Hitachi Energy hosts seminar focused on new generation of reliable and sustainable transformers

• The event presented the company's technological advances in transformers. It featured presentations by leading Hitachi Energy executives, who discussed the latest innovations in the field.

• On this occasion, the Mobile Transformer Services Unit was officially launched, a solution that will complement the commissioning services for the installation of new transformers and the maintenance of existing ones.
  

Hitachi Energy, a leader in technologies for the energy sector, held a seminar focused on the company's new generation of transformers. Called Hitachi Energy Day, the activity, held at the Espacio Riesco Convention Center, was attended by executives from various companies interested in learning about the company's latest innovations.

One of these innovations is EconiQ, a solution framed in sustainability, a new generation of transformers. "EconiQ makes it possible to extend the useful life of the asset or overload the transformer without affecting its lifespan or insulation, in addition to integrating an Ester type oil with biodegradable characteristics. In addition, it stands out for being a more efficient and safer transformer in terms of affecting third parties," explained Jorge Piñeros, Transformer Application Engineering Manager HUB SAM of Hitachi Energy.

Another aspect noted by the firm was asset management based on maintenance focused on equipment reliability. Vicente Auccacusi, Service Sales Specialist of the transformer area of Hitachi Energy in Chile, indicated that through the asset management software "Lumada APM Edge", risks are identified early, being able to avoid unplanned outages, in addition to reducing operating and maintenance costs of transformers.

"What Hitachi Energy proposes are online monitoring systems, coupled with the experience we have as a transformer manufacturer. This encompasses a broad knowledge, which allows us to provide the customer with a better overview to know what their failure modes associated with that asset are, and to determine what tests or what actions are necessary to minimize the risks of an imminent failure and reduce maintenance costs," said Vicente Auccacusi.

On the other hand, Hitachi Energy's expert, Iván Peñaloza, explained the fundamentals of extending the useful life of transformers using online diagnostics and prognostics based on equipment design, material aging prediction and maintenance history to avoid possible failures.

In closing, Sergio Kobayashi, Operations Manager of the Hitachi Energy Chile Transformer Services area, unveiled the firm's new Mobile Transformer Service Unit, which will be available in Chile as of June 2023 and which is characterized by performing services to transformers immersed in oil.

"This mobile unit does not need infrastructure to be moving loads, because everything is already installed on the truck, on the chassis. You just have to extend the hoses, connect to power and it is ready to go. In mining companies, for example, this mobile unit has solved problems in just 24 hours", the executive pointed out.

Interest in innovations

During Hitachi Energy Day, several attendees highlighted the focus on efficiency and sustainability of the company's products. For Rodrigo Godoy, Electrical Project Manager and leader of the Energy Management System at SQM's Nitrates division, the meeting was very interesting because of the tools they could purchase for their processes.

“Hay herramientas que resultarían útiles adoptarlas en nuestros procesos, como es el caso del transporte de equipos, ya que es un tema no menor considerando la huella de carbono que dejan los equipos cuando uno busca proveedores que se encuentran muy lejos”, señaló el ejecutivo de SQM.

Gabriela Gondeck, Reliability Engineer in the Maintenance area of Minera Escondida, argued that the activity was very informative, especially regarding equipment maintenance.

"We currently have a problem with some transformers that we still cannot evaluate to ensure the reliability of the equipment, and this was precisely the subject of one of the presentations at the seminar. We want to review how we can make sure that our transformers are in good condition without having to go inside them, because that means leaving plants without production," said Gabriela Conde.

Another valuable aspect for the attendees was the equipment related to safety and fault prediction. This was confirmed by Rémi Bardinat, Deputy Project Manager of Generadora Metropolitana, who highlighted the monitoring service on the transformers and the possibility of seeing possible deficiencies in advance. "This is a challenge for us, because we have purchased two generators and we are planning major maintenance of our plant, so we know that it is very expensive to have a failure," said the executive.

It should be noted that Hitachi Energy Day included five presentations related to the latest innovations of the firm in terms of transformers, as well as discussion opportunities, such as a lunch and a closing cocktail to clear doubts and share experiences among attendees and experts.