Excitation & Engineering Services (EES) has secured a contract to replace obsolete excitation and protection control panels for a 12MW synchronous motor at the French site of a global industrial gases producer.
Awarded in May 2026, the project is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027 and will address equipment obsolescence while introducing additional control functionality, improved motor performance and longer-term technical support.
EES will design and supply replacement excitation control and electrical protection relay panels, as well as carrying out factory acceptance testing (FAT) and site acceptance testing (SAT). Both panels will be retrofitted into the existing equipment footprint, reducing the requirement for changes to the surrounding installation.
A key element of the upgrade will be the introduction of regulated closed-loop excitation control. The new system is intended to allow the synchronous motor to be dispatched more effectively in response to the site’s local load and reactive power requirements.
The existing excitation system requires operators to adjust excitation manually, a method that EES says is no longer appropriate for modern power control systems. The replacement will automate this aspect of motor control while providing a support arrangement intended to address the customer’s previous difficulties obtaining OEM assistance.
“The customer has previously struggled with OEM support and needed to know it could depend on its excitation supplier,” said Ryan Kavanagh, director at EES.
The retrofit also presents engineering challenges associated with integrating new control equipment with an existing motor installation. EES plans to conduct in-person design workshops as part of the project to validate interfaces and reduce commissioning risk.
“Replacing obsolete controls is not just a panel swap. The new system must work safely with existing interfaces and meet the site’s operational requirements. We’ll run in-person design workshops to provide reassurance around the replacement equipment and minimise risk at the interfaces with the existing plant.” Kavanagh continued.
The project represents EES’s first design contract secured directly with a mainland European customer. The company has previously delivered design and commissioning work for the same industrial gases customer at facilities in the Netherlands and England.
“This is an important milestone for EES as this is our first design contract secured directly with a mainland European customer.” said Tim Burchell, head of operations and projects at EES. “It builds on successful design and commissioning work we have delivered for the same customer in the Netherlands and in England.”
The upgrade demonstrates the role of excitation-system modernisation in extending the operational life of large synchronous machines. By replacing obsolete control and protection hardware while retaining the existing installation footprint, the project is intended to improve controllability and support reliable operation without requiring a complete motor replacement.
