ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 Zero-Carbon City Standard Released

On 23 April 2026, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 — the first international technical report focused on zero-carbon cities. This development directly affects manufacturers and exporters of GIS switchgear and smart transformers, particularly those supplying to EU green infrastructure projects.

Event Overview

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) officially released ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 on 23 April 2026. The document is titled Climate-resilient and zero-carbon cities — Part 1: Policy instruments, technological pathways and implementation case frameworks. It is classified as a Technical Report (TR), not a full standard. Publicly confirmed information indicates that while not mandatory, the TR has already been referenced by procurement authorities in multiple EU countries as a de facto benchmark for evaluating bids in green urban infrastructure projects — especially those involving grid-side equipment such as gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) and smart transformers.

Industries Affected

Direct Exporters of Grid-Side Equipment

Exporters of GIS switchgear and smart transformers face updated expectations in tender documentation and system integration requirements. Because the TR informs procurement criteria in key markets like Germany, the Netherlands, and France, compliance with its case-based implementation framework may influence bid eligibility and technical scoring — even though it carries no formal regulatory force.

Manufacturers Engaged in System Integration

Companies designing or delivering integrated power solutions for zero-carbon园区 (e.g., industrial parks, eco-districts) must now align their architecture proposals — including protection schemes, load forecasting logic, and interoperability protocols — with the implementation cases outlined in the TR. Deviations may trigger additional justification requests during technical review stages.

Supply Chain Service Providers Supporting EU Market Access

Third-party conformity assessment bodies, certification consultants, and local representation firms are seeing increased demand for TR-aligned gap analysis and documentation support. Their role shifts from verifying product-level safety or efficiency to assessing how equipment deployment fits within broader city-scale decarbonisation pathways described in the TR.

What Enterprises and Practitioners Should Monitor and Do Now

Track official references in national procurement notices

Monitor public tenders issued by EU member state ministries, municipal utilities, and EU-funded urban development programmes. Look for explicit or implicit citations of ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 in technical specifications, evaluation criteria, or annexed reference documents — especially for projects related to smart grids, microgrids, or district energy systems.

Review current product documentation and system schematics against TR case frameworks

Compare existing GIS and smart transformer substation designs with the implementation case structures described in Clause 6 of ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 (e.g., scalability for renewable intermittency, modularity for phased rollout, data interface readiness for city-level energy management platforms). Prioritise updates where alignment gaps could delay technical approval.

Distinguish between policy signal and enforceable requirement

Recognise that ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 is a technical report, not a standard or regulation. Its influence stems from adoption by procurement entities — not legal mandate. Therefore, impact varies by project owner, geography, and funding source. Focus verification efforts on high-priority tenders rather than broad product recertification.

Prepare internal alignment briefings for cross-functional teams

Organise targeted internal sessions for sales, engineering, and regulatory affairs teams to clarify how the TR’s case-based approach affects proposal writing, subsystem testing scope, and customer-facing technical narratives — especially when engaging with EU public sector clients or EPC contractors.

Editorial Perspective / Industry Observation

From an industry perspective, ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 is better understood as a coordination mechanism than a compliance threshold. It reflects growing convergence among policymakers, utilities, and equipment suppliers around common implementation patterns — not uniform technical specifications. Analysis来看, its immediate value lies less in defining new performance metrics and more in shaping shared language and expectations across the zero-carbon city value chain. Observation来看, early procurement uptake suggests it is functioning as a soft harmonisation tool — one that lowers coordination costs for complex, multi-vendor infrastructure deployments. Current more appropriate interpretation is that it signals a shift toward outcome-oriented procurement, where equipment validation increasingly occurs within context-specific use cases rather than isolated lab tests.

This development does not replace IEC 62271 (for GIS) or IEC 60076 (for transformers), nor does it introduce new test methods. Rather, it reframes how those standards’ outputs are applied in real-world urban settings. Industry actors should treat it as a contextual layer — not a standalone compliance target.

Conclusion

ISO/TR 37115-1:2026 marks an institutional step toward structuring zero-carbon city implementation beyond pilot projects. Its relevance for GIS and smart transformer stakeholders lies not in altering product design fundamentals, but in reshaping how technical capabilities are framed, justified, and validated in procurement contexts. Currently, it is best understood as an emerging reference framework — influential where adopted, optional where ignored, and most actionable when treated as a lens for improving proposal responsiveness and system-level communication.

Source Attribution

Main source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), official publication notice for ISO/TR 37115-1:2026, dated 23 April 2026.
Areas requiring ongoing observation: National-level procurement guidance referencing the TR; potential future status upgrade from TR to ISO standard; adoption trends in non-EU markets (e.g., South Korea, Singapore, Canada).