Hitachi and ABB Establish HVDC Joint Venture

Japan's Hitachi and Switzerland's ABB announced that they have set up a joint venture for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technologies in Japan.

The joint venture, Hitachi ABB HVDC Technologies, will commence operations in November 2015. It will have a capital of YEN 700 million ($5.8 million), with Hitachi claiming a 51% stake and ABB, 49%.

Hitachi ABB HVDC Technologies will combine Hitachi's sales network, project management know-how, and quality assurance processes with leading-edge HVDC technology and system integration capability from ABB.

The company will provide ABB's latest technology to HVDC projects on which Hitachi is the prime contractor, offering total services for direct current (DC) systems from design to engineering and equipment supply, as well as after-sales service.

HVDC transmission technology is expected to be increasingly deployed in Japan, the companies said. Demand is driven by the massive development of renewable energy and reforms to Japan's electric power system, and the need to strengthen and better integrate the different electrical systems in the country. HVDC transmission is expected to be increasingly deployed for applications such as regional interconnections in the transmission grid and grid connections for offshore wind power integration.

The companies expect that greater use will be made of Voltage Source Converter High-Voltage Direct Current transmission (VSC-HVDC), which is already widely used across the world. VSC-HVDC is a HVDC system with AC/DC converter using power semiconductor devices that can be switched on and off at any time (IGBTs, etc.). Since it requires no grid stabilization measures, it achieves a simpler overall configuration than (Line Commutate Converter) LCC-HVDC systems.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Tokyo, with Atsushi Nishioka as chairman and CEO and David Larsson as president and COO.


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