EXCLUSIVE:
Norway’s SINTEF Energi is taking a decisive step toward climate-friendly power systems with the launch of NEMEGIS, a new industry–research project that will help transmission and distribution operators transition to SF6-free switchgear without reducing grid reliability. The project comes at a critical time as Europe prepares to phase out SF6, the most potent greenhouse gas used in electrical equipment today.
SF6 has a global warming potential of 24,300 and a lifetime of around 3,200 years in the atmosphere, making it the largest source of direct greenhouse gas emissions for many grid owners. New regulations now prohibit SF6 in switchgear ≤24 kV from 2026, extend to ≤145 kV by 2028, and apply to all voltage levels by 2032. This means the next wave of grid expansion in the green transition must use entirely new insulation technologies.
Led by project manager Nina Sasaki Støa-Aanensen, NEMEGIS will collect operational experience from SF6-free installations across the Norwegian and European grid. It will also perform laboratory ageing tests and modelling to better understand how new insulation gases behave under fault conditions and over decades of operation.
The project brings together manufacturers, operators and researchers, including NTNU, Statnett, Tensio, Linja, Elvia, Statkraft, Bane NOR, ABB, Siemens Energy, and Nexans, along with international partners from Europe and the USA. With public funding of $1.2 M (14 million NOK), NEMEGIS runs from 2026 to 2029 as a Competence-building Project for Industry.
The initiative aims to secure both sustainability and security of supply, ensuring that next-generation switchgear delivers reliable performance throughout its lifetime.
Source: SINTEF Energi
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