Not many companies have such a long history as ABB. The Swedish-Swiss company is now operating in more than 100 countries and employing over 135k people. They’re leaders in electrification, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, just to name a few areas of their operation.
The company’s main goal is to promote sustainable mobility by providing charging solutions following their concept of “from any power plant to any plug” and automating industries. Since 2010 they have installed more than 7,000 DC cloud-connected fast-charging stations in 60 countries, thus establishing themselves as a global leader. Electrify America, the biggest electric vehicle infrastructure project in the US has recently decided to use their chargers.
ABB’s most recent success is the world’s fastest e-vehicle charger – Terra HP – launched during Hannover Messe. The fast charger operates at powers of up to 350 kilowatts, which means you can add 200 km of range to an EV in just 8 minutes! It’s how long it takes to get a coffee at a cafe or get dressed.
Terra HP has the capacity to charge two vehicles at the same time. It is possible thanks to the Dynamic DC power sharing technology, which continuously optimises the available grid connection. The two-power cabinet system is also perfect for highway rest stops and petrol stations since it can charge both 400 V and 800 V cars at full power. After installation, additional power cabinets and charge posts can be added to accommodate the growing need for EV infrastructure. Moreover, Terra HP provides individually cooled charging cables and the highest uptime due to redundancy in power and communication.
ABB Ability™ Connected Services, part of the charging system, allows the operators to easily connect chargers to back offices, payment platforms or smart grids systems. Since ABB’s stations are connected to cloud diagnostics, repair and software updates can be run remotely and seamlessly. This minimises the downtime and keeps the running costs low.
ABB is also the title partner of Formula E, the world’s first auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars. On June 10, the next-to-last race of the championship took place in Zurich, giving the company the perfect opportunity to showcase their innovations.
“ABB and Formula E are two pioneers who are shaping the latest electrification and digital technologies,” said Ulrich Spiesshofer, ABB CEO. “ABB is a technology and market leader in electrification, with the largest installed base of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles worldwide; ABB Formula E serves as a competitive platform to develop and test e-mobility-relevant electrification and digitalization technologies. By joining forces, ABB and Formula E are ideally positioned to push the boundaries of e-mobility.”
But that’s not all. During the race weekend, an E-Village was set up. In ABB’s booth, the visitors could take a look at a high-performance electric car and two most advanced charging stations – the Terra 53 and Terra HP. ABB also presented other projects they’re working on, such as fast-charging stations for bus stops which can recharge the vehicle’s battery in the time it takes for passengers to board or a zero-emission water taxi.
