Research and development is a vital source of ABB’s technology leadership.
At the heart of it are our people, in R&D and beyond, together with our partners: customers, suppliers and leading technology institutions around the world. Our product and process innovations aim to enhance electrical power reliability and industrial productivity, helping our customers improve competitiveness while reducing environmental impact.
Innovation rarely happens in isolation. At the interface between market pull and technology push, the right mix of insight and ingenuity counts. We launch R&D projects in close cooperation with our business and marketing people, or directly with pilot customers, to have a clear understanding of their present and future requirements.
Our research and development centers around the globe are close to both our customers and our technology partners. In recent years, we have increased our research presence in growing markets like India and China and strengthened our presence in the U.S. And we continue to work closely with more than 70 of the world’s leading universities and research institutes, including such renowned institutions as Carnegie Mellon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Cambridge University.
As strong as our people
Many of our customers want operational flexibility coupled with assurance that their products and systems will operate reliably for many years without major refits or overhaul. Innovation that reconciles continuity with progress is a high priority and a worthwhile challenge for our more than 6,000 scientists and developers, especially given ABB’s massive installed base of power and automation technologies around the world.
Our advanced industrial software and service offerings significantly reduce cycle times and inventories while increasing operational effectiveness. This clear strategy, marked by our early move into industrial information technology, puts us a step ahead of the competition – a market lead we plan to keep and build on.
Sustainability remains a top priority for most of our customers, and for ABB as a company, so it commands a significant share of our R&D budget. Today, energy-efficient ABB drives and motors not only reduce energy cost for a fast economic payback, but also prevent the emission of 70 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year.
Since we already deliver more than a million products per day to ensure reliable power and plant performance, we are ideally positioned for further pioneering innovations that add economic and environmental value.
Our fundamental R&D priorities never change – products, systems and services for increased productivity, reliable energy, and sustained customer partnerships.