M&I Materials announces new supply agreement with First Philec
Philippines: The Philippines’ First Philec Inc has awarded a 3-year contract to the UK’s M&I Materials for the supply of MIDEL eN 1204 natural ester fluid.
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Philippines: The Philippines’ First Philec Inc has awarded a 3-year contract to the UK’s M&I Materials for the supply of MIDEL eN 1204 natural ester fluid.
The fluid will be a critical element in First Philec’s line of fully recyclable transformers to be launched before the end of the year. The green transformers are to be made from 100 % recyclable and biodegradable materials which will help power distributors reduce system losses and their carbon footprint.
MIDEL eN 1204 fluid (made from canola crops) has a very high “fire point” of 350 °Celsius (compared to 170 °C degrees Celsius for mineral oil), which will greatly improve distribution transformers’ resilience to fire risk. Data also showed ester oil could extend distribution transformers’ useful life. Since natural ester oil comes from vegetable crops, it is also readily biodegradable – a factor that will help accelerate distribution utilities’ goal of going greener and pushing for sustainability.
The sharp surge in electricity consumption by residential customers, due to working from home and the community quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic, has encouraged utilities to seek out safer and greener ways to ensure the reliable supply of power to customers. Accordingly, this contract supports the expansion of natural ester usage across the Philippines.
Utilities are now shifting to a more environmentally friendly alternative to the mineral oil used as insulating liquid for its distribution transformers. The move covers all single-phase pole mounted transformers, ranging from 25 kVA to 333 kVA – each containing approximately 50 l of transformer insulating fluid, and typically located in densely populated residential areas.
“This new contract award reaffirms our presence in the Philippines as the preferred natural ester supplier, having originally entered into a bulk supply agreement in 2016 – a significant achievement in a highly competitive sector. We are committed to support the increasing requirements for natural ester transformer fluid throughout the Philippines, including intensely populous locations such as metro Manila. This will help improve not just the safety of the transformers but also First Philec’s sustainability journey,” said Steve Jones, sales director for MIDEL in the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: M&I Materials
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