Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) has announced that its current product capacity of polymer housed surge arresters will be nearly tripled by April 2022. Polymer housed surge arresters have an insulator is placed around the circumference of zinc oxide (ZnO) elements having non-linear resistance characteristics and integrally molded with silicone rubber to maintain mechanical strength.
Toshiba ESS manufactures surge arresters which can protect power transmission and distribution facilities and equipment, such as power plants, substations and transmission lines, from overvoltage caused by lightning, while operating as circuit breakers, for Hamakawasaki Operations in Japan.
In recent years, demand for renewable energy has increased to achieve carbon neutral power generation. At the same time, ensuring the reliability of the power grid has become more important. In addition, there is a need to improve the resilience of transmission and substation equipment for large-scale lightning strikes, hence the need for surge arresters, which are protection equipment, is expected to increase more and more. According to the global lightning arrester sales market report 2020, the global market for surge arresters is expected to increase from 120 billion yen (US$1,1-billion) in 2020 to 150 billion yen ($1,36-billion) in 2025.
Polymer housed surge arresters are used widely all over the world, since they provide superior advantages, such as durability, anti-pollution performance for outdoor use, are lightweight and offer high anti-seismic performance, compared to the former porcelain-type of surge arresters.
Toshiba ESS’s polymer housed surge arresters are smaller, lighter and offer higher reliability than other products by using the world’s finest technology of in-house developed and manufactured zinc oxide elements, which have a high lightning energy absorption capability, as well as high-voltage gradient ZnO elements. The number of applicable ZnO elements can be reduced by increasing the voltage gradient per unit length.
Toshiba launched polymer housed surge arresters in 2001, and since then, the company has supplied more than 50 000 of these for power transmission lines and substations all over the world. Furthermore, in 2018, Toshiba supplied a product which improves lightning impulse-withstanding capability by 1,7 times compared to the previous one.
Koji Saito, Director and Vice President of the Grid Aggregation Division at Toshiba ESS, says: “To provide more polymer housed surge arresters all over the world, Toshiba ESS decided to increase the production capacity. While introducing additional manufacturing equipment, such as injection molding machines, the company is also improving productivity through efficient investments. The company will contribute to strengthening infrastructure to move toward achieving carbon neutrality through this arrester business expansion domestically and internationally.”
About Toshiba ESS
Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation is a leading supplier of integrated energy solutions. With its long experience and expertise in a wide range of power generating and transmitting systems and energy management technology, the company delivers innovative, reliable and efficient energy solutions across the globe. Toshiba ESS separated from Toshiba Corporation in October 2017. https://www.toshiba-energy.com/en/index.htm
Contact Chika Yamada, Toshiba Africa, Tel 011 305-2820, chika.yamada@toshiba.co.za , www.toshiba.co.za
