Prysmian Celebrates 10 Years of E3X® Advanced Conductor Technology
Key Highlights
- Prysmian celebrates the 10th Anniversary of its E3X® advanced conductor technology.
- Prysmian’s E3X coating technology increases the capacity, efficiency, and reliability of transmission lines.
- Prysmian is committed to developing innovative solutions that support a more resilient and efficient grid.
Prysmian, a global leader in telecom and energy solutions, is celebrating ten years of its innovative E3X® Advanced Conductor Technology. As the industry’s first heat-dissipating overhead conductor, E3X® transforms the power grid by reducing power loss, increasing carrying capacity, and significantly lowering costs.
“This is an exciting milestone. For over ten years, Prysmian has provided E3X® solutions to help its customers deliver reliable power at a lower cost, all without increasing the original footprint of their projects,” said Cody Davis, Power Distribution and Overhead Transmission Director of Application Engineering for Prysmian North America. “This highlights Prysmian’s commitment to pioneering innovative solutions that benefit its customers and support the growing demand for a more resilient and efficient power grid in the region.”
Since its first deployment in 2013 and commercial launch in 2015, Prysmian’s E3X® technology has enabled utilities to meet growing transmission demands with higher-capacity, high-temperature aluminum overhead conductors. E3X® technology supports new transmission builds, line rebuilds, and reconductoring of existing lines, helping utilities optimize existing corridors and enhance overall grid reliability. Prysmian’s E3X® Grid Enhancing Technology can also be retrofitted to existing lines, increasing static line ratings by up to 25% with no modification to towers or project footprints.
Increased Power at a Lower Cost
Overall, Prysmian’s E3X® technology enhances the sustainability, reliability, resilience, and cost-effectiveness of power grids. This technology offers considerable savings on upfront costs and significant reductions in long-term operating expenses, including:
- Up to 20% Reduced Project Costs* A reduced conductor sag or size allows for the optimization of structures, hardware, and labor for new lines.
- Up to 25% Increased Ampacity* This maximizes capacity on new lines and lowers reconductoring costs by enhancing conductor ampacity without requiring upgrades to existing infrastructure.
- Up to 25% Lower Line Loss* Reducing conductor line losses through lower operating temperatures results in significant lifetime savings.
- Up to 30% Reduced Operating Temperature* A lower operating temperature decreases power losses and increases power-carrying capacity, resulting in greater efficiency and reduced overall system costs.
*Dependent upon operating conditions
How Prysmian’s E3X® Technology is Upgrading North America’s Grid
The product was first deployed as a test pilot in 2013 and officially brought to market in 2015. E3X® Technology includes a thin, durable coating applied to the surface of any TransPowr® overhead conductor. This heat-dissipating coating enhances emissivity and reduces absorptivity, improving energy effectiveness and efficiency. It allows for a higher ampacity rating, lowers operating temperatures, and decreases losses for a given conductor size.
In 2021, Prysmian pioneered a new utilization of E3X® technology alongside Exelon, one of the largest utilities in the U.S. The partnership applied the heat-dissipating E3X® coating on existing lines, resulting in a reduction of grid congestion and unlocked capacity by 15-25% for the utility, all without building new transmission lines. In late April 2022, Prysmian received the top prize at the 2022 Edison Best New Product Awards for this innovation.
Advanced E3X® Conductors with Green and Recycled Materials
In 2023, Prysmian began producing advanced conductors such as Aluminum Conductor Composite Core (ACCC®) and Aluminum Conductor Steel-Supported (ACSS) with E3X® technology by using low carbon and recycled materials to reduce Scope 1, 2 & 3 carbon emissions and reduce Prysmian’s carbon footprint across the value chain.
By accessing low-carbon technology and reducing greenhouse gas emissions during production, Prysmian’s green overhead products have directly reduced 225 Kilotons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2023, the equivalent of 400 million miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.
Coupling these gains with E3X® coating technology, both new and existing transmission lines benefit from reduced operating temperatures (20%), reduced losses (10-15%), and reduced sag-related safety issues. For example, in 2023 more than 4 million feet of new E3X® conductor was installed in the U.S. Over a 40-year lifetime this will provide 70,000,000 MWh reduced losses and reduced CO2 emissions by 24,000,000 pounds.
“By offering E3X® Advanced Conductors with an emphasis on green technology, Prysmian reaffirms its dedication to sustainability,” said Maura Nespoli, Vice President of Sales Renewable Energy & Sustainable Solutions for Prysmian North America. “Prysmian wants to play a leading role in the renewable energy transition and innovations like this enable us to foster stronger partnerships by delivering sustainable products and solutions, fostering a mutual commitment between Prysmian and our customers.”
Additionally, Prysmian’s E3X® Robot System integrates advanced electronics, imaging, and AI to withstand extreme voltages, operate reliably in severe weather conditions, and navigate sloped angles. Critically, it can be deployed while lines remain energized, eliminating the need to deenergize sections of the grid during installation or maintenance.
The Future of Prysmian’s E3X® Advanced Conductor Technology
The future of Prysmian’s E3X® Advanced Conductor Technology is defined by scale, reliability, and measurable impact. With the June 2025 expansion doubling North American production capacity, utilities can now accelerate deployment of advanced conductors while leveraging the E3X® Robot System to upgrade existing high-voltage corridors without replacing structures or conductors. Adoption across IOUs and Public Power utilities continues to grow, with E3X® technology now representing a significant share of Prysmian’s bare transmission sales. Looking ahead, Prysmian remains focused on advancing conductor performance and robotic deployment capabilities to support utilities in meeting grid modernization, resiliency, and decarbonization goals.