Behind the scenes at Cigre 2022

Published: Sep 9, 2022

Power Generation and Transmission

At the end of August, everybody in the power industry seemed to land in Paris, France, for the biannual Cigre conference and trade show — the world's premiere power event. We take a look back at the hot topics of the event, exactly a week after its conclusion.

After an unprecedented first break in the 100-year history of Cigre due to Covid-19, the Palais des Congrés was positively humming with renewed energy and a sense of anticipation. Of meetings, contacts, knowledge sharing and simply being face-to-face. The scientific conference focused on breakthrough research, and the trade show brought to the forefront the practical applications.

Impact of the global energy crisis

In 2022, nobody could have escaped the fact that the old secure energy supply world we had in 2021 was no more. Securing supply and helping a positive future to emerge despite the ongoing energy crisis one of the top themes on display at Cigre. The overall message is that 2022 is all about efficiency with a sense of urgency added to it. Being able to offer a predictably low TCO, and higher overall ROI, no matter the application, was the talk of the town.

New digital avenues

A keyword that paves the way to the future is data. Not data by itself, but using it to your advantage, turning it into insights and finally applications that benefit industries and citizens alike. This is what Vaisala also excels in, providing ultra-reliable measurement data, that you can base operational and strategic decisions on. Which leads us to the third major topic...

Sustainability and the environment

The size and scope of global green transformation was clear across the board. On tens after tens of event stands, companies were presenting environmentally conscious answers to existing power generation and transmission solutions — as well as completely new ones. Whether it be new, more powerful transformers than ever, advances in insulation liquids or preventing environmental damage. A prominent, if small part of this was the case of SF6 gas monitoring, reuse and recycling.

Dissolved gas analysis

Given how much emphasis was given to supplying energy reliably, sustainably and in an environmentally conscious way, it was no surprise that online DGA was a core topic. Increasingly, the market is being given the message that gas chromatography is on its way out, and reliable, low or no maintenance DGA solutions are the way of the future. As for Vaisala, we've been there for years, with a robust, infra-red online DGA solution of our own, the Optimus OPT100.

In conclusion

Cigre in 2022 was abuzz with renewed energy, and focused strongly on developing a more sustainable, secure supply of energy for the future and the increasing energy demands of individuals, industries and societies on the whole. Because that’s what the power industry is all about — keeping the modern world with its digital economies functioning.

Learn why Vaisala's DGA solutions excel in high performance, low TCO and robust reliability »