Eaton is a leading intelligent power management company. However, there is much more to Eaton as the company strives to add value to the entire power T&D value chain through its wide portfolio of products and solutions. T&D India met up with Ripunjay Parikh, Director – Sales, Electrical Sector, Eaton Power Quality Pvt Ltd, at Elecrama 2023. In this exclusive interaction, Parikh tells Venugopal Pillai, how Eaton is helping the nation’s energy transition through innovative solutions in the emerging fields of renewable energy, energy storage, and e-mobility.
The world is moving away from SF6 in electrical equipment. What are the alternatives that being considered? What steps is Eaton taking in this direction?
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is one of the more prevalent insulating mediums available in the industry for medium voltage (MV) switchgear. However, it also has some detrimental side effects; it is 30,000 times more damaging to the environment than CO2. Realizing this, governments globally are clearly trying to see how the use of SF6 can be reduced in a phased manner over a period of time.
In Europe, for example, there is a guideline that seeks to eliminate SF6 use by 2030. In India, this might take longer.
Eaton is also committed to driving sustainability initiatives worldwide as well as in India. In addition, Eaton is a pioneer in SF6-free, Solid Insulation switchgear (SIS) technology.
Eaton has the Xiria family in operation, in the Indian market for the last 12 years or more. Today, with the next generation XIRIA Plus switchgear, we have achieved the same compact footprint, with a current rating of up to 1250A and up to 25kA, in a solid insulated switchgear.
New technologies are being explored in terms of alternative gas to achieve similar insulation for compact switchgear. A lot of experiments are happening by switchgear manufacturers, and Eaton is already working with such technologies – whether Nitrogen, clean air, etc.
To bring in economies of scale, the industry needs to standardize on the most efficient technology for alternate gas. Eaton will definitely contribute to the SF6-free ecosystem on a common platform, and the industry is expected to develop an alternate solution to SF6 soon
Why is energy storage becoming so important of late? Is Eaton planning to cater to this evolving space?
The quality of power available at homes or offices has gradually improved over a period of time. Now quality power has become a habit! Utilities have a commitment to bringing quality power to the houses. How can we improve the quality of power? One is to reduce the distribution losses, which the government is addressing with the implementation of distribution reform schemes like RDSS.
Secondly, there are times when there is a sudden need for power, and we experience a surge in peak demand. Multiple users experiencing peak demand at a similar time could result in voltage drops in the grid – leading to poor power quality.
When there is excess power generation, can we store this energy? And, rather than stressing the system, can we use stored energy when there is excess demand? This is a simple concept.
In the past, the technology available for power storage was minimal (lead acid batteries, etc). However, with the progress in lithium-ion technology, we can now bring in credible energy storage in a compact size, something that can give a system life of 10-15 years.
Eaton is a pioneer in the power quality space and has a very proven installation of our UPS systems integrated with lithium-ion batteries. This gives us additional strength in the field of energy storage. Another essential dimension of energy storage is the ability to integrate multiple energy sources. You need the intelligence to decide the most efficient way when you charge or discharge the storage system. This is essentially the concept of smart grids or microgrids.
Consumers will want to deploy renewable power generation in their facilities, especially solar. Although usually the generated power will get utilized in the facilities, there are periods like weekends or holidays where the generation could be in excess of the utilization. So, you really need to ensure that power gets optimally consumed. That is where the concept of energy storage will be useful. The excess generated power can be stored for future use. Eaton has a working installation in our Innovation center in Pune, which can be demonstrated to customers interested in building such systems.
What role do you see Eaton playing in smart grid architecture?
Today, I am happy to say that all power utilities are very progressive, and they are opting for smart products – RMUs (ring main units), switchgear, etc. Smart switchgear is nothing but conventional switchgear with added intelligence that comes with, say, an FRTU (feeder remote terminal unit) or a smart relay that will collect all the necessary data from the switchgear and transmit it over a wireless or wired system to the central SCADA system. This data then gets analyzed to provide a monitoring and control system. Smart RMUs can be used to address such issues, and many utilities are already implementing this.
The next challenge is when we have multiple sources of power – renewables, thermal power, etc. Which source is going to be available at what time? How can we have power from a local source, so we don’t need to transmit it over a distance? That is where the smart grid comes into the picture. We call it a microgrid when it is built on a small scale, for example, in a housing complex or an industrial facility. That is how the entire system of smart grids and microgrids would work.
Eaton has a complete suite of packages under our “Brightlayer Solutions” family, and we have a complete basket of software for utilities that are already being used by the utilities. These software solutions can do the network planning for utilities, and mapping of entire customer installation using software tools. These are being used by more than 10-15 utilities in the country.
Are these private or government?
It is a mix of both private and government utilities. Eaton software “CYME” is already being used by these utilities for network planning and mapping their network. This software has been really appreciated by utilities.
Tell us how Eaton is addressing the new paradigms in the energy landscape – renewable energy, e-mobility, etc.
At Eaton, we are essentially an intelligent power management company, and the idea is to bring the best solutions to the country that can help reduce losses and help meet the environment and sustainability goals.
As part of that, while we talk of electrification, Eaton is also talking about digitalization and energy transition. These are identified as the key focus areas for growth.
In the electrification space, Eaton has launched the new generation compact switchgear, RMU, etc., ensuring 100 percent reliability. These are already available from our local state-of-the-art factory in India. In addition, we are bringing in the final distribution as well as LV distribution circuit breakers, again manufactured in India. These products are being used by both utilities as well as industrial consumers.
Regarding the energy transition, Eaton is a pioneer worldwide offering solutions for EV and renewables and SF6 free switchgear. In India, the most popular electric vehicles are protected by Eaton EV fuses. We have a complete system for EV charging infrastructure from the grid right up to the EV chargers – MV switchgear, compact substation, LV distribution, and EV chargers. Eaton has a complete bouquet of products for the EV charging ecosystem. We are able to offer AC chargers as well as high-speed DC chargers.
And we have a complete basket of products that goes into the renewable energy business and the switchgear that is required for the renewable energy segment – solar, and wind. Eaton has a complete range of type-tested switchgear — 690V, 800V, and 1140V for the Indian market.
On the digitalization front for utilities, we have a complete utility suite. Similarly, for industries, we have a complete product suite. Finally, we have a range of software suites for data centers for optimal monitoring. Eaton is committed to these innovative solutions.
The country’s overall objective is to make the power T&D value chain technically and commercially efficient. If there are say three areas that Eaton would like to focus on, in this meeting this overall objective, what would they be?
We will be very happy to offer our new generation Smart RMUs – conventional RMUs or solid insulated switchgear (SIS) to support utilities to build a robust distribution network. The second area where Eaton is committed is to bringing an end-to-end solution to the EV charging infrastructure in the form of compact substations, compact switchgear, LV devices, etc. Eaton has started to locally manufacture these devices to ensure the right quality at the right price and a complete basket of EV chargers that will help create a reliable EV charging infrastructure. The third area where Eaton continues to be a leader is in the power quality space. We will continue to bring more innovative solutions – Li-on battery integration, online high-efficiency UPS, modular systems, etc. Eaton is committed to bringing the latest technology and the highest efficiency.
