Delta Tecnic Consolidates Its Position as a Technology Supplier to Optimise Power Cables on the Route to Zero-carbon Emissions

Barcelona, February 7th 2022 — Faced with the challenge of reducing carbon emissions and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, Delta Tecnic is a leading technology supplier for optimising power cable colouring. As part of the path towards the future of energy, the company collaborates with major players on the development of renewable energies, the electric car, and the increasingly important medium and low voltage grids in built-up areas through a complete range of masterbatches.

Generally speaking, cables for power transmission are designed to withstand specific conditions in electrical distribution and must therefore meet high quality, safety and performance specifications. The growth of markets such as electric vehicles, robotics, automation, solar panels and wind power installations has led to a strong increase in demand for medium and low voltage cables. This demand will increase in the coming years due to the targets set for CO₂ emission reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

Delta Tecnic has been contributing to the evolution of the energy industry for over 40 years and produces colour masterbatches and additives that are used to colour all these electrical cables, using a series of carefully selected and tested pigments that guarantee that they do not affect the cables' dielectric properties. By carefully selecting these raw materials, Delta Tecnic is able to offer colour uniformity and high production speed to companies that produce power cables thanks to the regularity in the colour grain size, eliminating possible problems during dosing in the new extruders on the market, which are becoming faster and shorter every day.

In the pursuit of zero-carbon emissions, renewable energies are on their way to replacing polluting energies. In 2021 the share of renewables reached a new all-time high of nearly 47%, while coal accounted for less than 2%, according to the latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), as wind and solar PV installed capacity increased. This is a trend that will continue in the coming years.

Delta Tecnic remains committed to sustainability and environmental improvement in this respect. It does so through its colour solutions and additives with UV filters, used in cables for the renewable energy industry, considering the protection against degradation of polymers exposed to the sun and the consequent long-term discolouration in outdoor conditions. The pigments used in their formulations meet high values for lightfastness and external conditions such as temperature and humidity (weathering).

Moreover, in halogen-free cables used by the industry since the introduction of CPR regulations in construction, the company has a Micro Bead masterbatch range based on polyethylene (PE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) that has the capacity to improve dilution in plastic compounds, thanks to its spherical shape and reduced size, characteristics that improve colour uniformity compared to traditional standard-sized granules.

Delta Tecnic provides colouring for the charging cables that connect the vehicles to the charging stations at street level, or for community or private installations of power cables to correctly charge cars in car parks. Developments in this sector will require an increase in the capacity of the medium and low voltage power grid in cities, given the increased energy consumption that the cables will have to support. This will have an impact on the distribution of building wire.

Existing infrastructures are half a century old in Europe and the United States, which is leading the construction industry to face a major renovation and refurbishment cycle in which there will be room for modern electrical installations. To this end, Delta Tecnic collaborates with companies demanding masterbatches for power cables inside buildings and offers product ranges with different polymers (PE, EVA, PA, etc.) to meet the most demanding requirements.

Delta Tecnic's colours have been used in multiple medium and low voltage cable projects in many applications for over 40 years, such as metro lines, electrical substations and public construction projects all over the world. Its know-how regarding the demanding industry standards and the right raw materials, as well as its use of the latest monitoring and measuring equipment, enables the company to help its customers overcome existing challenges, ensuring quality and freedom from cable defects.