Electrical fire safety solutions: Protecting lives and assets

Safe and sustainable electrification is at the heart of our mission

Over 1.1 million fires break out in Europe every year. That’s one fire every 30 seconds. And the human toll is huge: 4,000 fatalities and 134,000 injuries per year. Not to mention the economic impact, with damages running into the billions: in its Global Claims Review 2022, Allianz insurance listed fire as the largest single identified cause of corporate insurance losses, having resulted in more than €18bn worth of insurance claims over five years. Out of those businesses hit by fire, an estimated 70% of them will not restart.

The latest report from the FEEDS (Forum for European Electrical Domestic Safety) shows that more than 25% of fires are caused by electrical failures – mainly due to electric appliances or to obsolete, overloaded installations.

But aging infrastructure is only one part of the story. Accelerated population growth and urbanization around the world mean more people are using electricity every day. At this rate, a 20% increase in demand is expected by 2030, and up to 40% by 2040.

And with new forms of energy use come new risks. From tablets to smartphones, our reliance on electrically powered digital devices is only growing. The rise of new energy usages in building, such as electric vehicles or rooftop solar panels, increases the burden on domestic wiring systems, and the risks related to fire.

This higher electrification has a strong impact: the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) found out that electrical distribution, lighting, and power transfer equipment accounted for half of home fires involving electrical failure or malfunction. Knowing the devastating impact of fire, such threat requires an adequate answer to protect assets and life.

How do electrical systems contribute to a safer world?

Cables are the electrical backbone of a building, being present everywhere and in large quantities to transport energy and data. They link rooms and floors, go through the walls without interruption, and their number keeps increasing with new energy usages. The fact that they are usually hidden makes it easy to forget their presence. Yet a typical office building will have over 200kg of cables per 100m². It is therefore essential to ensure that cables are as inert as possible when exposed to fire, to avoid spreading flames throughout the building.

In recent years, the emphasis has been on improving fire performance in response to new regulations, such as Europe’s Construction Products Regulation (CPR). Nexans is deeply engaged in this process, working with its partners, customers, and regulation bodies to promote electrical fire safety in buildings, and to adopt higher safety standards at both the national and international level.

Combating fire propagation

Cables do not represent a danger as such, but due to their omnipresence, they can act as fuel for fire and be a vector of flames propagation. A fire that starts in a vertical electrical installation that comprises low-performance cables will reach the first floor of the building in less than three minutes, and will continue to spread with growing speed.

At Nexans, we aim at revolutionizing the safety of buildings, infrastructures and homes, by using our technological expertise to design cables and wires that offer the highest level of performance against fire. Our Nexans Fire Safety offer underlines what can be achieved: thanks to our Low Fire-Hazard cables, smoke emissions, fire propagation and heat release are minimised. Moreover, the cohesiveness of the cable structure is maintained during fire, reducing or eliminating the production of flaming droplets, hence avoiding the start of secondary fires and limiting the risks of injury for firefighters.

All those elements have a major impact on people’s ability to evacuate safely, on time, and with the best possible visibility. In the meantime, low fire-hazard cables facilitate the work of firefighters as they release water when exposed to flame, reducing the fire temperature and diluting combustible gases.

Now a breakthrough to boost the fire performance of cables is in our pipeline. Based on geopolymer technology, this innovation works by creating a hard and hermetic crust around the stranded wires that makes them incombustible. In addition to improving fire resistance, this technology has the benefit of improving the environmental performance of cables by reducing their embodied carbon content – cutting CO2 emissions by 10 to 15% at the manufacturing level.

Smoke reduction during a fire

Smoke and hazardous emissions are the main cause of causalities during an indoor fire, being responsible for 80% of fire-related deaths. Corrosive gases in smoke attack the lungs, as well as the eyes and skin. On top of this, smoke severely limits visibility, making emergency escapes from a building more difficult.

Nexans Fire Safety range is designed to transform fire safety. Our cables minimise smoke emissions, enabling a visibility ten times higher than with traditional designs in the event of a fire – five times higher than the recommended threshold. Furthermore, they reduce the emission of hazardous and corrosive gases, increasing drastically the chance of escape, as well as assisting firefighters as they tackle the blaze.

Fire safety systems

Fire resistant cables play a crucial role in maintaining the continuous operation of fire protection and life safety electrical systems – even when a building is on fire. Minimum durations for maintaining electricity supplies in the event of fire are set out in national regulations. Cables must be capable of performing reliably even in extreme conditions, with temperatures up to 1,000°C, and for a duration up to 120 minutes.

Fire protection and life safety systems include:

• Fire detection systems: smoke detectors, heat detectors, manual call points
• Fire alarm systems: alarms/sounders, and control panels
• Fire protection systems: active (sprinkler) and passive (such as fire walls and fire-rated doors)
• Smoke control systems (pressurisation and extract systems)
• Building egress systems (including exit signage).

Safety system components rely on connection to the power network. Fire resistant cables are often used to provide power, or to make connections between emergency equipment and control panels. When this is the case, they function as “active” elements since they must maintain electrical continuity or transmit a signal for an adequate amount of time.

Three main technologies are used to produce fire resistant cables.

First generation designs were based on copper conductors wrapped with mica tapes and cross-linked polyolefin. In this case, the core technology is the mica, and cable performance is related to its quality, nature, suppliers, and taping.

Second generation cables were based on conductors insulated with silicone rubber. This material has the property of forming a ceramic shield when burned. This maintains high electrical resistance and it is the most common solution for building applications.

For the latest generation of Fire-Resistant cables, we broadened our range with innovative cables based on the patented INFIT™ insulation technology which combines the advantages of both mica and silicone rubber insulation, but without their drawbacks (mica is difficult to strip, while silicone is soft and brittle). INFIT™ fire performances are similar to usual market technologies (silicone rubber or mica tape), but brings exceptional mechanical performance, making the installation easier and creating value with important time-saving and thus cost-saving advantages.

With INFIT™ cables, it is possible to connect all the devices of a fire detection system, including smoke detectors, to ensure that fires are detected and alarms raised. All of this ensures a rapid escape and contributes to effective firefighting.

We focus on your needs

At Nexans, our mission is to provide innovative products and solutions that meet the safety needs of our cable customers. We give our clients the power to design, install and manage their projects with the highest level of safety for your customers. Nexans Fire Safety solutions and services allow to Anticipate fire risks, Secure assets and Protect Life.

We back this up with comprehensive information and advice to help you make informed fire safety decisions – so we can electrify the future with confidence.

Like other sectors, the automotive industry must evolve to meet future economic and ecological challenges. Currently, thermal vehicles are responsible for nearly 10% of CO2 emissions worldwide. In developed economy such like in France, this figure rises to 15%. The electrification of these vehicles is therefore a key issue in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

According to the World Energy Outlook 2022 published by the International Energy Agency, the increase in global electricity demand between now and 2030 is equivalent to adding the current electricity consumption of the United States and the European Union! Such an increase in electricity is in the range of +5,900 to +7,000 TWh depending on the scenario.

The main contributors to such an increase are:

• electrical transport in advanced economies,
• population growth and demand for cooling in emerging markets and developing economies.

Electric mobility is an important stake and a major driver of additional electricity demand. However, this objective should not only focus on the development and evolution of vehicles by manufacturers but also take into account the infrastructure. It is important to focus on the need for recharging infrastructure and innovative technologies dedicated to electric vehicles (EVs), which should enable users of this type of vehicle to travel anywhere, at any time, with complete peace of mind and ensure the functioning of the electrical system.

Electrical vehicles: a major change coming required by energy transition

The public authorities in several countries are multiplying initiatives to foster this evolution of mobility solutions. Among the actions in force or under study, a growing number of countries have pledged to phase out internal combustion engines or have ambitious vehicle electrification targets for the coming decades. In Europe, the objective set is to stop the sales of new combustion-powered vehicles by 2035.

The IEA Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), which is based on existing climate-focused policy pledges and announcements, presumes that EVs represent more than 30% of vehicles sold globally in 2030 across all modes (excluding two- and three-wheelers). While impressive, this is still well short of the 60% share needed by 2030 to align with a trajectory that would reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

By 2025, it is estimated that the electric vehicle market in France will be worth 12 billion euros, including 8 to 11 billion euros in sales of electric vehicles, 150 to 250 million euros for charging stations and 300 to 600 million euros for the sale of electricity needed for charging.

The fast deployment of EVCS, key condition of the development of electric vehicles

This transition to electric vehicles requires three main conditions to reach the target ambition:

• The development of new & attractive vehicles, with the following issues at stake: battery capacity vs. the energy density of a litre of oil, the availability of mineral resources to fully renew the world’s car fleet (due to the scarcity of rare metals), the challenge of the environmental footprint of an electric vehicle (beyond the sole issue of metal scarcity).
• The availability of energy where and when the vehicles will be charged. While the impact of an EV on the electricity grid is very limited at the domestic level, the 22 million electric and hybrid vehicles expected in 2025 in Europe will significantly increase the overall demand for electricity (from 4,860 in 2020 to 47,000 GWh in 2025).That will require both grid reinforcement, more energy and moreover a smarter way to manage load to balance usage with energy availability.
• Finally the deployment of a dense network of charging stations (EVCS) to provide a solution to the consumer in mobility.

Basically the EVCS network will be efficient if it is deployed as a global ecosystem fitting with consumer needs in four main applications:

• Charging “at home” (90% of EV loads are today done at home, individual or collective);
• Charging “at work” (tertiary or institutional buildings, factories,..);
• Charging “in the city” (shops, restaurants, public parking,…);
• Charging “in journey” (highways).

Each of this application obeys to its own constraints regarding economical cost of deployment, expected time for loading, competition with other vehicles “in queue”, energy billing to the user… Whatever the type of charging solution to be offered (in AC for the majority of needs or DC for fast charging), it will impose significant constraints on the electrical network that needs to be anticipated.

This large and complex ecosystem to deploy in a decade will require major investments but also strong innovation for a maximized installation scalability and smart energy management.

Partnerships and innovation are key

To illustrate this challenge of innovation, we can highlight for instance 2 projects involving Nexans R&D teams in partnership with Enedis in the last years:

• “BIENVENU” project: How to propose scalable and economical Charging infrastructure in collective housing buildings designed far before Electrical Vehicle rising (only 2% equipped in 2022 in France, for ~45% of population living in collective housing) ?
• “SMAC” project: How to create technological conditions to allow Vehicule-to-Grid (V2G) to inject the energy stored in EV batteries in the grid during the peaks of energy consumption or to compensate intermittent energy production from renewable sources?

Nexans also propose with its partner e-Novates a complete range of AC charging stations from 7 to 22 kW designed to fit various indoor/outdoor applications for Business or Public customers.

This product range will be entirely renewed in 2023 with new models fast to install and compatible with the new standard ISO 15 118. In parallel will be introduced the new version of Nexans scalable cabling solution “NEOBUS”, designed in partnership with MICHAUD, dedicated to underground parking with specific fire safety risk integrated.

Nexans is therefore a key player in this evolution of the electric vehicle market. The new solutions proposed will greatly facilitate the daily life of users, both in the private sector and on public roads, and will improve the attractiveness of these new vehicles.

It is clear that the elements of differentiation are the key factors of innovation:

• for vehicles, overall design, autonomy linked to battery power and efficiency, and reliability over time are differentiating factors;
• for recharging infrastructure equipment, we believe that the main differentiation criteria are not linked to hardware but to the digital layer which allows monitoring of the charging stations, interfaced with payment methods, and applications which improve the customer experience. The second area of differentiation is the ease and speed of installation of the kiosks and their connection to the electrical network.

To limit the impact on the environment

The deployment of electric vehicles and their growing share in mobility will have a significant impact on reducing global warming, provided of course that decarbonised electricity is produced and used. However, it is also important to consider the impact of electric vehicles on resources, particularly copper. In 2020, production was 21 Mt for an almost equivalent consumption. Demand will accelerate due to electrification and particularly electric mobility.

In concrete terms, a traditional thermal vehicle requires 20kg of copper, a hybrid vehicle needs twice that amount, 40kg, and an electric vehicle requires 80kg of copper on average, i.e. 4 times more than a conventional vehicle (this amount can reach up to 200kg for certain models like Tesla).

To this consequent increase in metal dedicated to electric vehicles, we can add the copper needed for the recharging infrastructure, the AC and DC recharging equipment, but also the connection system to the electrical network. A conservative estimate is that 3Mt of metal will be needed for this transition.

To limit the impact of the electricity transition on copper resources, it is necessary to accompany the change by a copper recycling chain and the establishment of a circular economy ecosystem.

After more than a century in the shadows, Direct Current (DC) power could be set for a comeback.

The closing years of the nineteenth century saw a fierce battle to establish the best method for supplying electricity to consumers, with DC on one side (promoted by Thomas Edison) and AC on the other (backed by Nikola Tesla). DC lost, and the world has been dominated by AC ever since.

The story might have ended there but for two things. First, DC is remarkably efficient for long-distance bulk power transfer – indeed, it has been used in this role for decades. Second, more and more of the electrical devices we use are natively DC – everything from your mobile phone to LED lights and electric cars.

All of this is leading to a reappraisal of DC for transmission, distribution and even final consumption by electricity users. So how might this work in practice?

DC transmission

Transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, typically over long distances. This is achieved using overhead transmission lines or underground (or subsea) cables. Using high-voltage DC (HVDC) for transmission instead of high-voltage AC has a number of advantages.

First, less material is needed. This is because DC requires only two conductors (AC needs three). Second, electrical losses are lower with DC because only active power is transferred (by contrast, AC transfers both active and reactive power). Third, the possible length of transmission links is much greater with DC thanks to the absence of reactive power.

HVDC is a proven technology – and it is getting better all the time. Recent developments include voltage source converters (VSCs) and improved transmission capacity for cables. This is achieved with higher voltages, higher operating temperatures, bigger conductor cross sections and the introduction of extruded technology. All of this means that the footprint and cost of HVDC projects is falling relative to the energy transferred. In short, HVDC transmission is becoming much more competitive.

A bright future for HVDC

Two important market trends are driving increased interest in HVDC transmission. The first is the growing demand for electricity interconnectors. These span oceans and link the grids of nations and regions. The second driver is subsea export cables for the growing number of offshore wind farms.

To date, some 15,000 km of HVDC submarine cables have been installed, using both MI (mass impregnated) and XLPE (extruded) cable technology. An additional 20,000 km of HVDC interconnectors are expected to be deployed by the beginning of 2030, not including offshore wind farm export cables. The installed base of extruded cables is expected to increase and equal the length of mass-impregnated cables by the end of this decade. Manufacturers of HVDC submarine cables are positioning themselves to capture the market by investing in more production and installation capacity.

Could DC be used for distribution as well?

Medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) distribution networks, and power distribution within buildings, have long been dominated by AC. But a progressive shift to DC – achieved through the development of LV and MV microgrids – could bring energy savings, improved interoperability, easier renewable energy integration and greater sustainability.

Interest in DC microgrids is being driven by fundamental changes in the way that electricity is generated, stored and consumed.

First, power generation is becoming less and less centralised and moving closer to sources of demand. Rooftop solar photovoltaics and small wind turbines are examples. Solar photovoltaics are natively DC, as are some micro wind turbines.

Second, battery storage is becoming widespread. Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are one example. These are used by businesses, such as data centres, to maintain supply security. There are also growing deployments of battery energy storage systems (BESSs) for grid balancing. On top of this, home energy storage systems are now becoming available. Last but not least, electric vehicle batteries have grid integration potential. A key point about battery storage is that most of it is distributed rather than centralised, and all of it is natively DC.

Third, on the consumption side, DC devices are now widespread and uptake is accelerating. As noted earlier, many commonly-used devices, from phones to LED lighting and electric vehicles, are natively DC. Today, all of these devices depend on adaptors to convert AC to DC.

All of this is creating an environment that is ripe for DC microgrids with generation and consumption in the same grid, backed up with battery storage – including electric vehicle batteries. One of the beauties of the DC microgrid model is that it removes the need to convert AC to DC, eliminating the need for adaptors – an energy saving in its own right.

How is Nexans enabling DC?

Nexans is a leader in the submarine HVDC market and the company continues to invest in growing its manufacturing and deployment capacity. In 2021, we launched Nexans Aurora, the world’s most advanced cable laying vessel. Nexans is well positioned to support the future needs of both transmission system operators and wind farm developers.

With DC deployments growing in the high-voltage transmission sector, the next step could be medium and low-voltage DC microgrids. These will need to utilise optimised cables, accessories and connectors to be technically viable. They will also need to be reliable and to meet the requirements for energy efficiency, sustainability and safety.