North America | October 28, 2021

GE awarded $3.7 M by US Department of Energy

USA, MA, Boston: GE has announced being awarded $3.7 M from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for two project.

 

Image source: GE Grid Solutions

USA, MA, Boston: GE has announced being awarded $3.7 M from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for two project.

The projects are to help accelerate the decarbonization of the US electrical grid. The first award in the amount of $2.3 M to GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business relates to the development of a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)-free 245 kV dead tank circuit-breaker. The new circuit-breaker will use GE’s game-changing g3 (pronounced “g”- cubed) gas insulating and switching technology, which has a global warming potential that is 99 % less compared with SF62, to deliver the same high performance as a traditional SF6 circuit-breaker. As g3 products have the same dimensions as SF6 equipment, there is no increase in emissions during the manufacturing process from additional material.

The second award to GE Research Center in the amount $1.4 M is part of a $2.7 M project led by the University of Connecticut that will focus on the life cycle management of g3 products, mainly gas leakages and by-product detection, capture and monitoring tools.

“We are honoured that ARPA-E recognizes the importance GE’s g3 gas technology. This funding will help demonstrate the applicability of g3 gas for the commonly used 245 kV voltage level used by transmission operators in the USA,” said Danielle Merfeld, Chief Technology Officer at GE Renewable Energy. “One of the major advantages of GE’s g3 gas is that this fluoronitrile-based solution is scalable to higher voltage levels. As part of this project, the 245 kV g3 circuit breaker will be scaled to 550 kV, which helps accelerate market acceptance of SF6-free technology and support the USA’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”

 

Source: GE Grid Solutions