World-record transformer for Sydney

Significant milestone for the transformer plant in Kirchheim. The 150.000th cast resin transformer (GEAFOL) has seen the light of day at the Siemens transformer plant in Kirchheim. A birth with a symbolic implication: This “giant baby” will be delivered to Sydney, where it will power Australia’s largest public transport project: The first comprehensive metro-system down-under.

The „giant baby“, that was finished in Kirchheim in January weighs more than 46 tons and measures 6,00 x 3,00 x 4,50 m –. It is the 150.000th GEAFOL cast resin transformer made by Siemens in Kirchheim. Soon it will start its journey to down-under. Important tasks await it in Sydney.

About an hour north-west of the central business district (CBD) it will be responsible for the reliable power supply of the newly built metro line. It will be operating in Australia’s biggest public transport project: Sydney Metro Northwest will be opened in 2019 and marks the first part of a major project, which in future also foresees a metro in the city center and in the southwest of the Australian metropolis.

Designed as a rapid transit project and formerly named North West Rail Link (NWRL), the metro line will connect the rapidly growing suburbs in the northwest of Sydney to the central traffic system. There will be eight new stations between Cudgegong Road in Rouse Hill and Epping being built along 23 km of tracks. Between Epping and Chatswood the existing rapid transit track will be converted into a metro line.

With the 150.000th GEAFOL-transformer the 300 employees of the Swabian town Kirchheim/Teck once again made it to the technical Champions-League. The 20 MVA transformer will be transforming power from 33 to 11.50 kV. It is one of the largest GEAFOL-transformers that is equipped with a tap-changer and a separate regulation winding and will be mounted in a noise insulated outdoor-cabinet.

This transformer continues on the path of technological highlights designed and built at the Cast resin transformer factory in Kirchheim. Examples include the largest cast resin transformer worldwide with 40 MVA built in 2007 for an HVDC test application or the 20 MVA units with air-water-cooling for an FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas) ship.

The success story of GEAFOL started more than 50 years ago, when Siemens built the first 160-kVA-transformer with cast-resin insulation. Not using transformer oil as an insulation medium was a groundbreaking innovation.

The biggest and most complex GEAFOL-cast-resin transformers are designed and manufactured at the Siemens transformer plant in Kirchheim/Teck. But there are also other Siemens plants that master the GEAFOL technology, so customers all over the world can benefit from the advantages of the cast resin technology.

With GEAFOL Siemens has developed the classic dry-type transformer technology further and enhanced it by decisive features like long term durability, robustness against external influences, environmental friendliness and fire-behavior. GEAFOL transformers are nearly maintenance-free and provide excellent mean time between failure rates. They are renowned for their reliability, fire safety and eco friendliness.

No wonder that GEAFOL cast resin transformers with ratings between 50 and 50.000 kVA and voltages up to 52 kV are operating in a large variety of applications – for example in wind power turbines, power plants, industrial plants, mining, medical technology, oil and gas industry, ships and tunnels as well as skyscrapers, hospitals and datacenters. Sydney Metro Northwest will obtain proven and leading technology for a leading project that will sustainably change the face of the Metropolis