LoviSil® oil refill joints extend cable life at German refinery
In a large German refinery, LoviSil® Oil Refill Joints from Lovink Enertech extend the service life of ageing paper-insulated lead-covered (PILC) cables. This innovative solution prevents costly cable replacement and ensures a reliable medium-voltage infrastructure that is ready for the future. As a result, more and more companies are choosing this technology.
The challenge: ageing PILC cables with an increased risk of failure
Many industrial installations across Europe still use older 10–30 kV PILC cable networks. Although these networks are robust, problems often arise when cables are disconnected from their original termination. As a result, the insulation dries out, leading to failures. This mainly occurs during network upgrades or the integration of modern XLPE cables and switchgear.
At this refinery, the team needed to connect a 10 kV PILC cable (1 × 3 × 150 mm²) to an XLPE cable (3 × 1 × 240 mm²). Without an oil- or grease-filled termination, the insulation would quickly deteriorate, resulting in failures.
The solution: LoviSil® oil refill joints
To prevent PILC cables from drying out, Lovink Enertech supplied LoviSil® Oil Refill Joints.
- Preserves paper insulation, preventing ageing and extending service life
- Enables seamless integration between PILC and XLPE cables
- Eliminates the need for costly cable replacement
- Ensures optimal performance in critical medium-voltage networks
The installation was carried out by Alessandri GmbH, with flawless completion and full customer satisfaction.
Result: sustainable and reliable infrastructure
The upgraded cable section retains its full reliability. All parties involved – the refinery, Alessandri GmbH and Lovink Enertech – indicated that they were highly satisfied. Finally, discussions have already started regarding follow-up projects.
This project highlights the importance of sustainable solutions in the energy and chemical sectors. By revitalising existing infrastructure instead of replacing it:
- Less waste
- Lower costs
- Improved network reliability
For operators of ageing networks, the message is clear: revitalising existing infrastructure with LoviSil® cable joints is a smart, future-oriented choice.
