In the latest development, Swiss electrification specialist ABB has acquired solar PV inverter and power conversion system (PCS) manufacturer Gamesa Electric. The acquisition amount has not been disclosed.
ABB stated that the acquired portfolio was previously held by Gamesa Electric’s parent company, Siemens Gamesa, and includes large-scale ground-mounted solar PV inverters, power conversion systems (PCS) for industrial battery energy storage systems (BESS), and wind power converters.
Additionally, the acquisition covers “key resources” in India, China, the United States, and Australia, as well as two converter manufacturing facilities located in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. The acquisition process began in December 2024.
Gamesa Electric has extensive business experience in wind power converters and generators, as well as in the solar PV and battery energy storage system industries. ABB noted that this acquisition increases its total serviceable installed capacity for wind converters by approximately 46 GW.
In its announcement, ABB described the acquisition as a response to the global growth of renewable energy and the anticipated significant role of solar PV and wind power in future energy generation.
Daniel Gerber, Head of the Renewable Energy Business Line at ABB’s Motion High Power division, commented, “By integrating ABB’s global presence with Gamesa Electric’s portfolio and expertise, the company is well-positioned to meet the growing demand and accelerate the global adoption of renewable energy.”
Last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that solar energy will play a “critical” role in meeting electricity demand growth over the next decade and projected a 60% increase in global renewable energy generation from 2024 to 2030.
ABB aims to benefit from the predictable demand for electrical equipment components in solar PV projects, battery energy storage systems, and wind power plants. Although power conversion systems (PCS) and inverters account for a relatively small portion of project costs, they are essential for the operation of renewable energy assets. As demand for renewable energy grows in the coming years, the demand for inverters and power conversion systems is expected to rise accordingly.
Hitachi Energy, headquartered in Switzerland, acquired a power conversion system (PCS) business in January this year, as the company considered the technology crucial for “filling a gap” in its product portfolio.
The solar inverter market is also highly competitive, with major Chinese suppliers vying with Western companies such as SMA Solar, SolarEdge, and Enphase Energy in terms of technology and market presence. European trade association SolarPower Europe describes inverters as the “brain” of solar arrays, as these systems enable increasingly digitalized and refined control of PV power plants, and has called on the European Union to take measures to support domestic inverter manufacturers.
As early as 2020, ABB sold its solar inverter business to Italian inverter company FIMER to “focus on other growth areas.” This acquisition of Gamesa Electric marks ABB’s re-entry into this field.
