ABB Showcases Future of Sustainable Manufacturing

Switzerland-based technology giant ABB recently revealed it reduced its annual carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 13,400 tons at its manufacturing hub in China’s port city of Xiamen. 

Spanning 425,000 square meters, the site is one of ABB’s largest manufacturing facilities, home to production lines for its low- and medium-voltage switchgear and circuit breakers. Situated along China’s southeast coast near Taiwan, the plant was inaugurated in 2018 with a $300 million investment as ABB’s then-largest manufacturing and research and development center. 

 

A collection of solar panels lies atop ABB’s 425,000-square-meter production facility in Xiamen, China. Image used courtesy of ABB

 

The facility now has 100,000 square meters of rooftop solar panels to offset around half of its annual electricity consumption. Generating a peak power of 12.3 megawatts (MW), the newly fitted solar installation is equipped with a smart energy management system that predicts future power production needs and monitors and manages loads with the site’s 600 kW/1.2 MWh battery storage system, electric vehicle chargers, and automated HVAC and lighting control functions. Additionally, more than 100 sensors monitor energy consumption in the building. 

 

ABB’s manufacturing hub in Xiamen, China, features 100,000 square meters of rooftop solar panels. Image used courtesy of ABB

 

A Model for Other Manufacturing Facilities

Topping 3,000 employees, the Xiamen plant represents a notable portion of ABB’s total headcount of around 105,000 employees worldwide. There, its low- and medium-voltage devices are installed in several infrastructure projects, such as western China’s Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, the 819-mile Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, and the 34-mile Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, as well as data centers for top internet companies. 

The facility is controlled by ABB’s Ability energy monitoring and management platform, called “ZEE600,” for distribution networks. The system balances loads with the site’s other renewable energy-based electricity, including battery storage systems and EV charging. Like other energy optimization platforms, ZEE600 incorporates peak shifting, demand response, load management, capacity firming, and isolated mode features. 

In its announcement, ABB said linking different solar photovoltaic (PV) fields, EV chargers, and factory loads is easy to replicate across other sites. The Xiamen facility is one of several ABB sites, mainly in Europe, upgrading their energy systems and adding efficient power supplies to support carbon-neutral goals. A predecessor to ABB’s latest upgrades in Xiamen was the 2021 installation of a rooftop solar system at its 24,000-square-meter plant in Beijing, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 400 tons annually. Like Xiamen, that project incorporated the company’s EV chargers and energy management software. 

ABB’s Xiamen model would also help address the industry’s growing concerns over rising energy prices. The company recently polled 2,300 CEOs, executives, and managers across multiple markets worldwide and found that 58% said energy costs might delay their decarbonization targets by one to five years. Still, 40% of respondents plan to install renewable energy generation sources on-site to reduce their dependence on local grids. 

 

ABB’s Larger Emissions-Reduction Goals

By 2030, ABB aims to slash its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by electrifying its vehicle fleet, exclusively using renewable energy sources, and improving energy efficiency across its operations. The program launched in 2019 with its first carbon-neutral plant in Lüdenscheid, Germany, serving as a blueprint for future developments. The solar-powered facility saved 375 tons of carbon emissions in its first five months of operating. 

Since 2019, ABB has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 65%, sourced 52% of its energy from renewables, and reduced its total energy consumption by 15%, according to its 2022 sustainability report. It also upped its use of solar electricity from 24% to 81%. 

 

ABB’s total energy use and scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, as published in its 2022 sustainability report (page 28). Image used courtesy of ABB

 

The Xiamen site is one of several plants receiving energy-efficiency overhauls to support ABB’s decarbonization goals. One of its manufacturing locations in Finland has already achieved carbon-neutral operations, cutting 636 tons of emissions. At a 45,000-square-meter manufacturing facility in Dalmine, Italy, ABB added 4,000 square meters of PV panels last year to reduce emissions by 25%. Also in Italy, ABB made several efficiency-targeted upgrades in 2020 at its Frosinone factory, yielding 30% energy savings. 

Beyond that, ABB’s global customer base uses its smart building products, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and energy management software to reduce its own emissions. As EE Power covered earlier this year, the company’s BESS product was installed in a carbon-neutral timber building in Sweden to replace a fire protection system that was previously powered by diesel generators.