ABB innovations make up most of the products and services we market today.
2009: ABB commissions ultrahigh voltage gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) for a substation in China, rated at 1,100 kV with a switching capability of 6,900 MW - the biggest leap in capacity and efficiency of AC power transmission in more than two decades.
2008: ABB commissions the longest (580 km) and most powerful submarine cable link in the world, based on HVDC technology, with a transmission capacity of 700 megawatts, interconnecting Norway and the Netherlands.
2008: ABB's System 800xA achieves SIL3 certification, the highest level of safety accreditation typically found in the process industry.
2007: ABB implements the IEC 61850 standard for substation communication, permitting unprecedented levels of integration.
2006: ABB introduces SafeMove, permitting robots to safely share their working environment with humans.
2005: ABB becomes the first company in the world to power off-shore gas production, introducing remote power generation via HVDC Light and Motorformer, the world’s first cable-wound high-voltage AC motor.
2004: ABB unveils its process automation system, Industrial IT System 800xA, marrying ABB technologies with the varied platforms in customers' plants for seamless operation. ABB sold its 1,000th system in July 2005.
2003: After chronic power shortages in the United States, ABB commissions a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link between independent grids in the west and east, for a controlled flow of power and greater reliability.
2002: ABB robotics delivers its 100,000th robot, the first industrial supplier to do so.
1997: ABB sets out to create a single Industrial IT architecture for its entire range of technologies and products.
1990: Azipod – the Azimuthing Podded Drive – gives ships more maneuverability with a motor that is 360-degrees steerable.
1988: Asea and BBC merge to form one of the world's largest electrical engineering companies.
1984: BBC delivers generators for the world's largest hydroelectric power station at Itaipu in Brazil.
1974: Asea invents and launches one of the world's first industrial robots.
1963: The first data transmission at carrier frequency is sent by BBC over a 735-kilovolt high-voltage line to a power station control unit.
1953: Asea is the first company in the world to manufacture synthetic diamonds.
1950: Asea receives the first order for its pioneering long-distance power transmission using high-voltage direct current efficient high-voltage direct current technology.
1944: BBC develops the first high-speed locomotive with a direct drive system.
1933: BBC invents a new concept for building turbine rotors.
1932: Asea builds the world's first self-cooling transformer.
1901: BBC builds the first steam turbine in Europe.
1893: Asea builds the first three-phase transmission system in Sweden.
1891: BBC is the first company to transmit high-voltage AC power.