ABB invests in strategic partnership with clean energy start-up to offer end-to-end wind energy portfolio

ABB Motion and WindESCo have formed a strategic partnership, with ABB acquiring a minority stake in WindESCo through its venture capital unit, ABB Technology Ventures (ATV). WindESCo, based in the US, is a leading provider of analytics software designed to enhance wind turbine performance and reliability. This investment reinforces ABB's position as a key facilitator of a low carbon society and its presence in the renewable power generation sector. It enables ABB to continually enhance the performance and reliability of wind turbines, provide comprehensive solutions to wind industry clients, and create a new avenue for its digital offerings. Financial specifics of the investment remain undisclosed.

ABB is a renowned supplier of wind converters for both medium and low voltage wind turbines. WindESCo, with approximately 25 employees, collaborates with 40 customers on projects spanning 18 countries. The company has developed top-tier, OEM-agnostic asset performance monitoring software capable of identifying anomalies in wind turbines, suggesting corrective measures, and assessing their outcomes. Additionally, WindESCo has created a wake optimization solution that utilizes data from an entire wind plant to optimize its output. Through this partnership, ABB and WindESCo can now deliver a comprehensive solution to their customers. WindESCo will benefit from ABB's electrical domain expertise to enhance its software offerings, while ABB fills a gap in its wind portfolio by adding a digital component to its existing digitally-enabled wind converters.

Chris Poynter, President of the System Drives division at ABB Motion, stated, "This strategic venture capital investment allows us to strengthen our market position in support of the energy transition and to continue shifting our portfolio of customer solutions toward renewables and decarbonization. It will complement ABB’s wind portfolio with a strong digital offering by WindESCo, enabling both companies to leverage their strong presence in the growing wind market. This win-win transaction will offer a holistic solution approach to our customer bases and expand ABB Motion's service offering. We look forward to developing new synergies with the talented team at WindESCo."

Mo Dua, CEO and founder of WindESCo, added, "There is tremendous value in wind turbine converter data. While most solutions have focused on mechanical systems, there has been a lack of impactful solutions for the electrical system. ABB's equity investment and our technical collaboration will empower WindESCo to extend its offerings to the wind turbine electrical system, with the aim of becoming the leading comprehensive asset performance monitoring solution provider in the wind industry. We are pleased that ABB has chosen WindESCo as their digitization partner."

This partnership contributes to the expansion of ABB's innovation partner ecosystem, which focuses on developing solutions that promote decarbonization and energy efficiency. Since 2009, ABB has invested approximately $400 million through its capital venture arm in alignment with its electrification, robotics, automation, and motion portfolio.

Source:new.abb.com