ABB Review Special Report - ABB - ABB Group

ForewordReliable grids, with power technologiesfrom the market leaderenced business leaders. ABB has builtits reputation in power technology onthese three strengths.The recent blackouts in the US andEurope have made more than just themedia think about the critical importanceof a secure and reliable supply ofpower. In our homes and throughoutbusiness and industry, the message isclear: no longer can we take for grantedthat power will simply be availableeverywhere, always.Reliable power grids are the result of apartnership between governments, theelectric utilities, consumers and, notleast, the providers of the all-importanttechnology that generates, transmitsand distributes the power so efficiently.Over a country’s power infrastructureflows its lifeblood – the energy that isessential to efficient running of ourhomes and offices, our factories andairports. Much of our future prosperitywill depend on how we look after it.Modern power systems are the result ofcontinuous development and improvementwhich, over the years, has led tohighly sophisticated and complex technologies.Their reliable operation is atribute to the work of dedicated scientists,innovative engineers and experi-Invention and innovation have a longtradition at ABB, and many of the keytechnologies upon which the powerindustry is founded were pioneered byour company. Our track record goesback more than a century, and includesthe world’s first three-phase powertransmission system and the world’s firstself-cooling transformer. ABB also pioneeredHVDC technology. To mark thisachievement, our company will celebrate‘50 years of HVDC’ together withour customers in spring 2004.It is this pioneering spirit that still drivesus today. Recent breakthroughs includeour HVDC Light TM technology, whichextends the economical power range ofhigh-voltage direct current transmissiondown to just a few megawatts andopens up new possibilities for improvingquality in power grids.Our utility and industrial customersaround the world rely on proven powertechnologies, researched, developedand made by ABB. In power transmissionand distribution, ABB is the recognizedleader, with a world market shareof some 20 percent.Every fourth power transformer andhigh-voltage circuit breaker in the worldcomes from ABB. Some of our high-endproducts and systems – generator breakers,for example – have beaten eventhis proud record and captured morethan half of the world market. The sameis true in other important areas of thepower sector, like high-voltage directcurrent (HVDC) transmission or flexible4Special ReportABB Review