have just paper-
insulated windings and the oil is too thick to
go through the windings, you will have just a
dry removal of the paper inside.

RJ Exactly, that is an excellent point!

Natural esters have proven to be not
just reliable, but virtually maintenance-free.
So what they discovered during the tests
over the last years is that the higher moisture
tolerance of the esters extracts the water from
the solid insulation that is naturally generated
because of the heating of the transformer.
It consumes that water by reaction with the
molecules of the natural ester. And as Miroslaw
was saying, we keep the insulation dry to slow
down the aging. But this consumption of water
also generates free fatty acids that unlike in
mineral oil, are mild and non-reactive.
This means that they are not generating
a sludge. So the very important thing to
understand is that we can monitor the same
things with mineral-oil-filled and ester-
filled transformers, but the meaning of these
parameters is different for mineral and natural.

MW Exactly! Another example is

the temperature model of the
transformer through which we calculate the
flash point. It doesn’t really work for natural
esters, because the ester behavior and the heat
dispersion are completely different than in
mineral oil. So, you can’t use those parameters.
 Transformer Technology February 2023 63

Issue 26

RJ That is a very good point, Miroslaw.

With natural esters, especially when
there is constant contact with oxygen, we can
see long-term how the viscosity of the fluid may
increase. Of course, it takes a lot of time, but
this is a parameter that is not a routine test for
mineral oil transformers but should be a routine
test for natural esters because it's an important
parameter. Another important thing is to
differentiate the meaning of these occurrences
for the two different insulators. We mentioned
acids, which are very dangerous for mineral oils
and it is something that needs to be monitored
constantly. But for natural esters, it just means
To keep the numbers in the same style as
in TTM Issue 24 - "Diagnostic Basics and
Laboratory Data Sets", we also put the
We mentioned acids, which full age of the transformer with ester.
However, note that the total amount of
are very dangerous for mineral aged ester transformers in the following
oils and it is something that vintages is only [35,40) => 83, [40,45) =>
61, [45,80) => 58. Another point is the
needs to be monitored constantly. compatibility of the BDV measurements.
“The mineral oil is typically measured
But for natural esters, it just using IEC 60156 and the FR3 ester using
ASTM 877. So 50kV with ASTM 877
means that they are working makes about 80-90kV
as they're supposed to.

that they are working as they’re supposed to. It's

important to bring this knowledge to the people,
to explain the different meanings of the tests
and how they reflect not only the status of the
fluid itself but the complete transformer.

MW Oh absolutely. For instance, you

can really overload an ester-filled
transformer without serious consequences. If
you try this with a mineral oil transformer, you
can do this once or twice, and the third time
you have a big explosion. You can exploit ester-
filled transformers all you want and they will
keep coming back for more. However, that still
doesn’t mean that we don’t need some system
to monitor the transformer, to tell them when
it’s enough. But the systems and the parameters
used can’t be the same as those used for the
mineral oil.

RJ And this is exactly what will enable

utilities to deal with these different
loads and strains on the network efficiently.
And connecting with the smart meters that
we talked about in the beginning, having the
thermal behavior, the thermal image of the
transformer, by measuring different points of
the temperature inside the transformer with
fiber optics can give you an idea of exactly to
what extent you can exploit that transformer.
Photo: PShutterstock

For example, if you are having an ambient

temperature of ten degrees and a ten MBA
transformer under those circumstances, maybe
can reach 12 - 13 MVAS without exceeding the
temperature limits. And this gap is bigger in
64 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

natural esters than in mineral oil. So having temperatures. If we keep an eye on that
the right material with the right monitoring and perhaps adjust the technology a little,
can increase not only the reliability of the everything is doable and the transformer
installation but the complete resilience of will work without problems. What some
the network. That is something that we need experiments with FR3 have shown is, that ester
to address urgently also in future network is much better if you have cooling with not
developments. laminar, but turbulent flow, because through
the turbulent flow, you have more surface

AR I think people are slowly realizing

that transformers are the heart of the
power system and how crucial they are because
contact and you can take more energy out of
the core. As I already mentioned before, the
heat capacity of esters is much higher than
of it. And so what you both and your companies that of mineral oil. So, you can make a compact
are working on, is quite brilliant. I'd like you to transformer, but you have to make sure that
end with this question: Miroslav mentioned the you pump the oil through the transformer.
operator, the owner of the transformer. Imagine
you're riding an elevator together, he asks you And of course, as I mentioned before, we need
what he should do and you have two minutes. to adjust the monitors and what they monitor.
We at Passerro are currently working on

MW If you have a transformer, that

runs with a sustainable and
constant load, you don't need to do anything.
specific sensors for this. It will be something
like the Trafostick we already have for mineral
oil. At the moment, we can only monitor from
If you have a transformer that deals with the outside of the transformer, but we are
peak loads and peak comparison to the grid, extrapolating data from the core. We are still
photovoltaic, wind energy, etc. you need to use six to nine months away from working out the
ester and you need to measure parameters like last kinks but after that we will have the sensor
viscosity, temperature, and interfacial tension. running just right and utilities will be able to
If you have a transformer with a fault and are just stick it on the transformer and let it be.
in a country with minus degrees Celsius like And if something should go wrong, they
North Europe, or Canada, you have to keep will have the information and will be able
an eye on the viscosity because it is not as to act. This will save lots of monitoring and
straightforward as with mineral oil. maintenance time because with the increasing
number of transformers, we won’t be able to

AR So now, Roberto, it's your two

minutes.
take care of all of them simultaneously.

At the moment, we can only

RJ Natural ester is a natural and
smart choice for transformers.
First, you are having a transformer that
monitor from the outside of
is fire resistant, that has a fluid that the transformer, but we are
is non-toxic and biodegradable. So in extrapolating data from the core.
case of any spill or any issue, you will
not cause damage to nature. You can
After that we will have the sensor
explore your transformer at higher loads running just right and utilities
without jeopardizing the life span of will be able to just stick it on the
the transformer. You are keeping the
insulation dry, which reduced the risk transformer and let it be.
of dialectic discharge or bubbling inside
the transformer, reducing the risk of dialectic
failures. So you are having a more reliable asset
that makes your network more resilient to any
AR Roberto, what are your closing
thoughts?

change. Additionally, you are going to have the

same footprint of the transformer will handle
more power, meaning that you don't need to
RJ I would like to cotton onto what
Miroslaw said about the importance
of this change in the shifting paradigm. We are
make any upgrades in the substation. adding a lot of harmonics in the system from
E-chargers, photovoltaic or even wind farms,

AR Brilliant! I think we made a good case and even though these harmonics go through
for the benefits of biodegradable esters the network and reach the transformers, they
as the future of liquid insulation. Is there any have several implications. One of them is the
other point that you think we've not covered? harmonic currents, meaning that additional
heating may happen on the coils, basically.

MW The most important part is just

how the oil behaves in cold
And the second point is the voltage harmonics
that may lead to partial discharge inside the
 Transformer Technology February 2023 65

Issue 26

transformers. And this is something that we of these changes. The inverter-based system
have seen in mineral oil transformers and that we're moving to, power in, power out,
that has been solved by retrofilling them with you're going to have to have transformers that
FR3, because the dielectric properties of FR3 can withstand all of that, and filling them with
regarding the partial discharge in temperature sustainable, biodegradable esters will be the
of voltage are higher than mineral oils. For this way forward. If I were buying a transformer
change and for this additional challenge that now, I would firewire all around the coil so that I
the transformers need to face, FR3 will still get constant data and I would fill it with Cargill's
be the best solution. FR3, and I'd just sit back and be happy and my
bosses would love me for reducing labor time

AR One of the things I walk away with

from this interview is that we can't
take the same parameters that we've looked at
and costs.

This has been a great discussion and revelation,

for mineral oil and apply them to FR3. We have gentlemen. Thank you so much for being here
to apply new parameters. But in every instance, today.
we actually get a higher resiliency and a higher
reliability. And those are the two big issues for
power systems today. We need to take those
better standards and apply them and know that
RJ Thank you, Alan.
Photo: Cargill

we can operate our transformers much better.

They can withstand all of these harmonics, all MW Thank you.
66 IN FOCUS

E-MOBILITY DEVELOPMENT REQUIRES

INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH, DEEP
HOW CESI IS
KNOWLEDGE AND BATTERY TESTING CONTRIBUTING

A more sustainable approach to the use of electrical energy is widely spreading

out in most sectors, ranging from stationary applications, such as energy sto-
rage systems both for domestic and for large plants, to e-vehicles, which are
supposed to replace a big slice of the cars on our roads in the next years.

The use of energy in an electric vehicle must necessarily follow strategies

different from those considered in combustion engine vehicles, given the dif-
ferent diffusion of the refueling systems which, for the electric vehicles, are the
charging stations.

All current and future EV models should be tested for homologation (at both full
vehicle and component levels) to ensure safety and conformity.

CESI Group designed specific laboratories to test the different E-mobility aspects.
 Transformer Technology February 2023 67

Issue 26

Test on storage solutions

Manufacturers focus on quality, safety and efficiency of the elements they
produce; it is in this area that electric car battery testing and certification oper-
ates, ensuring that batteries, cells, chargers, and electrical components for use
in e-mobility comply with global safety requirements and perform reliably.

Over the course of their service life, batteries, and their subsystems such as
connections and cooling systems tend to deteriorate. This can result in a loss
of battery performances, potentially leading up to a total failure. In addition, bat-
teries in electric and hybrid vehicles come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes,
weights, and chemical compositions. This makes it essential to carry out EV bat-
tery testing to verify durability, safety, and reliability of the components.

E-vehicles are supposed

to replace a big slice of
the cars on our roads in
the next years.

Electric car battery

testing and certification
ensure that batteries,
cells, chargers, and
electrical components
for use in e-mobility
comply with global
safety requirements and
perform reliably.
Battery Cyclers for testing EV cells and battery modules

Whether Customers are seeking to bring new products to market or consoli-

dating a developed technology, it is essential to be able to carry out non-de-
structive (pre-)testing of batteries, among which:

• Life cycle tests in conditioned environments

• Functional, climatic, and electromagnetic compatibility testing
• Performance measurements and modelling of new applications, including
systems adjacent to the main energy storage system
• Failure investigation of energy storage systems.

CESI Battery Testing Laboratories lie in a context of increasing development,

as batteries are more and more used, both in storage and vehicular applications.
Photo: CESI

CESI tests samples of batteries with different technology, using different testing
systems, thus gaining increasing experience and knowledge in this field.
68 IN FOCUS

The Battery laboratory is equipped with all the necessary instruments to

perform battery testing, by guaranteeing a controlled environment, allowing
the monitoring of the tests even remotely and providing a database in which to
store the records of all the tests for later use and analysis.

Climatic chambers, Cyclers and Data Acquisition Systems, are the main tools
available at their laboratories to simulate and reproduce the behavior of battery
cells in the real world, where they power the vehicles and the storage plants.

Several climatic chambers, with volumes ranging from 1000 to 2000 liters, Our specific laboratories
are used to create and reproduce the environmental conditions, regulating both investigate charging
temperatures, from -35°C to 180°C, and humidity, from 10 to 98%. stations potential and
They are equipped with safety devices, to prevent and mitigate risks asso- behavior, carry out
ciated to Lithium battery operation. Climatic chambers have completely inde- tests to assess battery
pendent systems and are user configurable according to the needs. lifetime, performs
automotive EMC
The laboratories are also equipped with “cyclers”, which impose charge tests define semi-
and discharge currents on the batteries. These devices are built following the
principle of modularity with independent channels, which can be parallelized to empirical models of
obtain currents even very high, up to 1200 A. The wide range of voltages makes battery associated to
them flexible in terms of possible applications. E-vehicles.

Test on charging stations

CESI is developing studies and technical/economic models to analyze how cars
parked – and especially their batteries, if properly managed – could represent an
invaluable “reservoir” in which to pour energy produced in excess during some
hours of the day, so that they can return energy back to the electricity grid in case
of necessity.

For years, CESI has been committed to the study and test of the best tech-
nologies for charging stations infrastructure. CESI/KEMA laboratories can test and
verify e-vehicles power components which deal with remarkable current peaks
circulating in a system of limited dimensions.

Water tightness test on charging column Dust tightness test on charging column
Photo: CESI
Transformer Technology February 2023 69

Issue 26

When talking about E-mobility, safety requirements is extremely important;.one

of the most striking and easy-to-understand examples may be the water and dust
tightness tests on the charging columns. These tests are not conducted in live-
circuit, as the risks of electric discharges would be hard to manage.

CESI laboratories are also equipped to evaluate how much stress the charg-
ing infrastructure is subjected to. The column is literally 'hammered in', using
specific tools, to check its resistance.

Automotive EMC tests

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) disturbances arising from the proximity
of other electromagnetic devices could potentially interfere with the proper use
and operation of the equipment for automotive. This leads to the most complex
communication problems between the vehicle charging system and the station
itself, for example.

In their labs, CESI uses anechoic chambers to test components and auxil-
iaries connected to e-mobility and their interactions. Anechoic chambers offer
a controlled and reproducible environment to measure electromagnetic com-
patibility phenomena, such as the generation of electromagnetic fields by the
devices and the effect of these fields on their operation.

Electric batteries are “a Developing of semi-empirical battery aging model

core component” of an An accurate battery model can provide information about battery behavior, in
EV, affecting the quality conjunction with data coming from the working conditions.
of the entire vehicle. Some examples:

• Long term horizon, such as the degradation model of expected life.

• Short term horizon, such as predicting battery performances during the
route of the vehicle.

Battery cells model can be initially designed considering the physics and
chemistry, using the “Analytical approach”. This aprioristic knowledge suggests
the proper selection of the data set for refining the model. A “Big data approach”
will be used in combination with the analytical modelling when the complexity
of the environment increases and interactions with exogenous factors and
variables must be also considered.

Data both from the experimental tests and from the real-world flow into the
model, improving it.

In the following images, you can find an example of the output of one aging
model developed by CESI.

Aging model Output Aging model Output

Progressive capacity degradation of a battery module, Module temperature in relation with SOC profile
depending on the operating conditions over its whole life
70 SMART
CHARGERS
INSTALLATIONS

Regulations Paving Way for

Widespread Installation
of Smart Chargers
by Kamil Maqsood

✚ Developed countries ✚ Regulations revolving ✚ With the widespread

across the globe are around billing adoption of EVs, the
rapidly moving towards requirements, roaming, traditional charging
widespread adoption remote management infrastructure will
of electric vehicles. and intelligent metering burden the grid
are themselves pushing infrastructure instead
for installation of smart of supporting the grid.
chargers in some of the
Photo: Shutterstock

largest EV markets in
Europe.
Transformer Technology February 2023 71

Issue 26

Figure 1: Smart Charging Enhances Customer Experience and Promotes Ease and Convenience
Source: PTR Inc.

Developed countries across the charging infrastructure, also referred

globe are rapidly moving towards to as smart charging infrastructure.
widespread adoption of electric
vehicles. This is driving the Contrary to traditional charging Kamil Maqsood is a Senior Technical Re-
associated charging infrastructure infrastructure, that is not capable search Writer at PTR Inc. He has a BSc degree
which is necessary to sustain the of two-way communication, smart in electrical engineering from the University
adoption of EVs. It is expected that charging infrastructure includes of Engineering and Technology Lahore and
the
Efra F.EV andis EVSE
Usmani market
a Team Lead of the
and Project Ma- future multiple types of communication in is currently pursuing a master’s in electrical
will
nagerbe radically
of the different atfrom
E-Mobility Department Powerwhat real time: engineering from the Lahore University of
it is today,
Technology so it(PTR).
Research is necessary to future
As a nature lover Management Sciences with a focus on Power
proof the electric
and a traveler, vehicle
she likes to supply
see the role she 1) Communication between the car System Planning, Electricity Markets, Power
equipment technology
plays as part of the energy transitionkeeping
that helps in and the charger System Operations, and Control and Battery
mind
preservethe latest regulations and
the planet. 2) Communication between the Energy Storage Systems. At PTR, Kamil is
policies. This presents a challenge charger and the charging operator responsible for the creation & editing of tech-
to present day Original Equipment 3) Management of the charging event nical content for which he coordinates with
Manufacturers (OEMs) of electric to support the needs of operator to the research team. Additionally, he has expe-
vehicle supply equipment who are alter the charging power without rience working with The World Bank (energy
responding by developing intelligent disrupting the charging event. team) as STT Consultant.
72 SMART
CHARGERS
INSTALLATIONS

Regulation on Figure 2: Share of Networked Chargers in EMEA in 2021

Smart Charging Source: PTR Inc.

Regulations
revolving around
billing requirements,
roaming, remote
management and
intelligent metering are
themselves pushing
for installation of smart
chargers in some of
the largest EV markets
in Europe: Germany,
France and UK.

Germany Figure 3: Chargers with Load Management Capability in EMEA in 2030

In Germany each electric car driver Source: PTR Inc.
should be able to charge and pay at
the same time without requiring an
agreement with a service provider
beforehand. The regulation aims to
ensure unhindered use of electric
vehicles across operators, and
municipalities can choose from the
following payment mechanisms:

1) Cash or cashless payment

(standard card-based payment
system for instance credit card) in
the vicinity of the charging point.
Photo: Shutterstock

2) Web-based payment system

(meaning a QR-code, app or
Transformer Technology February 2023 73

Issue 26

website) including at least one A charging infrastructure, open to Furthermore, the

variant of access to the web-based the public, is operated by a charging charge point should be
payment system (i.e., PayPal, credit infrastructure operator that utilizes accessible remotely to
card or others), which must be a monitoring system that allows the public through a data
available free of charge. data exchange with each charging communication protocol
point. It also has the capability and communication
3) The menu for charging should be to monitor the status of charging technology (Open Charge
available in at least German and points, and records the important Point Protocol (OCPP)
English. parameters of service use, including version 1.6 (equivalent or
those concerning the delivery of above). Additionally, the
Similarly, regulations in Germany energy. regulations in the UK require
require chargers to have the ability intelligent metering systems
to manage load as well which is On the other hand, the French to be installed alongside
a feature only available in smart IRVE decree requires the use of a recharging stations that are
chargers. supervisory system that ensures accessible to the public.

For three or more EV chargers, load that each charging point accessible Looking Ahead
management features are generally to the public can be monitored
required in multi-unit buildings in remotely. Interoperability can be Traditional charging technology
Germany. With the installation of EV achieved either through a contract was a great help in the initial
chargers, the utilization of electricity or via a data exchange platform as phases of EV charging deployment
increases and to keep the network provided in the decree. in Europe but as the region
from overloading and for smooth moves towards the widespread
charging of multiple electric vehicles United Kingdom adoption of electric vehicles, smart
simultaneously, many OEMs have The UK has regulations that require charging infrastructure is a must.
integrated load management in their intelligent metering, payment For the implementation of the
chargers. and data communication related latest regulations, smart charging
features from EV chargers. For infrastructure is a prerequisite.
France instance, charging stations in Secondly, with the widespread
Regulations in France require the country are required to have adoption of EVs, the traditional
chargers to have the capacity to charging information displayed on charging infrastructure will burden
be managed remotely and to use a a screen or at the time of service the grid infrastructure instead of
supervision system that supports directly conveyed to the consumer supporting the grid (possible only
EV roaming. through SMS, Web App or an email. through smart charging).
74 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Diane Cherry
 Transformer Technology February 2023 75

Issue 26

at Diane Cherry Consulting

Principal consultant
Long
duration
energy
storage
(LDES) is
Interview with Diane Cherry
really going
to be a
game
changer.
Photo: Diane Cherry Consulting
76 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Alan Ross: My guest today is Diane Cherry. I got my master's degree at Harvard, then I
Diane is the principal consultant at Diane moved to Washington D.C. for a while, worked at
Cherry Consulting, a woman-owned small EPA, and I've been in North Carolina for the last
business providing environmental and energy 25 years working on energy and environmental
services in the areas of business development, issues in the Southeastern United States. Energy
policy and regulatory analysis, and is important to our lives each and every day.
communications. Diane, thank you for joining The work has changed immensely over the
me today. years and it always piques my interest.

Diane Cherry: I'm delighted to be part of your

conversation. AR I would like to address an issue with
you: Clean and green energy have
been used a lot of times interchangeably, right?

AR One of the things that intrigued me

about you, Diane, is how involved
you are in energy policy, regulation, and how
What is the difference between clean and
green?

they connect to green, clean energy, which is

what I’d like to talk about today. But first of
all, could you tell me how you became a policy
DC There is a big difference and I think
you're right, people do use these terms
interchangeably. Clean means emissions-free,
consultant? however resources might be limited or have
some negative impact. Green energy, on the

DC I've been in this field for about 25

years. My education was in economics,
and after college, I worked for a non-profit
other hand, refers to energy that is good for the
environment, with no emissions, and relies on
renewable resources.
research organization in Washington, DC. called
Resources for the Future (RFF). RFF champions • Nuclear technology is clean but not green.
the application of economics to energy and Nuclear processes produce emissions-free
environmental policy. Congress passed the energy but use finite resources and also
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 while I was produce toxic waste that has to be handled.
at RFF, and I had a chance to witness economic
incentives at work in the acid rain provisions of • Solar and wind, on the other hand, are clean
that law. That's where my interest truly began, and green because they're both emissions-
and it has only grown over time. free and utilize abundant renewable energy.
 Transformer Technology February 2023 77

Issue 26

• Hydrogen as a fuel doesn't directly produce pollution across the board, utilizing renewable
emissions so it could be considered clean. resources, and also taking steps to eliminate
But if it's produced using fossil fuels, for carbon and other pollutants that already exist
example, as it is in most cases now, that's in the environment.
not considered green. That’s why we have
the distinction of green hydrogen, which is Policy is a huge technology
produced via processes powered by green,
renewable energy and blue hydrogen which
driver but it is most effective
is produced using fossil fuels. when it is a mandate as
• Biomass is not clean or green, but it's often
opposed to just a target or
marketed as such and falls under a concept goal.
that you might have heard of – greenwashing.
Burning wood pellets, for example, produces
emissions. Wood pellets reduce some
greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere
AR You've seen a lot of policy decisions.
Where do you think policy positively
or negatively impacts technology and vice versa?
but they don’t reduce CO2 overall.

That's why you can't really have a single key

solution to alleviate climate change. You need a
DC Policy is a huge technology driver
but it is most effective when it is a
mandate as opposed to just a target or goal.
holistic approach, reducing emissions and other Unlike a binding law, an Executive Order passed
Photo: Diane Cherry Consulting
78 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

by the President or a Governor does not have

the same market push. For example, North
Carolina just enacted a new law, House Bill 951:
Energy Solutions for North Carolina. It requires
a 70 percent carbon emissions reduction by
2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. This is
the first carbon mandate in the Southeastern
United States and will serve as a market signal
to clean energy developers that North Carolina
wants and needs clean energy technology.

Consider a Renewable Energy Portfolio

Standard as another example. The REPS, as it
is called, may have a set aside or a requirement
for renewable-powered electricity. It indicates
a state’s interest in green technologies and
drives green investment and development.

North Carolina is the fourth largest in solar

capacity in the country. Key favorable laws and
policies over the past two decades spurred solar’s
success. These include generous interpretations
of the federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies
Act of 1978, a now expired 35 percent renewable
energy tax credit, and a renewable portfolio
standard like I just mentioned.

AR Could you tell me where you

see traction on green energy
development? Places where you can say that's
working. Some would say California is working,
but there are times when it's not, like when it's
been raining for weeks.

DC The American Clean Power

Association, which is the association
that includes energy storage, solar, wind,
and transmission developers, has a new
graph that shows all the renewable energy
projects currently planned across the U.S. Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020 which got
It shows where certain technologies are them started. Virginia is home to technology
thriving. Offshore wind, for example, is going companies such as Facebook and Google which
gangbusters in New England. We just had our demand that their operations be supplied by
first offshore wind project in Virginia, and we 100 percent renewable energy.
have two planned in North Carolina, but we
don't have the cluster of projects that are in Texas deregulated their electricity system back
the New England area. in the 1990s, which forced power plant owners
to compete based on who could offer the lowest
Energy storage is prevalent in California, price. As wind and solar plummeted in costs
which should be no surprise given that they they gained an edge on older fossil fuel plants.
have the most far reaching clean energy laws Texas also has the strongest onshore wind in
in the country. California must have some the country and some of the brightest sun.
way to match the reliability and variability in So their renewable energy success is part
their renewable energy generation and that is market structure and part geographic
precisely what energy storage does. So if you advantage.
look at the graph, you'll see a proliferation of
Photo: Diane Cherry Consulting

energy storage in that state. As costs level out over time, there will be
less geographic variability across the United
Virginia and North Carolina have a States in terms of which regions specialize in
preponderance of utility scale solar projects. what clean energy technologies. But the ACP
I already discussed North Carolina’s history map does indicate where things are going.
of solar support, and Virginia passed the The Midwest still has a ton of legacy fossil fuel
Transformer Technology February 2023 79

Issue 26

duration have dominated the market to date,

driven in part by the automotive industry trying
to develop competitive batteries for electric
vehicles. But that's not enough duration to
allow green energy to disrupt natural gas peaker
plants, which have replaced coal to provide
dispatchable power at peak times.

Utilities across the country are developing

their Integrated Resource Plans or IRPs, looking
at the generation portfolio for the next 10 to
20 years, and they're getting rid of coal as it
is completely uneconomical. As those assets
are retired, then, where should we invest our
energy? We ideally want an investment in green
technology, but that will require LDES. Energy
storage batteries require mining lithium, cobalt,
or other minerals, which presents challenges.
The U.S. only has one large lithium mine in
Nevada, and it’s less than 5 percent of the
world’s supply of lithium. We need to do more
to ensure a supply in the U.S. So coming up with
what the disruptive long-term energy storage
technology can be, whether it is lithium-ion,
whether it's something like sulfate, whether it's
something entirely different, that's going to be,
in my mind, the game changer.

The next game changer I see is green hydrogen.

There are not a lot of commercial projects
to date, but if three things are addressed it
will be a great technology for our energy
transition. First, projects need to have binding
offtake agreements. Second, green hydrogen
projects must have access to low cost, high
load renewables. And finally, transportation
and distribution infrastructure needs to be
developed. Connecting supply and demand
with transportation access is exceedingly
plants, so they don't quite have the proliferation difficult.
of green energy like the rest of the country.
A final question that could make a huge
difference is deciding what to do with
Consider a Renewable Energy baseload power. Germany is getting rid of
Portfolio Standard as another their nuclear facilities in the aftermath of
the Fukushima disaster. In the United States
example... It indicates a state’s we're extending our nuclear facilities from the
interest in green technologies recommended 60 years to 80 years. Some at
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have even
and drives green investment recommended extension to 100 years. But what
and development. do we have in place already? What are we going
to do for baseload power? And I think that is the

AR If I were investing in the future of

clean or green energy, or both, where
would you suggest that I put my money?
most interesting question in European countries
as well as the United States.

DC Long duration energy storage (LDES)

is really going to be a game changer.
AR Diane, this has been not just
informative, but brilliant. Thank you
so much for taking the time to discuss these
And by long-duration energy storage, I mean important topics.
10 hours of stored energy. Right now energy
markets are focused on short term applications.
Short term lithium ion batteries with a 4 to 6 hour DC It was great. I enjoyed it. Thank you so
much for having me, Alan.
80 EXPERT
Q&A

AN EXPERT Q&A WITH:

ANDREA
GHIDINI
SALES MANAGER
TMC TRANSFORMERS

Photo: Shutterstock
Transformer Technology February 2023 81

Issue 26

What’s the situation that characterizes the transformers market after the
pandemic?
Andrea Ghidini: After the end of the covid restriction, we started to see two
main factors that have characterized the market. The first was the increase in
volume requested and the second was related to the increase of the cost of raw
materials, together with a longer lead time.

Initially we considered this to be a reaction to the reduction in global activity

due to covid, but we continued to see a significant upturn in orders and growth
continued over many months that followed.

How is TMC positioned? Where is TMC investing?

AG: It all started five years ago, when TMC invested heavily in the dry trans-
former business. We saw continuous growth as a result, even during covid time
we managed to retain all employees, which helped give TMC the platform to
continue the journey and grow the business.

Remarks about current In order to maintain sustainable growth, we have always tried to anticipate
the market, although what happened after covid was not easy to predict. Our
situation and future investment continued with the purchase of new winding machines, new facil-
expectations in dry type ities, special tools for production and the latest software to improve design
transformers market and production processes. In addition to this, TMC have and continue to invest
heavily in bringing new people on board across all functions of the business.
This will enable us to increase capacity in the medium and long term.

But we didn’t stop there! We’ve expanded our global presence by opening
new facilities in both the USA & Israel.

What’s the most complex challenge we’re facing? How will we overcome it?
AG: The most challenging aspect, first and foremost, is to secure material
and to manage prices.

More recently, the signs are that the availability of material has increased,
although lead times remain long. Over that past few months, we have learnt how
to manage our supply chain more effectively, thus improving the management
of longer lead time projects, mitigating the risk linked to cost variations.

We also encountered challenges relating to the availability of skilled people

that we need to continue our growth plans. In many ways we are fortunate to
be based in a region where we can find experienced people, on the other hand
we have worked hard in to retain our employees by investing heavily in Human
Resources.
82 EXPERT
Q&A

Our investment Which sector is seeing the most growth, both in Europe & the USA?
continued with the AG: Overall, the economy has a positive trend, with most applications re-
quiring dry type transformers demanding more investments. The need of a
purchase of new green transition is creating more & more new opportunities for infrastructures
winding machines, new that are linked to new technologies such as Hydrogen production, electrical
facilities, special tools for chargers and battery storage.

production and the latest Global digitalization is creating a need for new data centres and a growing
software to improve demand for clean energy is driving investment in renewable energy generation,
design and production together with new and more-efficient distribution infrastructures.

processes. In addition How is TMC set in the green economy?

to this, TMC have and AG: Following a period of considerable investment in R&D, we are now de-
continue to invest livering products for traditional renewables, such as wind and solar. TMC have
also developed innovative solutions that support hydrogen production, impro-
heavily in bringing new ving our products continuously in order to position ourselves as a reliable
people on board across supplier to our customers that supports demanding applications where dry
all functions of the transformers play a fundamental role. These technological advances mean that
TMC’s dry type transformer offer is a very credible alternative to traditional,
business. liquid-filled assets.

When it comes to our internal approach to sustainability, we’ve invested in

processes that enable us to reduce the CO2 emitted by our facilities. We instal-
led an array of solar panels on the roof of our main production site, which has
a capacity to generate more than 1 GWh/year. Other initiatives include the re-
cycling of packaging, reduction in the scrap material that we produce in many
operations and the installation of more efficient tools to reduce consumption.

TMC has also composed the Carbon Footprint report that let us to quantify
the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the life cycle of the products of-
fered and communicate the results outside.
The pandemic changed
market variables. How has TMC grown?
AG: TMC’s success in the market to-date has far exceeded our expectations.
The positive return that we’ve seen, both in standard and special products, is a
direct result of and driven by the competence of our people and the quality of
TMC products.

The original plan was to enter the market and try to meet the needs of our
customers, providing competence, flexibility, reactivity and proximity to the
market. To implement this, we managed to hire a team of people with many
years of industry experience in all strategic functions, including Sales, Engineer-
ing, Production and Quality.
TMC Transformers faced
We then reinforced other key functions, such as marketing and IT, with highly
this complex background skilled people that complemented and added value to the team.
with resiliency and
strength. So, the human capital is the for sure the main driving factor of our growth.

The future of TMC?

AG: Our achievements to date have put TMC in a very strong position, which
will help us realize our future plans. Our growth is not only linked to market ex-
pansion, but also to high penetration of the customer base. We’ve created a
strong network of agents and distributors across the globe and the return we
are having is based on solid relationships with our customers.

We are positioning our products and overall offering into new applications
and solutions, differentiating in numerous areas and, therefore, operating in-
dependently from the economic cycle. TMC work tirelessly to mitigate risk and
take advantage of these positive trends.

We will continue to develop our global footprint, expanding into developing regions.
 Transformer Technology February 2023 83

Issue 26

YOUR STRATEGIC PARTNER FOR THE

SUPPLY OF MEDIUM AND LOW
VOLTAGE DRY-TYPE TRANSFORMERS.

TMC Transformers SpA - Viale dell'Industria 65, 21052 Busto Arsizio (Italy) - [email protected]
84 EXPERT OPINION:
TRANSITIONING TO
GREEN ENERGY

Around the world, both governments complex and varied environment. The Role of Green Energy Today
and utilities are striving to reduce With more substations, new
the greenhouse gas (GHG) generation facilities, and a wide Green energy initiatives such as wind,
emissions of the electricity sector range of new technologies all spread solar, and hydroelectric are primarily
through renewable and sustainable across a wide geographic area, being implemented to reduce the
generation technologies. utilities need a cost-effective and GHGs produced by the electricity
While these efforts have resulted proactive approach to maintenance sector.
in significant progress, there is still and repairs.
a substantial amount of work left While the volume of carbon dioxide
to be done to fully decarbonize the This article will highlight some of (CO2) and carbon dioxide equivalent
grid while delivering affordable and the major green energy initiatives in (CO2e) depends on the fuel source,
reliable power to customers. Canada and the US before showing the power generation sector
As utilities continue to transition, how utilities can leverage advanced contributes a significant portion of
they will also need to adapt their thermal and visual sensors to total emissions in both Canada and
maintenance programs to a more monitor green energy infrastructure. the US.

by Richard Harada
Marketing and Product Management teams leader
at Systems With Intelligence

Transitioning to Green Energy

How Utilities Can Leverage
Thermal and Visual Monitoring
 Transformer Technology February 2023 85

Issue 26

Richard Harada heads the Marketing and

Product Management teams at Systems With
Intelligence and he has over 20 years of ex-
perience in industrial networking communi-
cations and applications. Richard’s role at
Systems With Intelligence is ensuring that
products are developed to solve customer
needs. Richard has previous work experience
at RuggedCom and Siemens Canada where
he was focused on business development
and product management for communica-
tions in the electric power market. Richard is
an Electronic Engineering Technologist and
has a Bachelor of Science degree in Comput-
er Science from York University in Toronto.

The US has reduced carbon emissions in the power sector by 40 percent since 2005, mostly
attributed to the transition away from coal in favour of natural gas.

Fossil fuels are still the primary Government Efforts to Lower The Role of Thermal and Visual
source of electricity in the US, Emissions Sensors
with natural gas and coal making
up 61 percent of the total energy Governments in both Canada and the Advanced thermal and visual
mix. Renewables, including wind, US are setting aggressive targets to sensors provide continuous,
hydroelectric, and solar account for reduce emissions. real-time monitoring of utility
19.8 percent, followed by nuclear at infrastructure. As green energy
18.9 percent. Already, the US has reduced carbon initiatives become more prevalent,
emissions in the power sector by utilities can leverage these solutions
Because of this heavy dependence 40 percent since 2005, mostly to enhance reliability, reduce the
on fossil fuels, electricity generation attributed to the transition away from cost of physical inspections, and
produces about 32 percent of the coal in favour of natural gas. Similarly, allocate maintenance teams more
country’s total CO2 emissions, or Canada has reduced electricity sector effectively.
about 1,552 million metric tons of emissions by 52 percent in the same
CO2 each year. period, as provinces like Ontario Inspecting Wind Turbines
retired coal-fired plants.
Canada, on the other hand, relies Wind turbines pose a unique
more heavily on renewable energy The Canadian Government has challenge when it comes to
sources. Hydroelectric power increased its 2030 targets to reduce maintenance. Technicians require
contributes to 59 percent of total total emissions by up to 45 percent knowledge of both mechanical and
generation, while a further 15 percent from 2005 levels and has set a target electrical components, and they must
comes from nuclear. As a result, to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. be trained to work at heights and
Photo: Shutterstock, Systems With Intelligence

the electricity sector in Canada only The US has been even more aggressive, in cramped, tight environments. A
accounts for 8.33 percent of total with the Biden Administration aiming single inspection can take a full day,
CO2e emissions, or 56 million metric to slash utility emissions by 2030 and require multiple technicians, and cost
tons of CO2e per year. achieve full decarbonization by 2035. thousands of dollars.

With hundreds or thousands of individual panels, it can be difficult for maintenance teams
to identify and pinpoint issues, especially as there is often no visual indicator of a problem.
86 EXPERT OPINION:
TRANSITIONING TO
GREEN ENERGY

Instead, utilities can deploy thermal

and visual sensor solutions that
continuously monitor the turbine,
reducing the time and budget needed
for routine inspections. Crews can be
dispatched in response to a known
issue, allowing the utility to prioritize
repairs and minimizing the time spent
by teams in difficult conditions.

Monitoring Solar Farms

Like wind, solar generation facilities

present their own challenges to
technicians. With hundreds or
thousands of individual panels, it
can be difficult for maintenance
teams to identify and pinpoint issues,
especially as there is often no visual
indicator of a problem.

Thermal sensors can be deployed

to pan and tilt across multiple
panels. Instead of looking for high
temperatures, these sensors can
detect cold spots that indicate that
a panel is not working properly.
Maintenance teams can quickly scan
the site and detect problems for
repair from a central location.

Remote Substation Monitoring

Renewable energy will require a larger

number of small, more localized
 Transformer Technology February 2023 87

Issue 26

Renewable energy will require a larger number of small, more localized substations. Each of
these needs to be inspected, and components must be maintained, repaired, or replaced.

substations. Each of these needs to they contain high-value assets transforming the way that we
be inspected, and components must such as transformers, switches, generate, transmit, and use power.
be maintained, repaired, or replaced. capacitors, thermistors, and filters But it is also adding complexity
that all need to be inspected and for utilities. As maintenance
Rather than adding to the already maintained despite the hazardous requirements change, utilities need
high burden on maintenance teams, conditions. a cost-effective alternative to physical
utilities can deploy thermal and visual inspections.
sensors to monitor the health of Thermal and visual sensors can
substation assets and automatically be deployed within the site and Thermal and visual sensors provide
alert crews to a potential problem. especially within the HVDC convertor a continuous, real-time view of
hall to continuously monitor the electricity infrastructure. In addition
High Voltage Direct Current health of the station while reducing to remote substations, these
Converter Station Monitoring the time that crews spend on-site. sensors can be used to monitor wind
Not only does this improve overall turbines, photovoltaic solar panels,
High voltage direct current (HVDC) safety, but it also reduces the cost of HVDC converter stations, and the
transmission lines are the most inspections and frees technicians to transmission and distribution lines
efficient ways to move power over focus on maintenance and repairs. that link them all together. With the
large distances. The HVDC converter right technologies and approach to
stations convert AC power to HVDC Transitioning to a Sustainable maintenance, utilities can modernize
for transmission and DC power back Power Grid existing infrastructure and invest
into AC power for distribution and in new capabilities that support the
Photo: Systems With Intelligence

use by customers. Like substations, The push for sustainability is transition toward green energy.

High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are the most efficient ways to move
power over large distances.
88 TECHNOLOGY
SPOTLIGHT

Protecting Elevates
Equipment Protection and
with Powder Sustainability

Photo: PPG
Transformer Technology February 2023 89

Issue 26

Regular review of paint specifications is an important BASED ON KEY

task to ensure that power industry manufacturers are
leveraging the best possible coatings to protect their EVALUATION
equipment, manage costs and improve application METRICS LIKE
efficiencies. PERFORMANCE,
This evaluation of solutions in terms of performance MAINTENANCE,
requirements and paint line maintenance considerations MATERIAL USAGE
often leads manufacturers to products that offer more AND AESTHETICS,
durable protection, but also to advantages that put them
closer to their sustainability goals. POWDER
COATINGS OFTEN
Based on key evaluation metrics like performance, COME OUT
maintenance, material usage and aesthetics, powder
coatings often come out on top. In fact, it is currently the ON TOP. IN FACT,
world’s fastest growing coating technology. IT IS CURRENTLY
THE WORLD’S
One of the most appealing features of powder is that
it offers important sustainability benefits like low volatile FASTEST
organic compound (VOC) content and higher first pass GROWING
build rates. COATING
Since powder coatings are generally made without TECHNOLOGY.
solvents, they generate virtually no harmful VOC
emissions, helping manufacturers stay compliant with
increasingly stringent environmental regulations around
the world.

Because it is an electrostatic process that applies

charged particles to a grounded part, powder has excellent
adherence to metal, even on hard-to-reach areas. The
result is less powder needed to coat the parts, improving
material utilization rates.

Finally, unlike liquid paint that is always a spray-to-

waste process, powder overspray can be reclaimed and
recycled, depending on the capabilities of the coater, the
number of colors utilized, the absence of contaminants
and financial considerations related to the quality of the
powder.

While these features are appealing to manufacturers

striving to reduce costs and their environmental footprint,
there are valuable protective performance gains with
powder coatings as well.
90 TECHNOLOGY
SPOTLIGHT

Powder coatings are formulated for applications that

require the ultimate combination of corrosion resistance,
weathering performance and operational advantages.
These coatings are typically formulated with polyester
resins that are favored for their excellent corrosion and
chemical resistance, as well as all-around application
versatility.

In fact, powder coatings, particularly, newer generations,

often offer better protection in a single coat in terms of
coverage, corrosion resistance and weathering than two-
coat liquid systems, which reduces the overall amount of
product needed, and also eliminates the need to manage
and treat wastewater.

Specification & Paint Line Maintenance

The most effective way to make progress in sustainabil-

ity goals is to select the right coating for metal electrical
equipment using a total system approach that accounts
for the following variables:

1. The composition of the metal substrate (cold-rolled

steel, hot-rolled steel, stainless steel, galvanized metal,
mixed-metal, etc.) while ensuring those suppliers are
considering sustainability in their manufacturing
processes.

2. The types of lubes and coolants used to fabricate the

equipment. Manufacturers can work with their steel
supplier to get a better understanding of what is used
so that they are better able to control contaminants in
the paint process that result in unnecessary increases
in water usage or additional chemicals to clean the
substrate. This affects the materials needed to pretreat
the metal substrate (zinc, iron- or zirconium-based
pretreatments).

3. The type of finish coat, including film build (coating

thickness) and cure (baking time and temperature)
requirements.

4. Optimal paint line maintenance programs limit excess

water usage and chemical additives. In addition, oven
temperature monitoring reduces energy demands.
Photo: PPG
Transformer Technology February 2023 91

Issue 26

Improve first-pass build rates

With the notable advantages of protective powder HIGH TRANSFER

coatings, it’s not surprising that more manufacturers than
ever are switching to this coating technology. But leading
EFFICIENT (HTE)
powder makes are continuing to develop formulations POWDERS OFFER
that take these sustainability, performance and application UP TO 85% FIRST-
benefits to the next level, including a new generation of
high transfer efficient (HTE) powders that offer:
PASS BUILD
RATES THAT
• up to 85% first-pass build rates that reduce labor, REDUCE LABOR,
material and utility costs
• improved wrapping on complex parts for fewer rejected
MATERIAL AND
parts and touch-ups UTILITY COSTS.
• better control of powder film thickness so less powder
is needed for full coverage
• reduced energy needs with lower baking temperatures
(320°F)
• good penetration on complex parts, shapes and re-
cesses
Of course, there are several ways to improve first-pass
application build rates, including regular equipment
maintenance and refining application technique. But
leveraging HTE solutions specifically formulated for
excellent edge-to-edge coverage goes a long way in
increasing throughput, reducing material usage and costs,
while limiting waste.

Today, newer generations of powder coatings are giving

manufacturers tools that not only elevate the protection
of their switchgear, transformers and generators, but also
support their environmental compliance and stewardship
initiatives.

Maria Lamorey is a commercial strategy

manager at PPG. With over 20 years of in-
dustry experience, Maria plays a leading role
in PPG’s commitment to delivering high-
performance coatings products across a
variety of general industrial applications
including electrical equipment of all types.
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COMING
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MONITORING
& DIAGNOSTICS

Monitoring is one of the fastest growing areas in trans-

former management and almost every asset within the
power system. With more monitors comes more data, and
with more data comes the need for better data science.
The March issue will be dedicated to advances and prac-
tices in this booming field.

Starting in March, and continuing going forward, even

though each issue is “themed”, we will have separate sec-
tions for Transformer focused content, Power Systems
content, Green Energy content, and Women in Power Sys-
tems content. While each issue might have a very strong
focus on one of these content areas, we hope to cover all
of the change taking place in both technology and in how
each of these areas will impact the global power industry
going forward.
Alan Ross
Technical Director and Managing Editor, APC Media

COMING IN MARCH ISSUE

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