GERMANY —A long-term strategic supply agreement for eco-efficient high-voltage switchgear components will establish new European production capacity for fluorinated gas mixtures, addressing supply chain security for sustainable power grid equipment.
Under the agreement, Daikin Industries will manufacture and supply C4-FN, a specialty insulating gas component, from its facility in Frankfurt, Germany, beginning in 2027. Hitachi Energy will integrate the chemical compound into its EconiQ high-voltage equipment line, which serves as a substitute for sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). SF6 is a potent greenhouse gas widely utilized in electrical power equipment due to its insulation capabilities, but it possesses a global warming potential more than 24,000 times greater than carbon dioxide. The alternative C4-FN gas blend slashes equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by 99 percent while delivering identical technical performance and operational reliability.
This localized supply channel directly mitigates supply concentration risks for high-voltage grid equipment manufacturers and European power utilities. Historically dependent on Asian chemical production sites for key specialty gases, the power transmission sector gains a resilient, multi-region procurement network. The development aligns with tighter European regulatory scrutinies surrounding fluorinated gas usage in industrial machinery, accelerating the phase-out of conventional greenhouse-gas-intensive switchgears.
For transmission system operators and industrial power consumers, securing critical material inputs ensures project schedules for sub-station modernizations remain intact. As global demand for decarbonized grid infrastructure escalates, expanding regional supplier bases lowers exposure to international logistics disruptions and cross-border trade constraints for essential energy transition components.
Hitachi Energy, the Switzerland-based power grids arm of Hitachi Group, provides electrification technologies and grid infrastructure solutions to utility, industrial, and transportation sectors worldwide. Daikin Industries, headquartered in Japan, is a multinational manufacturer specializing in heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, and advanced fluorochemical products.
