Sustainability, energy security at forefront of China's industrial transformation

Automation, electrification and digitalization-related solutions are all part of serving the soaring demands for sustainability and ensuring the security of energy and critical material supplies in China, said a senior executive of ABB Group, the Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation.

With China focused on achieving carbon neutrality through industrial transformation and sustainable development, these innovations are not only utilized in China but also have found applications in various other global markets, said Peter Terwiesch, ABB's executive committee member and president of the group's process automation business area.

"This global collaboration stands as a cornerstone of our strategy. We remain committed to advancing technological solutions that not only cater to the increasing global energy demand but also contribute to reduced emissions for each unit of energy added," said Terwiesch during his visit to Shanghai earlier this month. "

For instance, ABB and State-owned telecommunications company China Telecom unveiled a joint digitalization and industrial internet of things (IoT) laboratory in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province to support manufacturing industries with end-to-end industrial IoT solutions in June. Through this partnership and ongoing development, ABB has been using artificial intelligence as a tool for data analytics and looking at the new world of possibilities opened by generative AI.

Highlighting many industries in China have placed digital transformation at the forefront of their agendas, he said that with more than 70 percent of ABB's research and development resources dedicated to digital and software innovations and a robust ecosystem of digital partners, ABB is supporting customers in China to help them unlock insights hidden in operational data for better decisions and significant gains in productivity, cuts in energy consumption and lower maintenance costs.

Since the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has made substantial achievements over the past decade, Terwiesch said the Shanghai FTZ has created an improving business environment for multinational companies and it has been one of the elements to open the Chinese market. The FTZ policies have also strengthened ABB's exporting from China to other markets.

"A big element is currency exposure, especially where we do longer projects. Currency exposure is sometime quite significant and, through the FTZ, we could mitigate that," he added.