The integration of Gamesa Electric into ABB, completed by the end of 2025, is much more than a corporate transaction: it marks ABB’s return to the power electronics market for solar energy and storage, with a clear growth strategy built around global capabilities as one of its key differentiators. Juan Barandiaran, Operations & Service Manager, Renewable Power at ABB, explained the strategy to pv magazine.

According to Barandiaran, the integration process has moved quickly because ABB already had extensive expertise in power electronics, particularly in converters for wind energy. The new organization is headquartered in Zurich, while retaining an internationally distributed industrial footprint.

The acquisition also marks ABB’s return to the photovoltaic inverter and utility-scale storage business, a segment from which it had been absent for roughly a decade. Barandiaran recalls that the market context was very different at the time.

“Ten years ago, the market was different; the technology was emerging and developing, with a multitude of small and medium-sized companies, and purchasing decisions were focused almost exclusively on CAPEX. So ABB repositioned its portfolio to focus on other priorities,” he explains.

In his view, the situation has changed significantly, and the current and future market is better suited to a manufacturer with ABB’s industrial and financial scale. Customers no longer consider only the initial cost of equipment, but also bankability, technology continuity and support throughout the lifetime of a facility.

From an industrial perspective, the integration provides significantly greater manufacturing capacity. Although the company does not disclose production figures, Barandiaran explains that one advantage of power electronics is that installed manufacturing capacity can be expanded relatively easily.

“Doubling production on a power electronics line is relatively easy,” he says.

ABB currently has specialized facilities in Spain, where its solar and storage business is concentrated and employs around 300 people, as well as manufacturing centers in India, Poland, China, Estonia and the United States. Overall, the business employs approximately 600 people, while the factories into which its operations are integrated have an average workforce of around 1,400 employees.

However, the aspect Barandiaran emphasizes most is not manufacturing capacity but access to ABB’s global service infrastructure. In his view, this has been the factor most positively received by the market following the acquisition of Gamesa Electric.

“The integration has been very well received among customers because behind it is a strong company that guarantees support and service to our customers,” he says.

For ABB, service is an essential part of its value proposition. In a market increasingly focused on maximizing asset availability over several decades of operation, the company considers local presence and rapid response capabilities to be as important as the performance of the equipment itself.

“Services are fundamental for ABB. We have service capabilities in virtually every country in the world,” Barandiaran says.

This international network substantially changes the competitive position of the former Gamesa Electric business. The company now has a commercial and support organization capable of serving customers with utility-scale projects in virtually any market, something that was previously much more difficult.

“Now we can access projects that were previously outside our scope. We no longer rule out any market; before, we didn’t have enough strength, and now we can go wherever we are called,” he says.

The integration has also brought together technological capabilities that had previously developed independently. ABB had expertise in power electronics and in converters for wind turbines and hydrogen applications, while Gamesa Electric brought extensive experience in both power electronics for doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind systems and inverters for PV and energy storage. According to Barandiaran, the two sets of capabilities complement each other naturally, and the engineering teams have already been reorganized to accelerate new product development.

The first improvements will arrive in the coming months. Among them is the evolution of the Proteus platform, with changes to both the cooling system and filter design aimed at simplifying maintenance. In the new version, for example, filters can be replaced without shutting down the converter, reducing intervention times and helping increase plant availability.

Barandiaran says these changes reflect ABB’s strategy of combining technological innovation with a strong focus on the entire asset life cycle.

“ABB has a very ambitious growth plan. We have the capabilities we need, and we are going to give it our all to achieve it,” he concludes.