With the growing global demand for renewable energy, the market for ultra-long-distance power transmission and high-voltage products will continue to expand. ABB's major breakthrough in cable technology announced last month has injected a significant boost into its persistently sluggish power systems business. ABB has successfully developed a 525 kV extruded high-voltage direct current transmission cable system, more than doubling the cable's transmission capacity and extending the transmission distance from less than 1,000 km to 1,500 km.
“This means that the electricity that used to require several transmission lines to carry can now be transmitted with just one,” Spiesshofer said in an interview. “This new technology will obviously give us a significant advantage in the competition for 525 kV or higher voltage cables. We expect a string of large orders to follow, enabling us to turn a profit in this business.” ABB has already won an $800 million order this month from Scottish Hydro (SHE) for a submarine high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.
The new wind power business model will also boost the power system business. ABB has become a diversified supplier in the wind power field, providing customers with products and solutions in various fields, including generators, converters, and transformers. Spiesshofer said, "All wind power grid connection will involve converter stations and cables, and ABB has a very clear advantage in both of these technologies; as for installation and construction, we will use shipping measures in the future, and we are only using a small part of this measure now."
New cable technology helps the development of China's offshore wind power market.
The breakthrough in cable technology is also of great significance to ABB's power business in China. At the National Energy Administration's 13th Five-Year Plan Energy Planning Conference, Wu Xinxiong reiterated the call to significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy, aiming to achieve the goal of 15% non-fossil energy share by 2020, with wind power capacity reaching 200 million kilowatts.
Spiesshofer believes that due to the limited land area along China's coast, offshore wind power will be more common than onshore wind power, and it is usually located in very remote sea areas. Under these circumstances, the development of long-distance power transmission technology is imperative.
Previously, ABB's competitor Siemens had stated that the Chinese offshore wind power market was failing to meet investor expectations. In an interview, Spiesshofer stated that such concerns were unnecessary, "because ABB has the ability to balance its various renewable energy businesses and adjust resource allocation according to the decisions of the Chinese government." Spiesshofer believes that ABB's offshore wind power business in China has performed exceptionally well in recent years and remains optimistic about the market in the long term.
