Sustainability – outlook for the transformer industry

Transformers Magazine team:

• Barbara Tomic Eterovic, Digital Content Manager (9:00 – 9:05)
• Mladen Banovic, Director and Editor-in-Chief (9:05 – 9:15)

EDF

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• Herve Dumas, Expert for transformers
• Jean Sanchez, Senior transformer engineer

ABSTRACT

EDF Hydro is buying many different GSU transformers every year since very long, and it tried to value some sustainability issues time to time. This presentation will focus on a few tries which were done to assess transformer carbon footprint on new and old transformers, some feedback with alternative liquid insulation, and some reflections on how to better value sustainability aspects of transformers procurement especially.

SPEAKERS’ BIO

Jean SANCHEZ is senior transformer engineer at EDF, French main generation utility, mostly on investigations, tests and its associated diagnosis, FAT, HV bushings, fleet assessments. He completed a PhD degree on power transformers fault diagnosis in 2011 with a French power transformer reparation factory.

Hervé DUMAS is transformer expert at EDF Hydro power plants engineering, French main generation utility. He works on generation transformers (GSU) installed in Hydro power plants, and is in charge of standards specifications for buying new transformers, expertise and diagnosis of this components and supervision of maintenance and replacement operations. He did most of his career in electrical engineering projects for Hydro power plants.

Terna

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• Simone Sacco, Head of Power Transformer Technology, Engineering and Construction Department

ABSTRACT

Mineral oil is a well-known fluid used in the insulation of power transformers, most frequently in large power applications. In recent years, the number of power transformers filled with natural ester has been increasing for its key benefits related to sustainability, biodegradability and fire protection. The presentation deals with Terna’s experience with natural ester-filled large power transformers.

SPEAKER’S BIO:

Simone Sacco is the Head of Power Transformer Technology at TERNA. Simone is an electrical engineer with more than 15 years of experience in utility (the first being distribution and, since 2010, transmission system operator) and 10 years of experience in high voltage substation equipment. Since 2016, he has been employed in the Engineering Department as a power transformer specialist, becoming  Head of Power Transformer Technology in 2022.

Siemens Energy

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• Christina Iosifidou, Head of Sustainability for Grid Technologies

ABSTRACT

Sustainability is one of the top priorities of our times. It has many levels: inclusion & diversitiy, health & safety as well as decarbonization of our business. No matter, which aspect we highlight, the goal is common: saving our planet and saving the future of the next generations. But how can we enable the energy transition and achieve net zero? What are the main levers for decarbonizing transformers? The session is looking for answers to the questions above and also gives an insight, on how to set new market standards and become more and more sustainable.

SPEAKER’S BIO

Christina Iosifidou is the Head of Sustainability Grid Technologies at Siemens Energy. In this role, she drives the decarbonization of products, solutions and services across the value chain. She holds a Masters degree in business engineering from Technical University of Berlin and started her carreer at Siemens Energy as PLM for Large Power Transformers, where she later worked as Global Innovation Sales Manager and gained valuable experiences in Austria and Brazil too. She strongly believes that decarbonization is not a choice; it’s a must to protect our planet for future generations. Achiving net zero is possible only by joining hands together, and for this goal, she involves all the relevant stakeholders to discuss strategies and most importantly to act.

Hitachi Energy

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• Namita Asnani, Head of Sustainability Program, Business Unit Transformers

ABSTRACT: 

There is no denying that sustainable development is the zeitgeist of our times, and this emanates from the specific challenges that humanity and the planet are facing today. This is creating new business paradigms. We will examine in this session the implications and exigencies of this for Transformers, touching on significant topics across the business value chain from supply chains to own operations of transformer manufacturers and the transformer’s life cycle on site. The session will also cover the basics of industry practices in measuring environmental impacts across the transformer life cycle.

SPEAKER’S BIO:

Namita Asnani is the Head of Sustainability Program for the Transformers business of Hitachi Energy, driving a cross-functional team focused on embedding sustainability through the value chain of the business and across the transformer life cycle. She holds a Professional Graduate Level Certificate in Sustainability from Harvard University Extension School and is close to finishing her Master’s Degree in the same. An Electrical Engineer by training, she started in the organization in Business Development and subsequently gained over 20 years of experience in Strategic and Marketing Communications.

SGB SMIT Group

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• Marlies van Tilburg, Sustainability Manager

ABSTRACT

The energy sector has a major role in the energy transition towards cleaner energy. With the increase of 6 % in 2021, which stands for 36.3 billion tonnes of global CO2 emissions related to energy, our sector needs to take responsibility (https://www.iea.org/news/global-co2-emissions-rebounded-to-their-highest-level-in-history-in-2021). Our transformers are an important asset within this ecosystem, they need to fit in future demands. Within our value chain, we need to define how to make the transition towards green transformers, and understand what green transformers are, how to measure circularity and make it more concrete, what is required. We have calculated our impact and we have insight into supplier capabilities and can already offer more sustainable products or take back assets. What is important to understand is what investments everybody is prepared to make in order to make this journey happen. “Transforming together the future of energy.”

SPEAKER’S BIO: 

Marlies van Tilburg works as the Sustainability Manager of SGB-SMIT Group. Her background is Business Management with specialization in Supply Chain Management and Circular Business Model implementation within the value chain.

She has been working for the SGB-SMIT Group for 6 years and she is located at the Royal Smit Transformers factory Nijmegen. She started working at the purchasing department there, became manager materials management and did her masters management in parallel.

Hitachi Energy

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• Ghazi Kablouti, Global Portfolio Sustainability Manager, Business Unit Transformers

ABSTRACT

Transformers are highly material-intensive and energy efficient devices with a long operational life-time. Taking a life-cycle perspective on their environmental impact is crucial to optimize the design of new transformers that contribute to advancing a more sustainable energy value chain and a sustainable energy future for all.

In this session, we are sharing insights from our life-cycle impact assessment tool by discussing the impact of different transformer design options on their environmental and economic (TCO) performance. We discuss the implications of these results on future design choices and emphasize the need for factoring the value of future carbon costs associated with operational losses for choosing an environmentally as well as economically optimized design.

SPEAKER’S BIO

Ghazi Kablouti is the Global Portfolio Sustainability Manager for the Transformers business of Hitachi Energy. He has more than 15 years of international experience in managing the development and commercialization of cleantech and decarbonization solutions at industry-leading corporations in the energy infrastructure sector. He also served as senior advisor to the World Bank and to leading corporations in the automotive and chemical industry on impact management strategies and tools. He has a degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Stuttgart (in Germany) and a PhD in Systemic Management from the University of St. Gallen (in Switzerland).

Siemens Energy

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• Martin Stoessl, Customer Innovation Power Transformers

ABSTRACT

Trailblazer in transformer sustainability

Climate change will be a challenge for society and infrastructure. Only with the help of renewable energy sources a mitigation is possible. And this results in further challenges for an aged grid which was built in a total different energy environment. Newest sustainable technologies mitigate environmental impact and increase personal safety by reducing fire and explosion risks.

SPEAKER’S BIO

Martin Stössl is with Siemens Energy Grid Technology for international standardization in product management. The last years he acted as customer innovation manager using over three decades of experience in the transformer business. Among other functions, he was responsible for technical design calculation and strategic contracts in the Near East, worked as business improvement director for Siemens Transformers worldwide, was head of R&D in the plant Weiz and managed the global technology center for large power transformers.

Ergon

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• Juan Acosta, Global Technical Marketing Manager

ABSTRACT

Since founded 68 years ago, Ergon’s mission has been to meet needs, support families, and serve customers. Long before the world’s attention turned to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts, Ergon’s culture and values were built around Doing Right with our products, for our planet, by our people, and through our principles. As a world-leading supplier of transformer oils (HyVolt), the presentation will share Ergon’s perspective as a refiner on making cleaner products, supporting and protecting our people and our communities today and for future generations, and ensuring the continued success of the organization upon which so many people around the world depend.

SPEAKER’S BIO

Juan Acosta joined Ergon as Global Technical Marketing Manager for Insulating Oils after leading the Transformer Lifecycle Management portfolio for Siemens in the US. He worked 15 years with Siemens and held different positions within the power transformers division to include Manufacturing Technologies, Strategic Planning, Manufacturing Management, Asset Services, and Transformer Lifecycle Management. Juan is currently member of IEC, ASTM, IEEE and CIGRE, he has a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, MBA and is a certified Project Management Professional.

Cargill

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• Roberto Ignacio da Silva, Technical Services Manager for Dielectric Fluids

ABSTRACT:

The presentation will show the global increase in electricity demand estimated for 2030 and 2050 due to a massive electrification of end-users and rapidly growth of electric vehicles. By 2050, solar PV and wind will be the main supply in the global electricity matrix. Important to review planned actions to reduce CO2 emissions in the electricity sector like accelerate decarbonization in the electricity generation as well as to prioritize improvements in the energy efficient. Transformers plays a vital role in the electricity sector and its industry can contribute with sustainable strategies adopting methods of energy efficiency (reducing losses) and selecting environmentally friendly materials, more specifically for the insulating liquid. In the last two decades, the use of natural ester insulating liquids has increased globally due to the properties like environmentally friendly (biodegradable and non-toxic) and safer (with a higher fire point). And now, when sustainability is pushing new actions in the electrical sector, another property of natural ester is in highlight: carbon neutral. A proposal case to mitigate CO2 emissions using FR3 natural ester in the power transformers int the electrical power transmission sector in Brazil will be analyzed.

SPEAKER’S BIO: 

Mr. Roberto Ignacio da Silva is the technical services manager for dielectric liquids at Cargill. He is a professional with more than 26 years of experience in engineering and product development of capital goods equipment in the energy sector in multinational industries like GE, ABB and Bosch. At ABB, Mr. Roberto was the mechanical engineering manager for power transformers, leading the whole portfolio of mechanical design for 12 years. Mr. Roberto is pursuing a PhD in energy policy at the University of Sao Paulo’s Institute of Energy and Environment. He has an MSc in energy from the University of Sao Paulo, holds an MBA in engineering and management products and services from the University of Sao Paulo and a BSc in mechanical engineering from Braz Cubas University. He is a member of Cigré acting on committee A2 Transformers, member of Brazilian standards committee (ABNT) for mineral oils and other insulating fluids (synthetic and natural), and the secretary of ABNT Committee for Power Transformers.

Nynas

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• Marika Rangstedt, Manager Sustainable Development

ABSTRACT

In recent years alternative insulating liquids have been a topic of much discussion. Traditional naphthenic mineral insulating oils still offer many advantages but other options such as re-refined mineral oils and bio-based hydrocarbons can add additional value to the user. It is evident sustainability is becoming a key attribute when it comes to insulating liquid selection. In this presentation we will discuss two new alternative fluids and how these alternatives contribute to sustainability.

SPEAKER’S BIO: 

With an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Marika joined Nynas in 1999. She has held various positions within R&D, including Technical Advisor and Manager of the Technical Development and Market Support department. The most recent years Marika has as Manager Sustainable Development been working with projects and other initiatives in the area of sustainability and developing the basis for Nynas’ sustainability ambition and strategy. She is based at Nynas’ headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.

M&I Materials

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• James Reid, Technical Manager

ABSTRACT:

Increasing urbanisation, efficient land use, effective asset management, capability for renewable generation & battery storage integration, changing load profiles, regulatory changes, sustainability, financial prudence, and, critically, reducing human and environmental risk, are all factors that influence utilities companies and substation designer’s decisions.  These factors are now converging in many cases, especially in more populated locations, to make the use of mineral oil in substations expensive in terms of mitigation or even untenable given that alternatives are available.  Ester liquids have become an established alternative that enable cost and carbon savings in substation designs due to being less flammable and readily biodegradable, while also delivering operational flexibility and potential to extend asset life.  This presentation will set out a case for the adoption of esters as the standard dielectric liquid for substations.

SPEAKER’S BIO:

James Reid is a chartered Chemical Engineer and a member of the IChemE and ASTM.  He holds a MSc Reliability Engineering & Safety Management from Heriot Watt University and a BEng Chemical Engineering from University of Edinburgh. James has over two decades experience in technical and operations roles with leading specialist oil, major utility and chemical companies before joining M&I Materials as Technical Manager – Midel Applications in September 2019.  He leads the team providing technical support to customers, consultants and industry on the use of MIDEL natural and synthetic esters.

thyssenkrupp

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• Marcel Hilgers, Head of Customers, Markets & Technology

ABSTRACT

Our customers (transformer makers) and their customers (utilities, etc.) have ambitious decarbonization targets – and sustainability is a key priority. Now it is time to walk the talk for all of us. How can we as an essential raw material supplier support this? How can we ourselves decarbonize our product and, by this, support the targets of our customers? tkES is truly committed to decarbonizing itself and, with this, supporting our customers and the electricity industry. We believe that CO2-reduced steel and grid assets are a must in a carbon-sensitive industry. With our product, we represent a base material for the energy transition and we continue to work on improving the quality (magnetic losses, noise, reliability). Energy transition and decarbonization go hand in hand, and CO2-reduced steel is the most efficient lever to decarbonize transformers. With this background, we aim to inform our customers and their customers about solutions for decarbonization, and initiate a discussion on these activities. Ultimately, we can only change (the electricity world to green) if we do it together and involve all stakeholders and regulations.

SPEAKERS’S BIO:

Marcel believes in listening to his customers and creating solutions to serve their true needs. With over 20 year experience in global steel business, and thereof more than 10 years serving the transformer industry, he now works intensely on the green transformation of both, steel and transformers.

Marcel leads the sales, technical customer engineering and communications team at thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel – the European and Indian market leader in grain oriented electrical steel.

His key priority today is to inform the electricity industry about options to decarbonize the grid and to form alliances across raw material suppliers, transformer makers and electric utilities.

PARTICIPANTS

• Herve Dumas, EDF
• Christina Iosifidou, Siemens Energy
• Marlies van Tilburg, SGB-SMIT
• Ghazi Kablouti, Hitachi Energy
• Marcel Hilgers, thyssenkrupp
• Marika Rangstedt, Nynas