Toshiba to increase production of polymer housed surge arresters

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions has announced that its current production capacity of polymer housed surge arresters will be nearly tripled by April 2022.

Toshiba ESS is manufacturing a surge arrester that can protect power transmission and distribution facilities and equipment (power plants, substations and transmission lines etc.) from overvoltage caused by lightning, as well as carry out the operation of circuit breakers for Hamakawasaki Operations in Japan.

In recent years, as demand for renewable energy has increased ensuring the reliability of the power grid has become more important. In addition, there is a need to improve the resilience of transmission and substation equipment from large-scale lightning strikes.

Polymer housed surge arresters are widely applied all over the world, since they provide superior advantages, such as durability, anti-pollution performance for outdoor use, lightweight and high anti-seismic performance, compared to the former porcelain-type surge arresters.

The polymer housed surge arresters are smaller, lighter and have higher reliability than other products by using the world's highest-level technology of in-house developed and manufactured zinc oxide elements, which have high lightning energy absorption capability, as well as high-voltage gradient ZnO elements.

Koji Saito, director and vice president of the Grid Aggregation Division at Toshiba ESS, said, "To provide more polymer housed surge arresters all over the world, [we have] decided to increase … production capacity. While introducing manufacturing equipment, such as injection moulding machines, the company is also improving productivity through efficient investments. The company will contribute to strengthening infrastructure to move toward achieving carbon neutrality through this arrester business expansion domestically and overseas."

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The global market size of surge arresters is expected to increase from 120 billion yen in 2020 to 150 billion yen in 2025.

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