ABB opens new production plant for energy storage systems

The energy storage systems will be used in railways, e-buses/trolleybuses and e-trucks. The facility represents an important investment in Switzerland as a production location and provides added value for applications at home and abroad. ABB has already received orders for energy storage systems from several vehicle manufacturers from different countries. Among other applications, they will be used in new trolleybuses in the Swiss cities of Zürich, Lausanne and Fribourg. Unlike in Switzerland, many other European countries still have countless non-electrified railway lines. Integration of energy storage systems makes it possible to convert Diesel trainsets into Diesel hybrid vehicles, thus cutting CO2 emissions by 30% with the possibility of achieving significant energy savings through recuperation. “Our production facility for energy storage systems here in Baden only reinforces our technology and market leadership in the field of sustainable mobility. We have been making advances here with our solutions for over 100 years. This enables us to supply the entire power train including energy storage solutions for rail, e-bus, trolleybus and e-truck applications from a single source,” said Robert Itschner, CEO of ABB Switzerland and Local Business Manager of the Motion business. Battery cells are assembled into standardised battery modules in production. These are combined into energy storage systems and configured according to the specific application. Two ABB robots are used in the production process; one places the battery cells in the module housing and the other joins them by means of a highly precise laser welding process. All data in the production process is recorded digitally on a continuous basis. Baden was selected as the production location for different reasons including its proximity to the ABB Center of Excellence for Traction Converters in Turgi and to the ABB Corporate Research Center in Dättwil.