Appointment With Royalty For ABB’s Offshore Wind Electrification Solutions

MARCH 2, 2023

An ABB delegation joined Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and the UK’s Secretary of State for New Energy and Net Zero, Grant Shapps MP, at an energy transition summit on Wednesday 1 March in London. The one-day event, attended by 500 energy business leaders and government officials from Norway and the UK, strengthened collaborations between the two countries to achieve net zero by 2050.

The event emphasized the significance of policy frameworks, investments, advancement in digitalization and artificial intelligence and cross-border cooperation between the United Kingdom and Norway. It also sought to address the challenges and solutions to reduce emissions intensity in the production of offshore oil and gas through electrification and offshore wind power.

With over 40 years of experience as a technology leader in power generation, management and control of offshore wind, ABB was invited to present how the electrification of offshore facilities and the integration of renewables can help accelerate the energy transition.

“It was an honor to be able to demonstrate to this summit how ABB’s electrification, automation and digitalization technologies are playing a key role in electrifying offshore assets with renewables, integrating offshore wind into the energy mix to help reduce industrial CO2 emissions,” said Asmund Maland, Senior Vice President Subsea and Offshore Power at ABB Energy Industries. “Such technology also enhances safety, drives productivity, ensures reliability and increases efficiency for offshore energy producers.”

The environmental benefits of offshore wind extend beyond boosting the amount of clean energy in the overall mix. For example, at Hywind Tampen in the Norwegian North Sea – the world’s first floating wind farm to power oil and gas platforms – offshore wind generation is being used to decarbonize hydrocarbon projects. Supplying renewable electricity to oil and gas fields reduces the emissions per barrel of the oil produced. ABB’s scope of work on the project includes an automation solution that controls the power generation from the wind farm so it can be connected to the oil and gas operations.

The UK is committed to becoming a clean energy superpower by the end of this decade. In December 2022, the government signed an agreement on offshore renewable energy cooperation with the EU and North Sea countries. The collaboration of the development of offshore renewable energy and grid infrastructure will support the UK’s target to increase offshore wind fivefold to 50 GW by 2030.

“For both the UK and Norway, enhancing our energy security and independence is an absolute priority – moving away from volatile international markets in fossil fuels and towards greater use of alternative energy sources,” said Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for New Energy and Net Zero. “Today’s extension of the historic partnership between our two nations – will do just that, boosting our use of the latest green technologies to ensure the security of supply, and increasing cooperation on the latest innovations and developments that will maintain our positions as world leaders in this field.”

ABB’s Process Automation business is a leader in automation, electrification and digitalization for the process and hybrid industries. We serve our customers with a broad portfolio of products, systems, and end-to-end solutions, including our # 1 distributed control system, software, and lifecycle services, industry-specific products as well as measurement and analytics, and marine offerings. As the global #2 in the market, we build on our deep domain expertise, diverse team and global footprint, and are dedicated to helping our customers increase competitiveness, improve their return on investment and run safe, smart, and sustainable operations.

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ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimize how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s ~105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation.

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