COMMENT EXEL COMPOSITES
Fixing the core of national electrical grids
Heini Kloster, product owner for conductor cores at global composites manufacturer Exel Composites, explains how reconductoring electrical grids can help meet the increasing power demands of domestic devices, data centres, and electric vehicles
T
he cost of adding an extra lane to every road in the European transport network would be incalculably high, despite the capacity. However, increasing the capacity of Europe’s power highways is much more realistic. It’s no secret that electricity grids across the
globe, especially in the US and Europe, face great challenges to upscale their transmission capacity to meet the needs of developing technologies. In many places, electrical lines are 40 or more years old.
The gap between EU electricity consumption in 2023 and the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ forecast demand is estimated at around 900 terawatt hours, a quarter of last year’s budget. Electrical infrastructure doesn’t come with a granting permission for and commissioning of whereas new electrical lines, with bases, towers, and conductors, take eight to 10 years. Therefore, grid owners need other options to
be able to react faster to these changes and avoid untenable downtime and increase capacity by 25% by 2030, as ‘Fit for 55’ requires.
RECONDUCTORING EXISTING ELECTRICAL LINES One way to expand the transmission capacity of the existing network is to reconductor the lines. Reconductoring with advanced composite core conductors allows Transmission System Operators (TSOs) to transmit more electricity and reduce energy losses without altering structures, like powerline routes or towers. This approach will decrease the project costs by minimising construction work.
Urban centres where extensive infrastructural
consume huge quantities of power through the day and night. Residential and commercial development around electrical lines prevents electrical contractors from building new lines, so maximising existing conductors’ transmission capabilities is the only approach to help supply meet demand. Additionally, reconductoring requires less comprehensive planning permission than
12 May/June 2025 Irish Manufacturing
construction of new electrical lines. Fewer regulations control its execution, limiting the red tape involved and helping the push for fast upgrades.
Reconductoring with advanced conductors operational costs by reducing transmission losses by between 20 and 50%. Increased transmission production is required to meet the demand.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS SUPPORT RECONDUCTORING Reconductoring means less work than building entire new transmission lines. It’s made possible with the help of advanced conductors. Using section of annealed aluminium, which means
temperature of the conductor. In the case of traditional conductors, this makes the metals expand and causes lines to sag. The problems presented by sagging, especially in urban areas, are obvious and thus tightly regulated. Luckily, carbon
still a slightly more economical option, TSOs are increasingly turning their interest towards the and robustness. Safety is an important factor, as especially the installation, if not properly handled. However, similar to the traditional steel core conductors, use.
Exel Composites’ expertise in pultrusion, a
continuous manufacturing technique, lends itself perfectly to manufacturing conductor cores. The global manufacturer produces kilometres of thin rod of different shapes and sizes and reels them around wooden spools for shipping. Demand for electrical power will not decrease in Europe or elsewhere in the world. By replacing ageing steel core conductors with alternatives networks’ carrying capacity to serve the increasing demand, be it new data centres or modern homes, with less construction work.
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