Hyosung Heavy Industries Develops Korea’s First Zero-Emission Gas 145 kV Circuit Breaker

Dry Air Replaces Sulfur Hexafluoride
Second in the World
Targeting the Next-Generation Power Equipment Market

On April 1, Hyosung Heavy Industries announced that it has developed and begun mass production of a 145-kilovolt (kV) circuit breaker that uses dry air instead of sulfur hexafluoride gas for the first time in Korea.

Sulfur hexafluoride is known as a gas that can withstand high voltage conditions inside circuit breakers and effectively interrupt current, but due to its high global warming potential (GWP), there is a growing movement to find alternatives to this gas.

Hyosung Heavy Industries has increased the greenhouse gas reduction effect by applying dry air, composed of nitrogen (N₂) and oxygen (O₂), instead of sulfur hexafluoride to the newly developed 145 kV circuit breaker. In addition, by incorporating vacuum circuit breaker technology, the company has secured both insulation and current interruption performance, ensuring stable operation of the circuit breaker.

Hyosung Heavy Industries is the first in Korea to apply these two technologies to a 145 kV circuit breaker, and according to the criteria of the Short-Circuit Testing Liaison (STL), an international accredited testing consortium, it is the second in the world.

The European Union (EU) revised its fluorinated greenhouse gas (F-gas) regulations in 2024 to gradually strengthen controls on fluorinated greenhouse gases, including sulfur hexafluoride. As a result, the adoption of alternative technologies is accelerating, particularly in Europe, and the related market is growing. According to market research firm Business Research Insights, the global 'sulfur hexafluoride free' circuit breaker market is expected to expand from about 5.4 billion dollars in 2024 to over 7.4 billion dollars by 2033.

Hyosung Heavy Industries stated, "We plan to expand our sulfur hexafluoride free circuit breaker product line into the high voltage sector and strengthen our efforts to target the next-generation power equipment market in response to stricter global environmental regulations and the growing demand for power infrastructure transition."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.