ABB’s Turbocharging Division Rebrands As Accelleron, Spinoff Contemplated
ABB has announced the rebranding of its turbocharging division under the name “Accelleron,” which is a compound of words like “access,” “accelerate” and “excel.” The brand builds off of ABB’s company purpose of “Together we inspire, innovate & exceed expectations—setting industry benchmarks for the benefit of all.”
ABB’s roots in turbocharging go back more than 100 years to Swiss inventor Alfred Büchi and the application of turbochargers for marine engines built by Brown Boveri & Company, the forerunner of ABB.
The move is part of ABB’s plan to operationally separate the turbocharging division and, in turn, either sell or spin off the business at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
“Unveiling the Accelleron brand is a seminal moment for our business,” said ABB CEO Oliver Reimenschneider. “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.”
Daniel Bischofberger is set to succeed Reimenschneider as CEO of ABB on March 1. If Accelleron is spun off as a separate business, Reimenschneider would become chairman of that company.
ABB’s turbocharging business line has close to 180,000 turbochargers installed around the world and a network of more than 100 service stations. In 2021, the turbocharging division marked $750 million in revenues and had an employment base of more than 2,300 people.
ABB expects Accelleron to play a big role in the move toward net-zero carbon fuel technologies, with prototype projects with alternative fuels like hydrogen, methanol and ammonia already under way.
According to ABB, turbochargers can boost efficiency by increasing engine output by up to 300 percent. For a large container vessel, turbochargers have the potential for achieving a savings of $1 million over the life of the vessel, the company said. Without turbochargers, conventional engines would have to be up to four times their size to achieve the same output.
