Global energy infrastructure leader, Prolec, has joined forces with Ubicquia, a pioneer in intelligent utility infrastructure, to develop the industry's first fully integrated smart transformer. These innovative transformers offer real-time monitoring and grid analytics, with units already in the process of being shipped to North American utilities for field trials.

The collaboration between the two companies involved integrating Ubicquia's UbiGrid™ distribution transformer monitoring (DTM+) platform into Prolec's single-phase pad mount transformers across a broad range of sizes. The entire integration, testing, and certification process was conducted at Prolec's Monterrey, Mexico facility, one of the largest distribution transformer manufacturing facilities in North America.

The UbiGrid DTM+ platform is a groundbreaking distribution transformer monitoring platform that provides real-time data on electrical and physical transformer health, combined with advanced grid analytics. With more than 30,000 units already deployed to monitor single-phase and three-phase transformers for major utilities in the US and Latin America, Prolec customers can now receive transformers equipped with the intelligence necessary for proactive transformer, grid, and supply chain management. This integration reduces the need for field unit retrofits, offering a cost-effective solution for smart transformers.

The initial applications for these intelligent transformers include predicting outages to enhance reliability, detecting and diagnosing issues with failed assets to optimize field resources and storm response, improving capacity planning in response to growing electric vehicles, supply chain challenges, and distributed energy generation, and providing added resilience for industrial and critical loads.

The commercial availability of these intelligent transformers is scheduled for 2024.

Ricardo Suarez, CEO of Prolec, expressed the significance of this partnership, stating, "This is a significant step forward in the evolution of transformers, and we are thrilled to shape the future of smart energy alongside Ubicquia."

Ian Aaron, CEO of Ubicquia, echoed the sentiment, saying, "Our partnership with Prolec is a vision coming to life. By delivering smart transformers at scale from the factory, we are enabling a new era of grid analytics, and we are just getting started."

Source: prnewswire.com