Hydro Extrusions plant

Hydro Extrusions chooses a green and maintenance free solution

The aluminum manufacturing plant, Hydro Extrusions, chooses the safe and sustainable, Eaton SF₆ gas-free power management technologies to reduce the plant’s environmental impact and carbon footprint.

One of the challenges at plants like Hydro Extrusions is that the air surrounding industrial manufacturing and production sites can have a lot of industrial dust and particles. There is a great risk that the industrial dust and particles demand more maintenance of medium voltage equipment because air containing dust and particles leaks into and affects the equipment itself. Additionally, there is always a risk of short circuits while working with medium voltage which can be particularly dangerous and subsequently result in fires or an explosion. Should such incident occur, it is highly likely to impact the plant’s ability to operate and of course, compromises the safety of the workforce. The gas SF₆ or as its commonly known, Sulphur Hexafluoride, is widely used in equipment in the electrical industry to prevent short circuits and accidents, but the gas also severely impacts the environment when there is a leakage. Hydro Extrusions wanted to invest in environmentally friendly solutions which are safer for their workforce at the plant and kinder to the environment but without limiting the operations at its production site.

The Norwegian company Laje Nettservice installed an Eaton Power Xpert FMX at the Hydro Extrusions’ plant. Eaton’s Power Xpert FMX is used for application up to 24 kV medium voltage sustainability networks and is completely free of the dangerous SF₆ gas. This new generation of environmentally friendly air-insulated switchgear uses vacuum technology combined with easily recyclable materials.

Switchgear vacuum technology has the same effect as switchgear using SF₆ gas but the fundamental difference is vacuum technology does not impact the environment like that of SF₆ gas. Eaton’s Power Xpert FMX features primary components which are contained in a sealed tank mitigating environmental influences. Additionally, visible isolation-earthing and an arc proof enclosure ensure optimal operator safety. The design of the system with load break switches and circuit breakers utilizing vacuum interrupters results in minimal maintenance requirement. As a result of minimal upkeep requirement, operator switching errors are kept to a minimum due to the simple and obvious operation.

"We have installed one FMX switchgear for Hydro Extrusions which uses vacuum technology instead of SF₆ gas with the same physical and technical characteristics as SF₆ insulated switchgears. The technology from Eaton is quick and easy to install, and safe for the workers and the environment. We always recommend environmentally friendly solutions for electrical installations when possible because great alternatives without SF₆ gas exist,” says Rolv Marius Faleide, group leader for Laje Nettservice.

Hydro Extrusions is an inspiration to the industry, showing how easy it is to adapt to a more sustainable future without the risk of emitting severe greenhouse gases. The SF₆-free solution from Eaton also ensures minimum maintenance is required, as well as delivering a safer working environment with a reliable and safe system for distributing electrical energy to the plant.