As the European Union (EU) tightens regulations on greenhouse gases used in power equipment, the European market for eco-friendly power devices is growing. Hyosung Heavy Industries(298040), HD Hyundai Electric(267260), and LS Electric ( LS ELECTRIC ) and other domestic power equipment corporations have launched a series of eco-friendly products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with local regulations, moving to tap the European market.
According to the power industry on the 6th, the EU has decided in principle to restrict, starting in 2032, the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases with a global warming potential (GWP) of 1 or higher in high-voltage switchgear exceeding 145 kilovolts (kV).
GWP is an index that compares the degree to which a specific greenhouse gas causes global warming in the atmosphere to carbon dioxide (CO₂). The standard is typically 100 years, and carbon dioxide's GWP is set at the baseline of 1. The higher the GWP, the greater the impact on global warming when the same amount is emitted.
Among high-voltage switchgear, a representative product is gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). GIS is installed in substations and power plants and is essential equipment that safely opens and closes the flow of electricity. In the event of an accident, it quickly interrupts current to protect the power grid.
Until now, sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), which has excellent insulating performance, has been mainly used in GIS. However, with a GWP reaching 23,500–23,900—meaning its impact on global warming when the same amount is emitted is more than 20,000 times greater than carbon dioxide—it has been designated a greenhouse gas to be phased out from the power industry, leading to new regulations.
Accordingly, power equipment companies are developing GIS that use eco-friendly insulating gases to replace SF₆.
Domestic power equipment companies have recently unveiled a string of new products. Hyosung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Electric both showcased 420 kV-class eco-friendly GIS at the CIGRE Paris Session 2026 in Aug. The 420 kV class is widely used in Europe's backbone networks connecting nations and regions.
Both companies' products apply a C4F7N (fluoronitrile)-based mixed gas as the insulating gas instead of the SF₆ used in conventional GIS, lowering GWP to the 2,000 range. That is about one-tenth of conventional SF₆'s GWP.
However, EU rules ultimately restrict the use of fluorinated gases with a GWP of 1 or higher, requiring further technology development. Siemens Energy is developing a 420 kV product with a GWP of 0 that uses nitrogen and oxygen as the insulating gas and interrupts current in a vacuum.
Orders for 420 kV-class eco-friendly GIS facilities have already begun in Europe. Hitachi Energy and GE Vernova have been the first to build track records supplying to European power grids. Domestic companies do not yet have orders, but they are speeding up product development and certification.
The 420 kV-class eco-friendly GIS developed by HD Hyundai Electric has passed the prequalification (PQ) of a European transmission system operator (TSO). It is reportedly pursuing a long-term supply contract with a major British power company. Hyosung Heavy Industries plans to expand eco-friendly GIS across its entire product lineup by 2030.
Competition to develop eco-friendly products is fierce in the distribution sector as well. LS Electric has replaced the insulating materials used in molded case circuit breakers (MCCB), magnetic contactors (MC), air circuit breakers (ACB), and vacuum circuit breakers (VCB) in the distribution sector with "halogen-free" materials. Because halogen-based materials can generate hazardous substances during disposal and incineration, their use is declining, especially in Europe.