AIS vs GIS — Combining the Best of Both Worlds with SF₆-Free Technology

🏗️ Air-Insulated Switchgear (AIS): Proven and Accessible

AIS has been a cornerstone of electrical infrastructure for decades.
It uses ambient air as the insulating medium, which makes it simple, cost-effective, and easy to maintain.

Key benefits of AIS include:

• Straightforward design and accessibility
• Low cost and easy maintenance
• No reliance on greenhouse gases

However, AIS typically requires more installation space and is more exposed to dust, humidity, and other environmental conditions.
For applications where space is limited or conditions are harsh, GIS often becomes the preferred choice.

🏢 Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS): Compact and Robust

GIS uses a gas — traditionally sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) — as the insulating medium.
This allows for a fully enclosed design that’s compact, reliable, and well protected from environmental influences.

Advantages of GIS include:

• High reliability and protection against external conditions
• Compact footprint — ideal for urban and space-limited substations
• Minimal maintenance due to sealed construction

Yet, GIS has long depended on SF₆ — a gas with a global warming potential 23,500× higher than CO₂, making it the most potent greenhouse gas regulated under the EU F-Gas Regulation.

🌍 The Challenge: Performance Without Compromise

The dilemma has always been clear:
How can the electrical industry maintain the compactness and robustness of GIS, while achieving the environmental and operational simplicity of AIS?

At Nuventura, we’ve solved this by replacing SF₆ with clean, dry air — a natural, abundant, and sustainable insulating medium.

💡 Nuventura’s SF₆-Free Dry-Air GIS: The Best of Both Worlds

Our dry-air-insulated GIS combines the structural and operational benefits of GIS with the simplicity and sustainability of AIS:

✅Compactness and reliability of traditional GIS
✅Simplicity and maintainability of AIS
✅Zero environmental impact — using only clean, natural air as insulation

This innovation means utilities and panel builders no longer have to choose between performance and sustainability.

Nuventura’s technology delivers world-class electrical performance — including type-tested short-circuit withstand, internal arc classification (AFLR), and pressure integrity testing — all without the use of SF₆ or any fluorinated gases.

⚙️ A Future-Proof Design for the Energy Transition

As Europe moves toward decarbonized power systems, regulation and customer demand are accelerating the shift away from SF₆-based switchgear.

Nuventura’s SF₆-free GIS technology offers a drop-in alternative that allows utilities and manufacturers to:

• Comply with EU F-Gas Regulation 2024/573 and future sustainability targets
• Maintain compact, reliable substation designs
• Reduce the carbon footprint of their infrastructure

Our technology enables the energy sector to meet its environmental goals — without sacrificing the performance and reliability that the grid demands.

✅ Key Takeaways

• AIS offers simplicity and low cost but requires more space.
• GIS is compact and reliable but traditionally relied on SF₆.
• Nuventura’s SF₆-free GIS merges both — combining compactness, reliability, and maintainability with a zero-emission design.
• Powered by dry-air insulation, our switchgear delivers the same performance, safely and sustainably.

A Cleaner Grid — Without Compromise

At Nuventura, we believe the path to a sustainable grid is built on innovation that doesn’t force trade-offs.
By combining the best of AIS and GIS, our SF₆-free technology proves that it’s possible to deliver compactness, performance, and sustainability —all in one system.