Meeting the growing global demand for electrification

In our rapidly changing world, the electrification market is increasingly driven by the demands of urbanisation and digitalisation, and more voices are calling for solutions to address climate change. With expanding consumer energy demands and increasingly complex transport networks, the need for safe, smart and sustainable electrification has never been greater.

For more than 130 years, ABB has created technologies that stimulate economic growth and improve people’s lives. Today, we remain focused on delivering leading-edge products, services and solutions for our customers and are working to further enhance the eco-efficiency of these offerings to support the fight against climate change and conserve non-renewable resources.

From the substation to the point of consumption, ABB serves customers across a wide range of sectors, including buildings, data centres, rail, wind and solar, power distribution, food and beverage, mining, oil and gas and e-mobility.

Showcasing the future of electrification

Electricity use is growing at two times the rate of any other form of energy. This is driven by new consumption modes, such as electric vehicles, advancing data centres, and enabled by more efficient use, integration of distributed generation, and energy storage. The International Energy Agency estimates that the share of electricity in the energy mix will rise to more than 30% in 2040, from 23% in 2018.

ABB’s Electrification business is spending approximately three percent of annual revenues on research and development on core technology and new products, with a strong focus on digital solutions. Demand for data is increasing, driven by the digital transformation of industries, processes, procurement, and services. By 2022, 75% of data will be processed outside of the originating core. In 2018 this was 10%, according to data from research firm Gartner.

ABB Australia is showcasing its digital solutions through a series of live webinars that deep dive into game-changing technologies shaping smarter and more sustainable electrification. Three such solutions include ABB’s Unigear Digital, zenon software solution and the ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System.

ABB’s UniGear Digital is a digital solution that takes full advantage of well-proven components — current and voltage sensors, protection and control relays with IEC 61850 digital communication — to ensure a reliable and efficient electrical network. For Helsinki’s new smart city district, Kalasatama, local utility provider Helen Electricity Network Ltd has chosen UniGear Digital to meet the high demands this smart city area is putting on electricity distribution. For the utility, UniGear Digital provides a reliable and cost-effective switchgear solution and a way forward for increasingly complex medium-voltage networks. Importantly, the solution ensures uninterrupted power supply to critical areas, even in the event of network failures. Find out more about this and other ABB digital solutions by joining the ABB technology webinar on 20 August 2020.

In Sweden, Sandvik Materials Technology modernised their nearly 50-year-old main furnace and took a digital leap with the ABB Ability Operations Data Management zenon software solution to boost production. ABB’s zenon software solution is a secure data management platform that seamlessly connects machines, infrastructure and production assets. By collecting and analysing data, customers gain valuable insights into their production so they can optimise processes, improve quality and save energy. Find out more about by joining the ABB Digital Solutions webinar on 27 August 2020.

Named the ‘most valuable solution of the year’, the ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System (EDCS) is an innovative energy monitoring solution that monitors system status, energy consumption data and key temperatures to enable users to track the lifecycle of their distribution equipment, helping businesses save up to 30% on operational costs. It identifies waste of energy and reduces energy consumption while also promoting sustainability, helping achieve international certifications of energy management. Having installed ABB’s EDCS in the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, the building’s management team can remotely monitor the power supply of each of the 400 electrical loads at the site, including the 57 elevators and a 24 MW air-conditioning system, among other loads. One-click remote access via smartphone, tablet or PC allows employees to monitor and manage key assets in real-time. Find out more by joining the ABB Ability EDCS webinar on 17 September 2020.

ABB’s solutions for cities and infrastructure leverage the latest digital technologies to maximise operations for industry and deliver unprecedented levels of resource efficiency. Learn more about ABB’s digital products and solutions by registering for an ABB technology webinar today.