Making a positive impact on society

NIA SSEN 0058 CageCapture™ SF₆ Flange Guard

Key Activities

CageCapture™ ‘Capture’ solution will improve the speed of response to reduce sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) emissions by enabling early capture of SF₆ leakage from assets. The project will deliver a leak capture solution that can be applied to switchgear pipework and flanges for the capture of SF₆ leaks. Stage 1 will validate the proof of concept in a suitable test environment and Stage 2 will evaluate application of the product to switchgear on the distribution networks.

Expected Benefits

The project has the potential to deliver up to £11m in financial benefits to GB distribution customers based on early detection of leaked SF₆ gas.

Progress

The project closed down seven months early due to the inability of the linked detection project to deliver (CageCapture SF₆ paint detection project looked to develop a paint that would indicate SF₆ leaks in equipment). This hampered the ability to employ the capture element. While the capture project demonstrated good absorption rates in the lab, there was no clear route to prototype this in the real world, and the project was closed early.