The recently concluded Hanover Messe 2018 had on display a generous array of innovations in the electrical equipment space. It is widely discussed that the ubiquitous transformer hasn’t seen much of a radical change in its design for long years on end. One industry expert remarked that transformers are built in quite the same way as they were during the days of Faraday.
However, the Hannover Messe 2018 proved quite an exception with two leading transformer manufacturers—ABB and Siemens—unveiling their transformers equipped with digital features. What is most significant is that both these companies will now migrate to the digital range. Conventional transformers will cease to be in production.
With these digital features, it would be possible to remotely monitor transformers, and since transformers are key elements in the electricity supply chain, one can effectively monitor the health of the grid. Siemens has announced that its digital transformers, called Sensformers, will be equipped with IoT and cybersecurity features.
For India, Sensformers could be a source of pride because the Kalwa plant of Siemens in Maharashtra will be amongst the first globally to make digital transformers. By June 2018, Siemens expects that all its transformers will be Sensformers. Siemens will start the digitization drive with power transformers and gradually move to distribution transformers.
In the case of ABB, the largest transformer manufacturer in the world, has already launched digital transformers—in both the power and distribution category. The digital distribution transformer was introduced last year.
Both Siemens and ABB are leading suppliers to India. They are dominant players in the power transformer range, in both AC and DC varieties. Experts feel that digital transformers will add to the capabilities to the grid monitoring endeavour, especially at the power transmission level.
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Speaking of transformers, another recent development of significance to the local market was thyssenkrupp’s decision to expand the manufacturing capacity of cold rolled grain oriented (CRGO) electrical steel. According to a company statement, thyssenkrupp will expand the capacity at its Nashik plant in Maharashtra to 50,000 tonnes per year, from the current 10,000 tonnes. Thyssenkrupp is currently the only local manufacturer of CRGO steel. India needs around 4 lakh tonnes of CRGO annually, and practically all of it comes from imports.
Featured photograph, sourced from ABB, shows ABB’s digital power transformer in the ABB Ability(TM) Power Transformer range.
This article’s author, Venugopal Pillai, is Editor, T&D India. Views expressed here are personal. The author may be contacted on venugopal.pillai@tndindia.com)