Impact of F-gas Regulations in EU on the Application of C4F7N Gas

At the end of 2022, 3M Company in the United States proposed a plan to shut down the production of perfluoroisobutyronitrile gas (which include C4F7N, C5F10O and C6F12O), while the EU has also put forward a proposal for stricter regulations on fluorinated gases, which attracted widespread attention from environmental insulation gas researchers, equipment manufacturers and grid companies, domestically and internationally. Many people are confused about the application prospects of C4F7N gas. In order to analyze the impact of European and American fluorinated gases regulations on future trend in C4F7N gas applications, we firstly review the proposal, technical research, and application status of C4F7N gas, and point out that, at the application level, C4F7N gas is currently more suitable to be used in equipment of 110 kV and above up to the extra-high voltage level, the application is mainly in Europe and China, and domestic scholars dominate at the research level. Furthermore, we analyze the reasons for the shutdown of C4F7N gas production by 3M in terms of its production costs, technical specifications, and market prospects. Finally, the advantages, disadvantages and application scenarios of several major SF6 replacement technology routes, such as C4F7N gas, other environmentally friendly insulating gases, clean air, vacuum, etc., are compared, and the applicability of the existing environmentally friendly insulating gases is defined for different voltage levels. Combined with the higher voltage level of domestic power equipment and the fact that China has been able to independently control the production of C4F7N gas, and it is proposed that C4F7N gas in the equipment of 110 kV and above transmission and substation voltage levels still needs to be further studied and applied in high voltage level equipment in China. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.