Schneider Electric has received international recognition for its groundbreaking medium-voltage switchgear technology, AirSeT.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has named AirSeT and the company’s leadership among the Champions of the Scope 3 Downstream Solutions Challenge in the Sustainable Design category, underscoring the technology’s transformative impact on emissions reduction across electrical distribution systems.
The acknowledgment highlights AirSeT’s role in replacing sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) — a potent greenhouse gas with 24,300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide — with pure air and vacuum technology.
This innovation directly addresses one of the largest sources of Scope 3 emissions in electrical infrastructure, setting a new standard for sustainable design in the power sector.
“Product design is where downstream impact often begins,” Pim Valdre, Head of Climate & Nature Economy and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum, noted.
“Sustainable design can deliver exponential benefits, including lowering costs, enhancing safety, ensuring regulatory compliance and reducing emissions across the entire lifecycle.”
By eliminating SF₆ from its systems, AirSeT helps organisations reduce regulatory risks, improve worker safety, and cut long-term operational costs.
According to Schneider Electric, the deployment of AirSeT has already helped customers avoid 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions as of June 2025.
This figure has been verified by independent auditors under the company’s Schneider Sustainability Impact initiative.
Since its introduction, AirSeT has emerged as the leading market alternative to traditional SF₆-based switchgear, a technology that has dominated the industry since the 1950s.
While SF₆ allowed for smaller switchgear sizes and improved safety, its environmental impact has become increasingly unacceptable in the era of net-zero targets.
Schneider Electric’s AirSeT provides a ready, scalable, and environmentally responsible substitute powered by purified air instead of gas.
The innovation also embodies Schneider Electric’s approach to sustainable digitalisation.
Delivered in familiar form factors with standard operating procedures, AirSeT is designed for easy integration into existing systems.
The product is natively digital, enabling smarter electrical grids, AI-driven maintenance, and condition monitoring at scale across industrial operations, data centres, and infrastructure networks.
Engineered with circularity and longevity in mind, AirSeT features advanced electrical and mechanical components that allow for five times more switching operations than conventional designs.
The system’s modular composition supports retrofitting, modernisation, and the use of spare parts, extending product lifespan while reducing resource consumption and waste.