Schneider Electric Pushes SF6-Free AirSeT 24 kV Switchgear for Data Centers

Schneider Electric is positioning its SF6-free AirSeT medium-voltage switchgear for data centers ahead of the EU’s January 2026 F-gas ban on new MV gear up to 24 kV. The company presented a wide range of decarbonisation and digital grid at IEEE PES GTD Asia 2025, with a strong focus on SF6-free medium-voltage switchgear and advanced software to support the energy transition.

The AirSeT switchgear is built on pure-air insulation and vacuum-interruption technology, giving customers a straightforward, reliable alternative to traditional SF6 systems. The switch to SF6-free medium-voltage switchgear with pure air and smart monitoring helps utilities cut emissions, simplify operations, and future-proof networks.

What’s Genuinely New

AirSeT tackles the issue of SF6 emissions head-on by removing SF6 completely, replacing it with pure air. This eliminates emissions from leakage and end-of-life recovery, delivering major CO2-equivalent footprint reductions compared to traditional SF6 equipment.

Why It Matters

For data-center electrical buyers, Schneider’s SF6-free AirSeT switchgear matters because the EU’s January 2026 F-gas ban on new MV gear up to 24 kV makes SF6-free a compliance requirement, not a preference, in that market. Pure-air insulation with vacuum interruption gives buyers a drop-in alternative ahead of the deadline, which turns a regulatory cutoff into a procurement decision facilities have to make now.

Critical Perspective

However, one must question whether the adoption of AirSeT will be hindered by the lack of a clear roadmap for widespread implementation, particularly in regions where SF6-based systems are deeply entrenched.

Schneider Electric’s SM AirSeT and RM AirSeT switchgear are designed as drop-in replacements, keeping the same 3-position interface footprint as SM6, and staying nearly identical in layout to minimize disruption to existing infrastructure.

Related Coverage

• Schneider Electric’s Solid-State Transformer Positioning: SF6-Free Switchgear, Premset Insulation Technology, and an Undeclared SST Roadmap: Schneider Electric’s SF6-free switchgear and insulation technology
• Medium-Voltage to Low-Voltage DC Distribution Architecture Co-Design: Why the SST Choice Drives Everything Downstream: SST choice drives downstream medium-voltage to low-voltage DC distribution
• How Moving AI Data Centers to 800 VDC Distribution and Solid-State Transformers Sidesteps Phase Imbalance Entirely: Solid-state transformers sidestep phase imbalance in AI data centers
• The Modern Solid-State Transformer Patent Landscape: Eaton, ABB, Hitachi Energy and the Startup Wave: Solid-state transformer patent landscape includes Eaton and ABB