On November 6th, during the 8th China International Import Expo, ABB officially launched the “Digital Innovation · Zero Carbon Initiative” China action at its booth, extending an invitation to customers from various industries, upstream and downstream partners, and research and innovation institutions. It called for the collaborative construction of a zero-carbon ecosystem, the growth of green new drivers, and the acceleration of green transformation in key areas such as energy, industry, transportation, and infrastructure. Join hands to advance the “dual carbon” process.
ABB Group CEO Martin pointed out: “In today’s world, energy demand continues to rise, climate issues are becoming increasingly severe, and artificial intelligence and digital technologies are reshaping thousands of industries.” ABB believes that electrification and energy efficiency improvement are the inevitable paths to net zero. Our “Net Zero Emissions by 2050” target has been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In the future, we will join hands more closely with our customers, suppliers and all partners to forge resilience through collaborative innovation and jointly build a sustainable development path.
The proposal for the 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and building a beautiful China. It is proposed to accelerate the construction of a new energy system, continuously increase the proportion of new energy supply, speed up the construction of smart grids and microgrids, enhance the electrification level of terminal energy consumption, deeply implement energy conservation and carbon reduction renovations, develop distributed energy, and build zero-carbon factories and parks. Taking carbon peaking and carbon neutrality as the driving force, we will promote carbon reduction, pollution control, green expansion and growth in a coordinated manner, build a solid ecological security barrier and enhance the momentum of green development.
Gu Chunyuan, Chairman of ABB China, said in his speech: “In the new era when China is fully moving towards green and low-carbon development, only by joining hands can all parties make progress together.” ABB has identified “empowering a low-carbon society, protecting natural resources, and promoting social progress” as the three core pillars of its sustainable development agenda. The company takes electrical and automation technologies as its core, integrates digital and AI innovations, and continuously drives itself and its customers to achieve energy conservation, carbon reduction, and green development.
ABB deeply integrates the concept of sustainable development into its local operations. By the end of 2024, ABB China’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions had decreased by 92.8% compared to the 2019 benchmark, and the recycling rate of harmless waste in the production process reached 89.6%. At present, eight local ABB enterprises in China have been awarded the title of “Green Factory” by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, five have obtained the Gold or Platinum certification for zero landfill of waste, and 14 have passed the ISO50001 energy management system certification.
Technological innovation is the key variable to break the zero-carbon constraint. While ABB is advancing its own vision of zero emissions, it is actively driving energy conservation and efficiency improvement in its upstream and downstream industrial chains, creating replicable and scalable green benchmarks. At the China International Import Expo, each business division showcased the latest practices covering electrical, motion control, process automation and robotics, providing zero-carbon paths for green upgrades in multiple fields.
The first “zero-carbon AI+ photovoltaic storage direct flexible” demonstration park in Yangzhong, jointly built by Jiangsu HNA Electric and ABB, was officially launched in September. The project strictly adheres to the requirements of the “National Zero-Carbon Park Construction Index System” issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, achieving a green electricity substitution rate and a local consumption rate of clean energy both exceeding 90%. The park has deployed the ABB ZEE600 green zero-carbon intelligent management system, which adopts edge data cleaning algorithms to achieve millisecond-level data optimization. It is equipped with dual AI prediction engines to realize the “source-grid-load-storage” intelligent regulation strategy of intelligent agent collaboration. By leveraging the photovoltaic storage direct current flexible technology to build a DC microgrid system, energy utilization efficiency can be enhanced by 15%, providing a replicable and exemplary benchmark solution for the zero-carbon transformation of industrial parks in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Motion Control: Ship Energy Efficiency solutions
ABB is firmly committed to the IMO’s 2050 “net zero” target and, with its full product portfolio of motors, generators and drives, is providing strong support for the shipbuilding industry’s transition from low-carbon to zero-carbon. ABB’s motion control solutions cover energy-saving demands in all scenarios. Particularly through the optimized design of permanent magnet motors and drive products, they achieve efficiency leaps, power factor improvements, and current reductions, thereby saving both capital and operational expenses. ABB permanent magnet shaft belt generators and ACS 880LC drive products empower hybrid propulsion with ultra-high efficiency. A single 1.5MW AXW permanent magnet propulsion motor can achieve the goal of saving $38,000 and reducing 80 tons of CO₂ emissions annually, leading every nautical mile towards a green future.
ABB’s intelligent manufacturing solution for the steel and non-ferrous metals industry is based on the ABB Ability™ system and integrates advanced technologies such as digital twins, machine vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to build an intelligent manufacturing system composed of a process automation platform, an intelligent centralized control platform, and a process big data platform. Among them, the ABB big Data analysis platform, as the core of intelligent manufacturing, includes process analysis modules, equipment analysis modules, production modules, quality modules, and energy modules. Through the collection and analysis of massive production data, it mines value from the data of the metallurgical production process, facilitating the realization of intelligent decision-making and intelligent production.
Robots and Discrete Automation: Robot Solutions Empower Zero-carbon Intelligent Manufacturing
Relying on ABB’s robot workstations, the ABB Xiamen Industrial Center has integrated multiple cutting-edge technologies such as 3D vision, deep learning algorithms, and MultiMove collaborative control. It can quickly complete shell assembly on the continuous production line, making large-scale customized production and flexible fully automated production of switch cabinets a reality. The production capacity has increased by 31%, and the delivery speed has improved by 50%. The production line space is saved by 31%. ABB Robotics is committed to promoting the development of autonomous multi-functional robot (AVR™) technology, providing flexible, modular, and AI-driven robot solutions to facilitate intelligent upgrades and better meet the demands of personalized customization and flexible production.
Taking the China International Import Expo as an opportunity, ABB has launched the “Digital Innovation · Zero Carbon Initiative”, sincerely inviting enterprises, institutions and experts from all walks of life who share the same vision to jointly research technologies, share cases, promote transformation and build a zero-carbon ecosystem. We will continuously iterate efficient, intelligent and scalable green solutions through closer collaboration. Jointly move towards a sustainable future of energy transformation and industrial upgrading.
