Against the dual background of accelerating global energy transition and continuous growth in electricity demand, ensuring the safe and stable operation of power systems and improving grid efficiency and flexibility have become core goals of national energy strategies. As a global leader in power technology, ABB is helping power operators worldwide address multiple challenges such as grid aging, renewable energy integration, and power market reforms through innovative digital services and advanced grid upgrade solutions. Recently, ABB has successfully implemented several grid upgrade and digital transformation projects worldwide, providing key support for building a more reliable, efficient, and intelligent modern power system.
Modern power systems are facing unprecedented complex challenges: on the one hand, traditional power generation assets are gradually aging and need upgrading to improve reliability and efficiency; on the other hand, the integration of large-scale renewable energy has fundamentally changed the operating characteristics of the power grid, putting forward higher requirements for the regulation capability and stability of the grid; at the same time, the rapid development of distributed energy, energy storage systems, and electric vehicles has also made the power system shift from the traditional centralized architecture to a distributed and decentralized direction. By integrating power equipment technology and digital capabilities, ABB has built solutions covering the entire life cycle of grid planning, construction, and operation and maintenance, helping customers address these challenges.
In the field of grid upgrading and transformation, ABB has reached a cooperation agreement worth 350 million US dollars with a large North American power company to modernize its aging transmission network. The project covers the transformation of 2,000 kilometers of transmission lines and the automation upgrade of 15 substations, making it one of the largest grid upgrade projects in North America in recent years. The core goals of the project are to improve grid transmission capacity, enhance system stability, and create conditions for the integration of large-scale wind and solar power generation projects.
ABB's key equipment for the project includes the latest generation of GIS (Gas Insulated Switchgear), SVG (Static Var Generator), digital protection relays, and intelligent sensors. Among them, ABB's UniGear™ ZS1 switchgear adopts a compact design, reducing the floor area by 40% compared with traditional equipment, while featuring higher reliability and a longer maintenance cycle, which can significantly reduce the operating costs of substations. By deploying the ABB Ability™ Symphony Plus control system, comprehensive digital monitoring and remote operation of substations have been realized. Operators can grasp the equipment status in real-time and perform remote control in the control center, greatly improving operation and maintenance efficiency and response speed. After the project is implemented, the transmission capacity of the transmission network will be increased by 25%, the system fault recovery time will be shortened by 60%, and the economic losses caused by power outages will be reduced by more than 50 million US dollars annually.
In the field of digital operation and maintenance services, ABB has provided artificial intelligence-based predictive maintenance services for a European cross-border power operator, covering more than 100 substations and 5,000 kilometers of transmission lines operated in multiple countries. Traditional power equipment maintenance mainly adopts regular maintenance mode, which has problems of over-maintenance or insufficient maintenance, which is not only costly but also difficult to effectively prevent sudden failures. ABB's predictive maintenance solution collects real-time status data such as temperature, vibration, and partial discharge of equipment by installing intelligent sensors on key equipment, combined with the AI analysis algorithm of the ABB Ability™ Asset Health Center platform, to realize accurate assessment of equipment health status and fault early warning.
The platform uses machine learning algorithms to establish equipment aging models and fault prediction models by analyzing historical fault data and real-time monitoring data, which can predict potential faults weeks or even months in advance and provide targeted maintenance suggestions. After implementing the solution, the customer's unplanned substation downtime has been reduced by 75%, maintenance costs have been reduced by 30%, and the average service life of equipment has been extended by more than 10 years.
In the field of distributed energy integration, ABB has provided a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) solution for an emerging economy in Asia, helping the country integrate a large number of distributed photovoltaic and small wind power projects. With the rapid development of distributed energy, traditional grid management methods have been difficult to adapt to the random fluctuations and bidirectional flow characteristics of a large number of distributed power sources, often leading to problems such as voltage fluctuations, frequency instability, and even islanding effects.
ABB's DERMS solution is based on advanced real-time simulation technology and optimization algorithms, which can real-time monitor the output of distributed energy and the operation status of the distribution network. By actively managing the output of distributed power sources and the charging and discharging of energy storage systems, it realizes the maximum absorption of distributed energy and the safe and stable operation of the power grid. The system can coordinately control more than 100,000 distributed energy nodes, including rooftop photovoltaics, small wind power, energy storage systems, and controllable loads. Through optimized scheduling, the utilization rate of distributed energy is increased by more than 20%. Meanwhile, the system also provides power operators with visual decision support tools to help them formulate more reasonable grid planning and operation strategies. After the project is put into use, the country's distributed energy grid connection capacity has increased from 500MW to 2GW, and the distribution network line loss rate has decreased by 15%, effectively promoting the large-scale application of renewable energy.
In the field of power market reform support, ABB has provided an advanced market optimization and settlement system for the Australian power market to support the market-oriented reform of its power market. With the gradual opening of the power market and intensified competition, accurate market forecasting, efficient transaction settlement, and flexible resource scheduling have become key to power companies' competitiveness. ABB's solution includes a market price prediction system, unit commitment optimization algorithm, and real-time settlement platform, which can help power companies make optimal decisions in a complex market environment.
The system uses advanced machine learning algorithms, combined with multi-dimensional information such as meteorological data, historical load, and market dynamics, to achieve accurate prediction of electricity prices and loads with a prediction accuracy of over 95%. By optimizing unit operation plans and trading strategies, it helps customers reduce power purchase costs and carbon emissions while ensuring power supply reliability. After the system is put into use, the customer's market operation efficiency has increased by 40%, and the power purchase cost has decreased by 8%, providing strong support for enterprise transformation under the background of power market reform.
The president of ABB's Grid Business Unit said: "The modernization and digital transformation of power systems are the foundation and prerequisite for achieving energy transition. ABB not only provides world-leading power equipment but also endows the grid with 'wisdom' through digital technologies, making it more adaptable and evolvable. Our solutions focus on the full life cycle value of the grid, integrating digital concepts from the planning and design stage, and realizing safe, efficient, and green operation of the grid through advanced equipment and intelligent software. In the critical period of global energy transition, ABB will continue to work closely with power industry customers to jointly build a modern power system that can support the future energy system."
The International Energy Agency (IEA) report points out that global electricity demand will grow by 40% by 2030, of which renewable energy generation will account for more than 40%. The modernization and intelligent upgrading of the power grid will require more than 10 trillion US dollars in investment. With its profound accumulation in power technology and digital fields, ABB is at the core of this transformation, contributing key strength to the transformation and upgrading of global power systems through continuous innovation and project practice, and helping to build a more sustainable energy future.
