Recognized for over 70 years as a specialist in the development and manufacture of products and solutions in the field of energy and engineering, Efacec has just taken a new step with the unprecedented launch on the market of the modular system concept, which allows the same equipment to receive new features at the pace of customer needs. The modularity concept will be applied to different Efacec products and takes the first step in the segment of transformers.
Optimization of shipping, transportation and installation processes, increasing the product’s functionality with digital connectivity, environmental gains throughout the product chain, maintaining the recognized reliability, durability and high performance are the added benefits for customers by this modular system. On Efacec’s side, modularity allows greater efficiency in the design and production processes, increasing product’s competitiveness in a demanding and changing market.
The delivery of the first transformers developed based on this modular concept begins in 2021, and the first modular transformer is expected to start operating in March 2021. Among the recipients of this product are utilities, industry and renewables.
The new concept will be applied to Efacec’s Core Power Transformers. It is estimated that in 2022 about 55% of the Core Transformers produced by Efacec will have incorporated this innovation and in 2023 all transformers of this type will be produced following this concept.
With an active patent for Europe and United States of America, strategic markets for Efacec’s Transformers business unit, the modular system combines technology and design in the concept of the equipment, maintaining the same look & feel for the various applications, without loss of functionality and general architecture in the different solutions to be addressed.
Ângelo Ramalho, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Efacec says: “This is an important step for the company. Efacec has been a global reference in the field of transformers for over 70 years. Along this path, we launched new products and technologies that have become benchmarks in the market, but we have also gone further, investing in increasing the power of products and designing customized solutions. The Modular System is heir to this legacy. It allows our products to present a more appealing design, incorporate digital connectivity and combine high performance and quality with energy efficiency and decarbonization. It is a new concept that responds to the needs of the market and our customers and is distinguished from the remaining offers on the market”.
Efacec expects a substantial growth in the Transformers business unit in the following three years, compared to 2020, leveraged by the energy transition, market growth and by overcoming obstacles resulting from the pandemic crisis. In this context of growth, the Modular System is expected to make a significant contribution to increase market share. This business area currently represents 30% of Efacec’s overall business.
Distinctive features of the Modular System
With the international patent “Modular system for applications in transformers No. PCT/IB2020/052435”, Efacec sought to respond to the market and customers’ needs, redefining the product placement methodology, based on a concept of system modularity. This concept aims to apply across the different range of products, making them more modern, sustainable and prepared for new features brought about by digitalization.
The modular character of the transformer is evident in the assembly and disassembly processes, which provides greater safety and ergonomics in the manufacture, transportation, installation and maintenance of the equipment. The reduction achieved in the equipment weight and size (more compact) also allows to minimize the costs and complexity of transport logistics, as well as minimizing the ecological footprint, particularly in urban environments. It should be noted that all the elements that make up the transformer are recycled at the end of its useful life.
With this concept, transformers will be prepared for the era of digitalization and 4.0. industry, allowing them to explore new features and applications in the digital management of networks and equipment.
The modular system will be applied in the Transformers portfolio in equipment from 10MVA to 170MVA and up to 400kV and includes a range of innovative solutions in the architecture and assembly of external components, adding new functions, such as mechanical protection, noise, ultraviolet and ballistics, which improve the performance, durability and reliability of the product in the most diverse applications, whether urban or in extreme environments.
More than 90 thousand Efacec transformers spread all over the world
Efacec’s portfolio in the field of Transformers is divided into four major categories: Shell Power Transformers (up to 1,500MVA), with more than 660 units installed in 23 countries; Core Power Transformers, with more than 2,500 equipment in 65 countries; Mobile Substations (Shell or Core up to 90MVA 245kV), with more than 200 units in 25 countries; Hermetic Distribution Transformers (Immersed) and Powercast (Dry) from 50kVA to 20MVA 72,5kV, with more than 90 thousand units in 108 countries.
In the global market in which the company operates, markets such as Spain, United Kingdom, France, Algeria, Angola and USA stand out, in addition to Portugal.
Among the reference projects developed by Efacec in the Transformers field stand out the delivery of four 1,200MVA transformers in the United Kingdom; the supply of six transformers of 65 and 245MVA 410kV to the Alto Tâmega Hydroelectric Complex, in Portugal, and the supply and assembly on-site of three 170MVA 220kV transformers in the French Alps, which required a demanding logistics, with specialized transport, a provisional factory assembly in the site and a testing laboratory.
With a comprehensive value chain of Energy, Mobility and Environment, Efacec acts as solution provider, EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Contracting) integrator and O&M (Operations & Maintenance) service provider. Efacec Group is present in strategic markets such as Europe, the United States of America, Latin America, Asia, Middle East, Maghreb and Southern Africa.
