CHINA, September 2026 - Driven by the national "Dual Carbon" strategic goals and accelerated new power system construction, China's transformer industry has entered a pivotal green and high-quality transformation period in 2026. Marked by the large-scale commercial application of Solid-State Transformers (SSTs), widespread substitution of green new materials, breakthroughs in carbon-neutral product certification and standardized green manufacturing, the industry is shifting from traditional scale expansion to high-efficiency, low-carbon and intelligent development. Empowered by favorable national policies, China's transformer sector is delivering competitive green solutions for the global energy transition.
Supported by top-level policy design, the industry has obtained clear development targets and massive market support. In March 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and three other central departments jointly released the Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of Energy-Saving Equipment (2026–2028), setting explicit quantitative goals: the proportion of newly installed high-efficiency transformers will exceed 75% by 2028, and the penetration rate of in-service efficient transformers will reach 15%. Meanwhile, State Grid's 15th Five-Year Plan outlines a total investment of RMB 4 trillion for power grid upgrading, with over 60% of the funds allocated to new power system construction and energy-saving power equipment, creating unprecedented market opportunities for the large-scale promotion of SSTs and high-efficiency green transformers. The optimized policy system has fundamentally guided the industry's shift from scale-driven to quality-driven growth.
2026 is widely recognized as the inaugural year of large-scale commercial deployment for SSTs, which are reshaping the power transmission and distribution landscape with integrated cutting-edge technologies. By incorporating wide-bandgap semiconductors, high-frequency magnetics and digital intelligent control systems, SSTs achieve higher energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions and more flexible operation compared with conventional transformers. A series of landmark product launches and demonstration projects have accelerated industrial implementation.
On May 28, ZhiGuang Electric, in collaboration with Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, launched the Coota 1.0 SST. Adopting advanced SiC technology, the product realizes one-step 10kV AC to 800V DC power conversion with a comprehensive efficiency of 98.5%, over 4 percentage points higher than traditional transformer solutions. A single 4.2MW unit of the Coota 1.0 can reduce annual carbon emissions by 1,100 tons. On June 3, Eaton unveiled its MV SST 2.0, featuring 98.5% full-chain operational efficiency, 50% lower copper loss and 46% reduced lifecycle carbon footprint, saving more than 1,000 tons of CO₂ per unit. On June 30, C-EPRI, a subsidiary of NARI, rolled out the second-generation "Rui" series SST products, tailored for AI data centers, ultra-fast charging stations, renewable energy integration and smart grid scenarios.
In August, Guangdong Province's first independent SST demonstration project - the Coota industrial base built by ZhiGuang Electric in Huangpu District - was officially put into operation. The project builds a flexible "solar-storage-charging" DC distribution system, supporting efficient one-step 10kV-to-800V power conversion. Industrial research data shows that SST solutions can cut the full lifecycle carbon emissions of power transformation links by 10% to 30% compared with conventional transformer equipment.
The large-scale application of innovative green materials has become a core driver for the industry's low-carbon iteration, with natural ester insulating oil and amorphous alloy cores gradually replacing traditional raw materials. Traditional mineral insulating oil suffers from poor biodegradability and may cause persistent environmental pollution in case of leakage. In contrast, plant-based natural ester oil, mainly refined from renewable crops such as soybeans, achieves 100% biodegradation within 28 days, effectively eliminating long-term environmental risks.
China achieved a key technological breakthrough in domestic natural ester oil production in 2026. Led by the China Electric Power Research Institute, a self-developed 500kV/400MVA transformer equipped with domestic soybean-based natural ester oil successfully passed all type tests, with overall performance surpassing foreign imported products, greatly improving the self-sufficiency rate of core green materials in the industry. The equipment is scheduled to be applied in State Grid's low-carbon substation demonstration projects. Globally, Hitachi Energy's newly launched 765kV natural ester transformer also obtained official certification, further validating the technical maturity of plant-based insulating oil products. With higher flash points, superior insulation performance and longer service life, natural ester oil transformers are widely applicable in urban core areas, underground substations, ecologically sensitive zones and new energy collection stations.
Amorphous alloy cores have become another pivotal green material for energy-saving upgrading. With an ultra-thin thickness of only 0.025mm, amorphous alloy materials reduce transformer no-load losses by 60% to 80% compared with traditional silicon steel cores. The high energy-saving performance makes them the preferred core component for distribution network energy conservation, and their popularization effectively improves the economic operation efficiency and low-carbon level of UHV power transmission, renewable energy grid integration and smart grid upgrading projects.
China's transformer industry has achieved a landmark breakthrough in international low-carbon certification and export. On August 10, 2026, Jiangsu Huapeng Transformer successfully produced 15 units of 35kV/6000kVA box-type transformers, which obtained authoritative carbon neutral certification from BSI, marking the first batch of carbon-neutral transformer export products in China and filling a long-standing gap in the domestic industry. The products have been shipped to Europe for local data center construction projects.
The certification covers full lifecycle carbon management, including raw material procurement, production and manufacturing, and product delivery. The enterprise realized full carbon neutrality through energy-saving emission reduction transformation and standardized carbon trading offsetting. After deducting carbon emissions reduced by the factory's on-site photovoltaic power generation system, the remaining 1,242 tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions were fully offset by canceling 1,250 tons of carbon quotas via formal carbon trading channels. Internationally, power equipment with authoritative carbon neutral certification enjoys obvious premium advantages in Western high-end markets, and this single batch of products is expected to bring several million yuan of incremental value for the enterprise. The breakthrough fully demonstrates China's leading strength in green power equipment manufacturing and provides a replicable "electricity-carbon synergy" development model for the global industry.
Leading domestic and foreign transformer enterprises have taken the lead in building full-lifecycle green manufacturing systems in China. In 2026, Hitachi Energy further expanded its green manufacturing layout in the country. On the basis of four existing national green factories, three more production bases in China obtained the same certification. Among them, the Chongqing base ranks among the top 5% of the industry in terms of energy efficiency and carbon intensity, with industrial water reuse rate exceeding 98%; the Zhongshan base built a 1.2MW photovoltaic energy storage system, with renewable energy accounting for over 96% of the plant's total power consumption.
Domestic enterprises have also achieved remarkable results in green and circular manufacturing. Changzhou Dongzhi Transformer, certified as a national green factory in 2025, has been included in the national remanufacturing industry standardization list, building a closed-loop green industrial chain covering green products, intelligent factories, low-carbon supply chains and equipment remanufacturing. Jiangsu Huachen adheres to the full-process low-carbon concept of "source emission reduction, process optimization and product green upgrading". The enterprise has built nearly 20MW of distributed photovoltaic power generation capacity, with an annual power output of about 20 million kWh. The self-consumption rate of green power exceeds 40%, equivalent to an annual carbon emission reduction of 16,000 tons.
Industry analysts pointed out that 2026 marks a historic turning point for China's transformer industry. Driven by policy guidance, technological innovation, material upgrading and standard certification, the entire industrial chain is undergoing comprehensive low-carbon and intelligent transformation. Modern transformers have evolved from passive power transmission equipment into intelligent energy routers that connect renewable energy, energy storage systems, data computing centers and smart power grids. With the continuous large-scale promotion of SSTs, in-depth application of green materials and gradual improvement of international low-carbon certification systems, China's transformer industry will continue to empower the global green energy transition and contribute more Chinese green manufacturing solutions.