The EU should postpone a ban on high-voltage electrical equipment running on climate-killing gases, Italy is demanding in a simmering row over what it sees as Germany’s privileged position as supplier to the EU’s future power grid.
Switchgear, as the name suggests, comprises massive electrical switches capable of handling high voltages without sparking a fire. While they are available for residential voltages of less than 1 kilovolt (kV), they cap out at more than 230 kV, meaning they can handle cross-country power flows.
They rely on stable, arc-quenching gases to avoid sparking. The trouble is that the best one, sulphur hexafluoride, is also the world’s most potent greenhouse gas. SF6 has a global-warming effect 20,000 times that of CO2, a fact that has prompted the EU to enact a step-wise ban on its use in switchgear.
The future, Brussels says, is ‘vacuum’ – a technology developed by German front-runner Siemens Energy, which provides the ultimate electrical insulation without the need for a climate-wrecking gas. This is the only type that will be allowed in the EU from 2028.
Two companies, GE Vernova and Hitachi Energy – producing what they say is a cheaper, and thus better, alternative – accuse the EU of effectively surrendering a €3 billion market to Germany, at the taxpayers’ expense. Their solution uses another so-called F-gas that is a mere 500 times worse than CO2.
Italy is taking up the fight on their behalf, a submission to a Thursday meeting of environment ministers seen by Euractiv shows. It demands Brussels “stop the clock” on the incipient ban.
Otherwise, Rome claims, Europe faces “bottlenecks, higher costs and, ultimately, dependence on non-Europe-based manufacturers”.
Germany at the head
The view from Siemens’ boardroom is that 2028 ban reflects a “well-balanced approach” – although a spokesperson admitted the German switchgear would be more costly than the US and Japanese alternatives.
Research by EU scientists suggests they could be some 40% more expensive. This could be a hard political sell at a time when Europe is planning a major electrification drive and wants to massively bolster its gigantic power grid.
The company was notably bailed out in 2023 by the German government, which cashed out two years later when the share price quadrupled amid a run on gas turbines and other equipment. Other key German electricity system players are ready to back the company, too.
The country’s four high-voltage grid operators, among Europe’s biggest, told Euractiv they would “exclusively” use natural gases, which includes the regular air used by Siemens, in their equipment.
“Additionally, technologies that use F-gases are also subject to significant price increases, both for the gases themselves and for the technical components,” the German grid operators said.
It is unclear how many EU countries will side with Rome, but given the scale of grid investment implied by the EU’s current energy and climate ambitions, there could be many.
France led the charge when the feud first erupted last year, backed up by Sweden, Romania, Ireland and half a dozen others.
In early June, France’s grid operator struck a deal with GE Vernova – which has production facilities in the country – for a range of substation casings that would be a natural fit for the ‘F-gas lite’ switchgear the company produces, too.
Stattnet, the Norwegian high-voltage grid operator, pointed to “a consequent increase in costs associated with SF6-free solutions”.
“If one technology pathway – such as dry air – becomes the predominant or only viable option, this may lead to supply chain constraints, longer delivery times and additional cost pressures,” the firm warns.
(rh, aw)
