A subsidiary of the International Society of Automation
Cancel
Search Sponsored By Sponsor

ABB announces Smart Grid Center of Excellence in Raleigh, North Carolina

  • September 23, 2010
  • ABB
  • News

Summary

September 23, 2010 – ABB is expanding its Raleigh, North Carolina facility to include a technology center devoted to smart grid, known as the Smart Grid Center of Excellence. ABB is making an initial investment of $10 million in the technology center. ABB will initially house the Smart Grid COE in its existing Centennial Campus facilities at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh, with plans to build and lease out space on the Centennial Campus for a permanent facility nearby. The center will initially house several full-time dedicated ABB employees. These positions will be supported by the state of North Carolina, after the state’s Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) committee recently approved grants for new engineering positions in Wake County. “As the world’s largest supplier of power transmission and distribution systems, ABB has always been on the leading edge of power technology,” said Enrique Santacana, ABB region manager for North America. “This initiative reaffirms ABB’s commitment to the smart grid and positions us to play an even larger leadership role in its development and implementation.” Santacana said ABB’s long history with the state played a key factor in Raleigh’s selection. “ABB has a positive, long-standing relationship with North Carolina, and Raleigh in particular,” he said. “The combination of North Carolina’s support for technology innovation, our great partnership with N.C. State University, the abundance of engineering talent, support from state officials, and the Triangle’s growing reputation as a hotbed of smart-grid activity make Raleigh the right place to make this investment.”The Smart Grid Center of Excellence (COE) will include a testing and development laboratory, a verification center to certify customer solutions before deployment, and a demonstration center that will showcase ABB’s smart grid technologies and collaborative partnerships. ABB will work closely with the FREEDM Systems Center, a strategic partner of ABB’s which is also based on Centennial Campus of N.C. State. The FREEDM Systems Center was established in 2008 by NSF to develop smart grid technology based on advanced power electronics and information technology. “This is a very important development,” said Dr. Alex Huang, Progress Energy Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering, FREEDM Systems Center. “This new initiative by ABB will further enhance our collaboration. We are excited that ABB has initiated this new Smart Grid Center of Excellence and we look forward to collaborating with ABB right here in our own backyard.”ABB will operate this smart grid technology center, which ABB officials believe will enable collaboration and partnerships with several local entities in the power industry. This includes the FREEDM Center, local utilities such as Duke Energy and Progress Energy, and other local metering and communications companies. “It is clear the Raleigh and Triangle region, and North Carolina in general, is gaining momentum and quickly becoming a national smart grid hub – with so many energy companies and utilities bolstering their presence here on top of ongoing world-class research-and-development and educational initiatives coming from N.C. State,” said Adrienne Cole, Executive Director of the Raleigh Economic Development Council. The site is already home to the North America headquarters of ABB’s Power Products and Power Systems divisions as well as one of eight global corporate research centers that is focused on advanced power system technology. ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people. The company's North American operations, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, employ about 11,000 people in 20 manufacturing and other major facilities. Learn More

Did you enjoy this great article?

Check out our free e-newsletters to read more great articles..

Subscribe