Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) was among the significant insulating media employed in high voltage electrical equipment. It was influenced by environmental protection policies and taxation. According to the F-gas Regulation of the European Union, the use of SF₆ should be reduced to 21% in 2015 level by 2030, and companies ₆ will qualify for a 30% carbon tax deduction if they adopt technology with a recovery rate of ≥95%. For example, TenneT, a German grid operator, reduced its leakage rate from 0.8% to 0.1% by enhancing its SF₆ recovery system, saving €2.7 million per year in carbon tax expenses (35% of the original cost), and in the process also receiving a €1.2 million subsidy from the EU Green Transition Fund.
The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides a tax credit of $85 per ton of CO₂ equivalent for alternative SF₆ technology. As the GWP of 3M’s Novec™ 4710 project was only 1 (GWP of SF₆=23,500), 45% of the conversion cost of a single 550kV GIS was refunded in the form of tax credits. sulfur hexafluoride cost premium was reduced from 6.4x to 2.1x. Statistics in 2024 showed that companies using gas mixtures (SF₆+CF₃) saved 18% of compliance costs and 22% of equipment life cycle costs.
The Chinese Carbon Emission Trading Market (CEEX) facilitated SF₆ emission reduction to be equated to National Certified Voluntary Emission reduction (CCER), which was traded at around 65 yuan per ton of CO₂ equivalent. In 2023, an UHV project gained 4.89 million yuan carbon credit income from recycling 3.2 tons SF₆ (equivalent to abatement of 75,200 tons CO₂ equivalent), and covered 32% of equipment replacement expenses. Additionally, the SF₆ recycling enterprise meeting the National List of Hazardous Waste could benefit from VAT refund of 50%. For example, a Jiangsu ₆ company processed 500 tons of SF₆ annually, and the tax refund was 8.4 million yuan. The cost decreased by 9.3%.
Industry data show a positive correlation between tax incentives and environmental compliance. SF₆ Companies which had recovery rates ≥90% reduced their cost of carbon tax as a proportion of operating costs from 8% to 3%, and companies with leakage rates > 1% incurred a 47% greater risk of fines (e.g., the average fine for European grid companies in 2023 was €3.8 million). The UK National Grid used blockchain traceability technology to reduce the SF life cycle management error rate from 5% to 0.7%, and the carbon trading premium was 12%, with an additional annual revenue of over £2 million.
Firms need to balance sulfur hexafluoride cost and policy dividend. In India, for example, SF₆ production on-site was eligible for 15% investment subsidy (up to a cap of USD 5 million), reducing dependence on imports from 65% to 38% by 2025. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) facilitated 30% financing subsidies for SF₆ substitute technology research and development. The gas developed by Mitsubishi Electric, which is referred to as fluorone (C5F10O), increased the dielectric strength to 80% of the SF₆, and the price per unit of the gas reduced from $320 / kg to $210.