ABB and Rolls-Royce announce microgrid partnership

ABB and Rolls-Royce have announced a global partnership which will offer an energy-efficient microgrid solution for utilities, commercial and industrial entities.

Microgrids offer reliable power supply, even with high penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources, as well as reduced costs and carbon emissions. Digital automation and control systems intelligently coordinate distributed energy resources and loads for the microgrid to function efficiently.

Under the partnership, Rolls-Royce will offer the MTU Onsite Energy brand power system solutions: from mission-critical, standby and continuous power to combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids. ABB will also provide its Ability e-mesh solution that enables the digitalisation of distributed energy resources. As well as reducing operational costs, the company said its cloud operations, site and fleet optimisation, weather and load forecast and machine learning algorithms offer insights for decision-making, such as how to increase revenue streams.

“Due to the transformation towards decarbonisation, customers need to pursue sustainable power options that also deliver utmost profitability. For this, we rely primarily on microgrids, which are autonomous energy supply systems that are efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly,” said Andreas Schell, CEO, Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “Combining our integrated MTU diesel and gas genset system technology and our control solutions, with ABB’s modular microgrid solution, control capability and remote service, will offer customers the combined strengths of the two world leaders in technology.”

“ABB Ability e-mesh can ensure a stable power grid, even with a high share of renewable energy from various sources, working smoothly together with already installed gas or diesel engines,” said Massimo Danieli, Head of ABB’s Grid Automation business line within the company’s Power Grids business. “ABB has a vast number of microgrid installations globally and through our partnership with Rolls-Royce Power Systems, we will further support the growing interest for microgrid solutions globally.”

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