MechChem Africa July-August 2025

⎪ PowerGen,PetroChem and Sustainable energy management ⎪

more compact and robust. They can be designed to fit on standard road transport trailers and quickly offloaded and connected to the supply and client distribution networks without the need to repair transport damage. Export success Claassen notes that Trafo Power Solutions re cently supplied a skid-mounted mobile substa tion to a coal mine in Queensland, Australia. This unit was designed, manufactured, and tested in South Africa before being shipped and deliv ered. The solution included a transformer and MV and LV switchgear for a step-up application from a 400 V generator to 6.6 kV. “This mobile substation solution accompanies the customer's generator set to deliver power where needed on the mine,” he explains. “Although we're a South African-based company, we understand and can operate within the standards and specifications of any country. This mobile substation for Australia is a typical example,” says Claassen. Trafo Power Solutions was also involved in the design and engineering of dry-type trans formers for a large intake substation for a data centre in the Netherlands that meets all EU standards. With a global upswing in demand for data centres, Trafo Power Solutions has built a strong reputation for meeting the 100% uptime requirements for the substations powering data centres in South Africa, Africa and Europe. The Renewable Energy market Another growth area for Trafo Power Solutions is the renewable energy sector, where trans former design is critical due to significant non-linear loading. “At PV solar plants, high levels of harmonics from inverters increase the temperature in the transformer windings,” Claassen explains. This is in addition to the already high ambient temperatures typical of solar installations. “Moreover, the transformers cycle from full to zero load every day, which causes expansion and contraction that must be accounted for,” he adds. While dry-type transformers are typically cooled using natural ventilation, forced ventila tion can also be used, and where space is limited or heat loads are high, water cooling options are also available. “In the global renewable energy market, our

A 3 000 kVA dry-type transformer supplied by Trafo Power Solutions is housed in a modular substation, providing a robust and efficient power solution tailored for demanding site conditions.

A Trafo Power Solutions dry-type transformer paired with 800 A primary switchgear within a modular substation, a factory-assembled, robust power package ready to deploy on site.

strategic partner TMC is one of the largest sup pliers of dry-type transformers, with thousands of custom-designed units sold annually into the PV sector in the US – a sector that demands the highest reliability with lowest losses,” he says. “We continually strive to understand our

clients’ needs and to identify the best possible solutions to meet them. This enables us to engineer tailored electrical power solutions that reliably and consistently deliver,” Claassen concludes. www.trafo.co.za

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