ABB technologies shine at Power World 2014 in China

2014-12-14 ABB news

2014-12-04 - Strong local presence supports China push for a greener, stronger and smarter grid.
Under the theme ‘Green Power, Better Life’ this year’s Power World conference in Beijing showcased some of ABB’s latest technologies, including the record-breaking 525kV HVDC cable, Ultra-high and high voltage technologies, a range of smart medium voltage solutions and several environmentally friendly offerings across the power value chain.

The Chinese government is investing in sustainable development with enhanced focus on environmental and social development to support economic growth. This is also reflected in its energy policy and five year plans.

A major highlight of the event was the extensive indoor and outdoor display of some of ABB’s latest offerings most of which are indigenously produced across factories in China representing the massive manufacturing footprint ABB has established in the country."Through smart technologies and solutions, ABB helps utility, industry, transportation and infrastructure customers improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and achieve industrial transformation and upgrading,” said ABB Group CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “Our Next Level strategy fits perfectly with China’s development goals. ABB has a wide range of reliable, efficient, smart and environmentally friendly power technologies that can support China’s vision of a stronger, smarter and greener power grid."

Adding more renewable energy into the mix

China has recently committed to increasing the amount of renewable energy it generates and feeds into its grid to 20 percent, in an effort to curtail its emissions over the next 15 years. It’s an ambitious goal that would require an additional 1000 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to be built by 2030. In addition to its renewable generation and capacity challenges, China’s large cities will want clean energy when they need it. ABB’s Microgrid solutions can automatically adjust power generation to match the changes in power consumption that results in up to 100% utilization of generation capacity and deal with the challenges of intermittency and power stability.

The long distance commute

ABB 525 kV extruded HVDC cable (pictured left) made its China debut at this year’s conference. HVDC transmission technology, which ABB pioneered 60 years ago, allows energy to travel long distances from its source (including more renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydro) to its points of consumption. This technology, which is integral to subsea and underground power transmission, can double transmission capacity and increase the transmission distance from less than 1,000 km to 1,500 km, while keeping transmission losses under five percent.

Shaping a Stronger, Smarter, Greener grid

Among the new products showcased at ABB Power World 2014, Safe Air, the air-insulated Ring Main Unit (pictured right), which uses environmentally-friendly air instead of the traditional insulating gas sulfur hexafluoride, and can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50% throughout its whole life cycle. The new-generation ELK-4 800 kV gas-insulated metal-enclosed switchgear can be used in EHVAC and UHVDC transmission converter stations, and has the highest level of insulation and interruption performance among the same class of products.

Customers were also able to view the Emax 2, the world’s first low-voltage circuit breaker, which not only cuts off and protects the circuit when needed, but also measures and assesses energy consumption in order to help users save energy. By replacing traditional circuit breakers, this product can save 5.8 billion kWh of electricity a year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2.1 million Chinese households. Earlier this year, this product won the Red Dot Product Design Award, also known as the "Oscars" of design.

ABB smart technologies not only help enhance energy efficiency of the conventional power industry, but also expands application in the field of electric power. For example, in China this year, ABB launched its first general-purpose electric vehicle DC charger in line with China’s national standard to support the improvement of the charging infrastructure and the popularity of electric vehicles in the country.

Power World 2014 saw over 1,000 customers and several leading industry experts, as well as students and media who attended over 60 technical seminars, took a part in panel discussions and visited the exhibits.