ABB has decided that its Turbocharging division needs a new brand name for its heavy duty diesel and gas engines turbochargers, and has settled on ‘Accelleron’, which the company explains as a compound word made up from Access – Accelerate – Excel – on and on.
Additionally, the new brand is given a bold bright purple colour, which, according to ABB, represents a powerful, inspirational, and noble brand.
The new brand is centred around the company’s slogan “Together we inspire, innovate and exceed expectations”. It builds on the company’s legacy of over 100 years in turbocharging, embodying an ambition to continue its development as a global market-leader in its sectors, helping to move further in a more sustainable way. The first practical application of turbochargers, which were invented by Swiss national Alfred Büchi, was for large marine engines built by Brown Boveri & Co. (now ABB) in 1924.
The new brand is part of ABB’s portfolio management strategy to operationally separate the Turbocharging division before a final decision is made between a sale or a spin-off of the business towards the end of the first quarter. Whichever path is chosen by ABB to separate the business, this process is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022.
CEO Oliver Riemenschneider will be succeeded by Daniel Bischofberger on March 1, 2022, rejoining ABB from Sulzer. In the case of a spin-off, Riemenschneider is expected to become Chairman of Accelleron.
Riemenschneider said: “Unveiling the Accelleron brand is a seminal moment for our business. We are proud about our heritage but are also excited about our next chapter of growth, providing cutting-edge technology and service solutions for our clients.”
Accelleron offers technologies and optimisation solutions for engines of 0.5 to 80-plus MW output. The new company inherits an installed base of about 180,000 turbochargers across all market sectors, and a network of more than 100 service stations worldwide. In 2021, the turbocharger division achieved revenues of about US$ 750m and has over 2,300 employees worldwide, of which roughly 800 are located at its headquarters and global R&D centre in Baden, Switzerland.
One key market driver for Accelleron is the trend towards decarbonisation against the background of international and national regulations, including the IMO’s goal of halving GHG emissions from ships by 2050. Upgrades and new net-zero carbon fuel technologies are expected to support the strategic direction of the business in the next years. Accelleron is involved in developing prototype projects with alternative fuels such as hydrogen, methanol, and ammonia.
ABB says its turbochargers can reduce fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions by an average of 405,000t/yr in the shipping industry alone.
