Major solar inverter manufacturer ABB announced yesterday it had signed an agreement with Italian firm FIMER that will see FIMER acquiring ABB’s PV inverter business.
Why Is ABB Ditching Solar Inverters?
ABB acquired its solar inverter business from Power-One back in 2013, so it hasn’t had the line in its stable for very long. But it’s a cutthroat business with shrinking margins and ABB has a target margin corridor of 15-19 percent.
ABB says the transaction will enable the company to focus its business portfolio on other growth markets.
“The divestment is in line with our strategy of ongoing systematic portfolio management to strengthen competitiveness, focus on quality of revenue and higher growth segments,” said Tarak Mehta, President of ABB’s Electrification business. ” Solar is a well-established and key focus for FIMER and as such we believe them to be a very good owner for ABB’s solar inverter business.”
ABB states it isn’t totally turning its back on solar power – the firm will continue to integrate solar into its smart buildings, energy storage and electric vehicle charging solutions.
Who Is FIMER?
If you haven’t heard of FIMER before, you wouldn’t be alone. If its intention has been to fly under the radar, then the firm has been pretty successful.
Headquartered in Vimercate, Italy, the company was founded in 1942 and started tinkering with inverter technology in 1983.
FIMER claims it is the world`s eighth largest inverter manufacturer, with its main focus in this area to date being inverters for solar farms. For example, the company provided 600 of its central inverters for Enel Green Energy’s 754 MW Villanueva solar project in Mexico.
While FIMER has been producing central inverters for years, it only entered the string inverter business in 2018 – and these are big string inverters designed for large-scale solar projects up to 30MW capacity. The company also produces electric vehicle charging systems and welding solutions.
“We will continue the excellent job carried out by ABB in recent years, combining precious resources, knowledge and expertise in Italy and worldwide,” said FIMER CEO Filippo Carzaniga.
What About Existing ABB PV Inverter Warranties?
ABB has been a popular inverter brand in Australia for small-scale, commercial and large-scale solar energy installations. It’s (currently) listed on SolarQuotes’ trusted solar brands chart.
ABB says FIMER will honor all existing warranties and ABB will be compensating FIMER for taking over its liabilities.
Completion of the acquisition by FIMER is expected in the first quarter of 2020, assuming customary and other conditions are met.
About Michael Bloch
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My inverter and battery bank is getting old,, 5 years. I am looking to buy a PIP 5048 GK,,,, I wonder if that will be compatible with my Enphase Micro inverter system. Any one know ?
Cheers, john nielsen, Silkwood
No, I don’t believe so. the 5048 GK is a hybrid string inverter deigned for 5kW of solar panels and a 48V battery.
Your micro inverters will require an AC coupled battery system like a Powerwall or an inverter charger and compatible battery (like a Victron MultiPlus and a bank of LiFePO4 cells).
Enphase have their own AC coupled battery that integrates with their micro inverter system well. (Expensive though I think).