Hitachi Energy India Ltd. today inaugurated its new transformer components factory in Vadodara, Gujarat. Located in its largest manufacturing location in India, this factory will produce dry bushings with the most reliable technology called ‘Resin Impregnated Paper’. This will be the first manufacturing facility in India producing Resin Impregnated Paper bushings up to 400kV voltage level. This dry technology improves the thermal, electrical and mechanical performance of transformer bushings, making them more resilient and reliable – critical in transformers deployed in the power grid, said the company in a release.

The company said: strengthening India’s power grid − one of the largest operational synchronous grids in the world – is vital for the country as it aims to integrate a greater share of renewables in a step towards its carbon neutral ambitions. Resin Impregnated Paper bushings offer an improvement over traditional oil-based alternatives by preventing moisture ingress, oil leakage and reducing risks of fire in case of failure. This technology enables operators to make the grid safer while reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

This is the first facility producing 400 kV Resin Impregnated Paper bushings in India, with a capacity to manufacture up to 1,000 units per annum of Resin Impregnated Paper bushings ranging from 72.5 kV to 400 kV, catering to a potential domestic market of 50 MUSD over the next five years*. The factory will produce AirRIP® flex bushings, a unique combination of Hitachi Energy’s best practices from pioneering bushing technologies with a modular and flexible design, covering almost every need and design specifications with just one product family.

“Over 80 percent of our portfolio is manufactured locally, and we are continuously evaluating how best to add capabilities for new technologies ,” said N Venu, Managing Director and CEO, Hitachi Energy India Ltd. “By localizing such manufacturing capabilities, we are opening up new avenues and creating even more customer value – all while advancing the energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure,” he added.

“This future-ready manufacturing facility is designed to minimize environmental impact and conserve natural resources,” said Bruno Melles, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy’s Transformers business. “Our goal is to ensure that production operations in India aspire to the highest standards of sustainability, in line with our own carbon-neutrality goals,” he added.

The factory operates on 100 percent fossil-free electricity. In January 2022, Hitachi Energy announced that it had achieved 100% fossil-free electricity in its own operations as the first-step target set out in its Sustainability 2030 plan.