ABB’s Electrification Business offers a portfolio of products, digital solutions and services from substation to socket for the power sector. In this interview with Rakesh Rao, Kiran Dutt, President – Electrification, ABB India, highlights the importance of India for ABB and emerging opportunities for his division. Kiran Dutt is also the Vice Chairman of Low-Voltage (LV) Switchgear Division of Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers & Association (IEEMA).

Can you provide us an overview of ABB’s Electrification Division in India?
The Electrification Division has the largest share in ABB’s India business. ABB has five manufacturing locations - two in Bangalore and one each in Nashik, Faridabad, and Vadodara. Except for Faridabad, all other locations manufacture products of the Electrification Division.

ABB's Electrification Division has seven business areas catering to requirements from source (i.e. power generation) to switch in the entire energy value chain. Being a global technology leader in electrical distribution and management, we are supporting the power sector in India with safe, smart and sustainable solutions to meet its growing energy requirements. For example, when you move power (current) from one point to another, safety (i.e. protection of people, products/equipment, systems, buildings, etc) becomes paramount. Depending upon the quantum of power being moved, ABB provides various types of circuit breakers and control devices - which are used as protection devices.

What kinds of opportunities do renewable energy sector presents to ABB India?
India has energy generation capacity of about 410 GW, with about 175 GW coming from renewables (including hydro power). Wind and solar energy sectors, accounting for about 115 GW, are growing at a fast pace and is expected to reach 500 GW in the next few years. At the same time, the per capita electricity consumption in India is very less at about 1200 kwh, which is around one-third of the global average (for USA, it is about 12,100 kwh). With rising urbanization and growing purchasing power of the population, usage of electricity is growing at robust rate. On the one hand the Government of India (GoI) is looking to boost power generation using renewables, on the other hand it wants to meet the country’s decarbonisation goals while meeting this rising energy need.

Growing renewable sector provides us big opportunity as all renewable power sources will use our systems. In renewables, protection become very critical as energy is generated in DC and then converted into AC for usage. You need specialised devices for protection of DC power. As green energy sources increase their contribution to India's energy basket, there will be an evolution of products required for renewables. Hence, our R&D team continuously works on new products and solution to fulfill India's evolving demand.

What does surging electric vehicles and electronics demand means to ABB?
To address the requirements of electric vehicles (EVs) industry, ABB has multiple solutions such as AC and DC charges. At Elecrama 2023, we are displaying Terra 360 – the world's fastest car charger capable of fully charging an electric car in less than 15 minutes. This can be used on a highway as it provides quick charging option. At present, we are offering solutions for four wheeler segment.

In electronics, the Government of India (GoI) has announced incentives for semiconductors, which require advanced technology for manufacturing and high-level of power conditioning system. We have products for this industry as well. We see a huge opportunity in electronic manufacturing sector with many companies planning for big investments to set up production in the country.

How do you intend to propel growth?
India will play a key role in meeting our future growth projections. At present, the market is booming. We focus on 20 different segments of the industry that are offering high growth opportunity.

While we expand our capacity to meet the requirements of the market, we will do so by adopting green, eco-friendly manufacturing practices. All our plants of ABB are either Platinum or Gold certified by IGBC (Indian Green Building Council). As we go forward, we expect to grow at a high growth rate with sustainability continue to be at the core our business.