ABB announced the official opening of its new DC fast charger production facility in Valdarno, Italy, which is also the company's largest.
The 16,000 m2 ABB E-mobility Centre of Excellence represents an investment of $30 million and will enable the production of a full range of ABB DC charging solutions (including the latest Terra 360) at an unprecedented scale.
The company says that the new state-of-the-art manufacturing site sets a new benchmark for the sector, producing one DC fast charger every 20 minutes. With seven production lines, the facility will have an output of more than 10,000 DC chargers per year.
ABB adds that the company's global output has now more than doubled over the last two years.
The ABB E-mobility Centre of Excellence in Valdarno has also 15 testing facilities that are able to simulate over 400 charging sessions per day. The company notes also that integrated automation solutions connect the shop floor to the innovative automatic warehouse, ensuring optimized stock control, full traceability, and efficient operations, supported by AGVs and handling vehicles.
The site includes a dedicated 3,200 m2 development and prototyping space devoted to R&D, which will employ 70 people out of over 500 total, which is a substantial part of more than 350 R&D jobs globally in the EV charging segment.
Overall, it seems that the DC fast charging business is finally hitting a mass scale level, which is highly needed to support mass electrification. With high manufacturing output, manufacturers should be able to lower the unit cost as well as improve quality and reliability.
Frank Mühlon, CEO of ABB E-mobility, said:
“The opening of our new Valdarno facility demonstrates ABB E-mobility’s commitment to building a zero-emission future. In addition to increased production capacity, the investment made in Valdarno helps to expand our innovative R&D activity, ensuring we can continue to cement our reputation as the world leader in electric vehicle charging solutions, delivering future proof e-mobility solutions for the vehicles of today and tomorrow.”
