The new global Lab, the ABB Low Voltage Laboratory, which is part of ABB Electrification in Västerås, Sweden, was inaugurated today and is one of ABB’s most advanced high-power laboratories for low-voltage products. It will be used to test and certify products that can help our customers to improve their efficiency, safety and profitability.
In ABB's new high-power laboratory for low-voltage products, ABB will perform testing and certification of its low-voltage products, for voltages up to 1,000VAC and 1,500VDC and currents up to 20,000 A.
The investment of approximately 10MUSD is one of the single largest infrastructure investments globally in the Electrification business. Sweden was selected as the site for the new laboratory mainly because ABB in Västerås has the most skilled and innovative R&D team worldwide for contactor development. ABB’s contactors lead the world. To stay ahead of our competition, both in the further development of our existing portfolio and upcoming potential contactors, we have designed a laboratory that ensures our products are of the highest quality and enables ABB to take the next steps with new innovative products, like the GF contactor that was launched recently. The GF contactor is the world’s 1st optimized DC contactor for PV applications. The laboratory is built to withstand a high safety level combined with a high-test capacity.
“With the opening of this new test laboratory we will secure our competitive advantage and ensure our customers continue to get the highest quality products and latest innovations,” says Giampiero Frisio, Managing Director of Smart Power business line.
Over the past 20 years, the usage of ABB's low-voltage products has shifted to a large degree to renewable energy production, such as wind power and solar power. Renewable energy generation imposes new demands on testing and therefore new demands in performance of test resources.
"We are very pleased to have a lab where we can effectively test the maximum performance, durability and life-cycle of the products in different types of hard loads. This means that we can further develop quality market-leading products for our customers while being more efficient,” says Espen Mathisen, laboratory manager, ABB Low Voltage Laboratory.
Almost all electrical equipment for the 1,200 sqm lab is delivered by ABB. The building is equipped with solar cells on the roof that supply the lab with a part of the electricity demand and the lab also has its own connection to the 130kV power grid. The connection is similar in size to that used to connect a neighborhood. In the lab, 5-6 employees can work together.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a technology leader that is driving the digital transformation of industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB has four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by the ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com
