India Moves Toward SF₆-Free Power Equipment
Author: PPD Team Date: August 27, 2025
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) recently announced plans to install India’s first eco-friendly 145 kV green circuit breaker at its Imphal substation. This marks a key step in moving away from sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), a gas long used in high-voltage equipment but also one of the most potent greenhouse gases, with a global warming potential about 23,500 times higher than carbon dioxide.
Green circuit breakers perform the same role as conventional breakers, interrupting fault currents and protecting the grid, but they use alternative insulating media such as dry air, vacuum technology, or fluoronitrile and fluoroketone-based mixtures with a much lower climate impact. Manufacturers, including Siemens, Hitachi Energy, Schneider Electric, and GE, are introducing these solutions as part of global efforts to decarbonise power systems.
In India, adoption is starting at the medium-voltage level. Tata Power has deployed SF₆-free ring main units in Mumbai, Delhi, and Odisha, using Schneider Electric’s AirSeT technology that relies on pressurised air instead of SF₆. Regulators are also weighing a gradual phase-down of SF₆ use, though cost is a barrier since alternatives are currently two to three times more expensive. Hitachi Energy entered the Indian market with its EconiQ SF₆-free high-voltage switchgear in 2024, while Schneider Electric, GE, and Eaton have expanded global portfolios of SF₆-free designs.
Challenges remain. SF₆-based infrastructure dominates grids worldwide, and the cost of alternatives is still high without the benefit of scale. Industry observers note that bulk procurement by utilities could help reduce costs over time.
Beyond the question of insulating gas, researchers are also exploring “green design” approaches to circuit breakers themselves. Breakers have a finite electrical life, limited by contact wear and arc erosion during repeated operations. By predicting this wear more accurately, equipment can be designed with fewer excess materials, reducing waste at the end of life. Studies using predictive models such as Monte Carlo simulations suggest that such design choices can lower the overall environmental footprint while maintaining reliability.
Seen together, these developments point to a broader shift. SF₆-free designs at both medium- and high-voltage levels, combined with lifecycle efficiency improvements, represent a gradual move toward cleaner, more sustainable grids. POWERGRID’s installation at Imphal is a milestone in that direction, marking India’s entry into transmission-level adoption of eco-friendly circuit breakers.
The featured photograph (Credit: Hitachi Energy) is for representation only.