ABB is a leading manufacturer of power and automation technologies. ABB invented and manufactured many products and technologies, including the world’s first three-phase power transmission system, the world’s first self-cooling transformer, high-voltage direct-current power transmission technology, and the first electric industrial robot, and pioneered their commercial application. ABB has a wide range of product lines, including the full range of power transformers and distribution transformers, high, medium, and low voltage switchgear products, ac, and dc transmission and distribution system, electric power automation system, all kinds of measuring devices, and sensors, real-time control and optimization system, high efficiency and energy saving of motor and driving system, power quality, transformation, and synchronization system, Fuses, and switchgear that protect the safety of power systems. These products have been widely used in industry, commerce, power, and public utilities. ABB Group has been one of the top 500 companies in the world for more than 24 years. Its business has been growing steadily and progressing with The Times.
For the SuperGrid project, the cooperation with ABB is mainly in their five business units, Power Systems, and Power Products. Power Systems provides a full range of systems and services for transmission and distribution networks and power plants around the world, with an emphasis on substations and substation automatic control systems. In addition, the division provides flexible ac transmission systems and high voltage direct current transmission systems as well as grid management systems. In the power generation business, the Power Systems Division provides instrumentation products as well as plant control and auxiliary equipment. Electric power product is an important part of power transmission and distribution engineering. The division will lead ABB’s transformers, switches, circuit breakers, cables, and ancillary equipment manufacturing operations around the world. In addition, it provides related services to improve product performance and extend the product life cycle.
In December 2018, ABB and Hitachi Ltd announced that Hitachi would acquire ABB’s power grid business for approximately $6.4 billion. But in substations, high-voltage, and ultra-high-voltage grids, ABB still has cutting-edge technology. Since 1965, ABB has mastered the world’s leading technology in substation and substation automation systems, flexible ac transmission systems, high voltage dc systems, and network management systems. ABB is present in all high-voltage grid projects from Canada to Brazil, the West Coast of the United States, China, and India. In 2020, ABB will join hands with Hitachi in the HVDC system sector in India. Since 2010, ABB has worked closely with ABB on UHV DC and AC power grids, and until 2020, ABB has participated in the construction of almost every substation in China’s UHV power grids. With ABB’s technical support, China’s ultra-high voltage power grid can continue to develop. ABB’s Power Grid Division recently signed an agreement with the State Grid Corporation of China to provide advanced HVDC converter transformers and high-voltage equipment for three ±800kV UHVDC transmission projects in 2020 to help bring hydroelectrically, wind, and photovoltaic power generation together while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
ABB supplied power products with breakthrough technology for the world’s first ±1100 kV UHVDC project in China. The Changji-Guquan UHV DC project, which will transfer power from Xinjiang in Northwest China to Anhui in East China, has set a new world record in terms of voltage level, transmission capacity, and transmission distance. The line has a transmission capacity of 12 GW, equivalent to the output of 12 large power plants. The same technology could be used on the big North Africa-Europe link line. ABB’s proven UHV technology not only reduces construction costs but also makes many of the project’s ideas possible. At the same time, ABB is developing the miniaturization of the HVDC substation system, which makes one of the biggest defects of DC power effectively remedy and greatly increases the convenience of the implementation of the SuperGrid project.
ABB is also doing well in underwater cables. The Su-Tong Gil Tunnel runs under the Yangtze River and is the world’s first ultra-high-pressure tunnel crossing the river. The tunnel is 5.7 kilometers long and reaches a depth of 75 meters under the Yangtze River. In this project, ABB was responsible for the design, supply, and installation of the 1000 kV GIL provided. ABB’s solutions will enable maximum transmission capacity and minimum transmission losses, contribute to the energy security of the East China UHV grid and support economic and social development.
GE Grid Solutions
Grid Solutions is GE’s renewable energy business, with more than 13,000 employees serving customers worldwide. Grid Solutions provides power utilities and the global industry with equipment, systems, and services to bring power reliably and efficiently from the point of generation to the end power consumer. Grid Solutions addresses the challenges of the energy transition by connecting renewable and distributed energy sources safely and reliably to the grid.
GE Grid Solutions has evolved through several changes. For the most part, it was part of GE’s Industrial Solutions business. In 2014, GE and Alstom set up a new joint venture, which transferred the renewable energy, nuclear power, and transmission businesses of the two companies to the new company and combined with Alstom’s deep-rooted electrical strengths in France and Europe to expand GE’s business in Europe. And GE’s advanced technology in gas turbines, substations, and power grids can be used in Europe. But Alstom eventually decided to sell its energy division, and its electricity-focused business was acquired by GE in 2015 for $17 billion. GE Grid Solutions is officially available worldwide. The acquisition completes the merger of GE’s European energy business and Alstom’s global power business.
In late 2017, after signing a $15 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, GE’s main unit sold its industrial solutions business, including its power grid solutions, to ABB. The $2.6 billion deal offers significant value creation potential for ABB, including growth opportunities to be exploited by combining ABB’s digital offerings, ABB Ability™, with its extensive GEIS installed base. The merger solidifies ABB’s position as a global leader in electrification and accelerates growth and competitiveness in key markets, particularly North America. The product portfolios of GE Industrial Solutions and ABB are highly complementary. The merger is not a sale of GE’s electrification ownership, but a combination of parts of the solution and ABB’s strong infrastructure technology.
GEIS will be integrated into ABB’s Electrified Products (EP) division, led by EP President Tarak Mehta, as a new business unit called Electrified Products Industrial Solutions (EPIS). Tarak Mehta said. “We are committed to serving our GEIS installation base and will now be able to deliver more technologically advanced and digitally connected products to our customers worldwide. Together, we will strengthen ABB’s position as the world’s second-largest in electrification and expand our access to the attractive North American market.”
Since State Grid is the absolute leader in the field of electrification in the world, its internal circulation and volume cannot be matched by any other company. Therefore, with the merger of GE Grid Solution and ABB Electric, ABB will firmly control the title of the second-largest electrification enterprise in the world, with the business carried out all over the world and close cooperation with China.
Since State Grid is the absolute leader in the field of electrification in the world, its internal circulation and volume cannot be matched by any other company. Therefore, with the merger of GE Grid Solution and ABB Electric, ABB will firmly control the title of the second-largest electrification enterprise in the world, with the business carried out all over the world and close cooperation with China. GE Grid Solutions is now not a separate business company, but part of ABB. So the same services that ABB can provide to SuperGrid can also be provided by GE Grid Solution. And now that Alstom’s European electrical business has been sold to General Electric, GE Grid Solutions is in a better position to persuade France, a country that continues to support nuclear power rather than clean energy grids, to join the SuperGrid.
Hitachi
Hitachi is one of the world’s top 500 enterprises, involving many fields. Business sectors include energy systems, transportation systems such as railways that enable people to travel safely and comfortably, information systems that use big data to innovate, and healthcare that provides healthy living through health management, diagnostics, and medical technology. As a global leader in social innovation, Hitachi engages in the fields of power, energy, industry, circulation, water, urban construction, finance, public, and health care, providing quality solutions through collaboration with customers. China is one of the most important markets for Hitachi, and Hitachi has close cooperation with Japan, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Like GE in the medium term, Hitachi is an integrated company that spans many different areas of technology.
For the SuperGrid project, Hitachi has the world’s top material science and power system research. Hitachi has been building nuclear power plants, power grids, and substations for the Tokyo Electric Power Company since 1975. Hitachi is a world leader in cable and specialty steel, providing high voltage cables and related services to many countries and regions. At the same time, Hitachi independently develops nuclear power, hydrogen power, and other energy sources, making outstanding contributions to carbon neutrality.
In 2018, Hitachi acquired ABB’s power grid business for the US $6.4 billion, marking Hitachi’s gradual shift from nuclear power to clean energy-ultra-high voltage power grids in the power industry. Japan signed a partnership agreement with ABB in 2010 to develop a new generation of UHVDC power grids for India. Today, Hitachi ABB Power Grid is the second-largest UHV grid company in Asia, providing ±1100kV UHV DC transformer and transmission lines.
Hitachi built the world’s first operational ±1100kV UHVDC power line in 1999 with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Although the actual operating voltage of the project is ±500kV due to the low actual transportation demand and the shutdown of the nuclear power plant, this line is still the earliest ultra-high-voltage DC line in the world. Hitachi has the relevant mature construction experience and practical operation experience that can provide technical support for the construction and operation of the super grid. The combination of ABB and Hitachi makes Hitachi one of the best choices for grid manufacturers and designers in super grid projects. Hitachi can serve the project with proven technology to make the construction of the SuperGrid smoother while avoiding the problems that have occurred with the construction of ultra-high voltage direct current transmission lines in Japan.
With the gradual development of the UHVDC cooperation project in India, Hitachi and ABB will have a more familiar way of cooperation, which will also play a solid foundation for the future use of the two sides to cooperate in the construction of the super grid. Currently, in addition to China’s State Grid, only Hitachi ABB Power Grid has relevant construction experience. For some political reasons, Hitachi ABB Power Grid would be our best choice.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation was founded on January 15, 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronic and electrical equipment manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsubishi Electric is Japan’s second-largest electrification company after Hitachi. Mitsubishi also ranks among the world’s top 500 companies. Unlike Hitachi, Mitsubishi’s main corporate structure is looser, with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation as the main component of the company. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has a wide range of products, including display products for individual consumers, mobile phones, kitchen electrical, vehicle electrical, household electrical, and air conditioning electrical. Business consumer-oriented electronics, power, social, transportation, space, information, electrical, machinery, semiconductor, and imaging, etc. Mitsubishi Electric has long established a global network of companies, research institutions, and production, providing technical information and materials to business departments, which play an important role in the process of creating first-class products for each department. Mitsubishi electric in keeping the company in the industry and heavy electrical equipment, satellite, defense system, elevator and escalator, automobile electronics, air conditioning, ventilation and other fields, the leading position at the same time, also will further expand in the mobile communication device, display device, display device technology, and cutting-edge semiconductor market share in the areas of the world. In addition, Mitsubishi will be committed to expanding into new business areas, especially in the areas of environmental protection and water purification success.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is world-famous for its electric motors and most of its products are derivatives of electric motors. Mitsubishi AC asynchronous motors are a series of high efficiency, small size, and many varieties of AC motors, serving all walks of life. At the same time, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has also developed a direct current motor for power trains. The Beijing Capital Airport Express uses Mitsubishi DC motors.
Currently, Mitsubishi is not particularly successful in the UHVDC network, but Mitsubishi electric co., LTD is at the forefront of the use of dc in the world. Unfortunately, at the end of June this year, a huge scandal broke out in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Mitsubishi Electric Co., Ltd. has been reporting fake quality data to customers since the 1980s to get through the inspection of air conditioners on trains supplied to domestic railway companies, the Nikkei reported. Takeshi Sugiyama resigned as president of Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric. This is a huge blow to the Mitsubishi Group and a disappointment to customers who have long trusted Mitsubishi Electric. Maybe in the future, when the super grid needs to use DC motors in its substations, it will need to cooperate with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation at various levels, but at present, there is no need for them in the project.
Siemens
Founded in 1847, Siemens AG is a global leader in the field of electrical and electronic engineering. Siemens and GE have grown in similar ways, but one is based in America and the other in Germany. Siemens’s Asian and European businesses grew before GE did, and it is also moving from making energy feedstocks to electrifying them. Siemens’ original HVDC transmission lines in Europe have been unexplored, but Siemens has shown China the great potential of HVDC transmission lines for long-distance transmission. In 1984, Siemens built China’s first high-voltage direct current transmission line. The line would have carried 1,200 megawatts of power from the Gezhouba hydropower station, then China’s largest hydropower station, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, to Shanghai, thousands of miles away. Completed in 1989, the project marks Siemens’ significant contribution to the transmission of HVDC power in China, as well as demonstrating Siemens’ expertise in installing high-tech equipment and the reliability of its products.
In 1985, Siemens acquired Allis-Chalmers’ interest in the partnership company Siemens-Allis (founded in 1978), which provided electrical control equipment. It is merged into Siemens’ energy and automation divisions. This has given Siemens further strength in electrical. In 1998, Siemens acquired Westinghouse Power from CBS Corporation for more than $1.5 billion, elevating Siemens from third to second place in the world power generation market. Siemens abandoned the solar photovoltaic business in 2002 by selling to Shell its stake in a joint venture it had formed with Shell and E. ON in 2001. In 2004, Bonus Energy, a wind energy company based in Brand, Denmark, was acquired to form Siemens’ wind power division.
From 2004 to 2009, Siemens acquired a series of companies and invested in venture capital firms to build a presence in solar thermal power generation. In September 2011, Siemens, which builds Germany’s 17 existing nuclear power plants, announced it was pulling out of the nuclear power sector in the wake of the Fukushima disaster and subsequent changes in Germany’s energy policy. CEO Peter Loscher backed the German government’s planned Evergreened, a transition to renewable energy technologies. In 2014, with the rapid expansion of wind power in the UK, Siemens announced plans to build the US $264 million offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant in Paul, UK. In June 2014, Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced a joint venture to bid for Alstom’s troubled energy and transportation businesses but lost to GE.
Siemens currently has its technology and control in clean energy production, and with its knowledge of the UHV grid, Siemens will play an important role in the super grid. Siemens can take advantage of existing clean energy resources in North Africa, convert them into electricity and deliver it to Europe. While Siemens is not the only choice for clean energy production, it is one of the largest companies to integrate all those with the capacity to build clean energy power plants in North Africa. When these companies come together, SuperGrid is no longer just an idea.