ABB motor achieves 99.13% energy efficiency at steel plant, sets a new record

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ABB motor achieves 99.13% energy efficiency at steel plant, sets a new record

ABB motor achieves 99.13% energy efficiency at steel plant, sets a new record

Industry News
Jun 04,25

ABB has achieved a new world record in motor energy efficiency with its 99.13 per cent efficient synchronous motor for an Indian steel plant, cutting energy use and CO? emissions while offering a 3-month payback period and $6 million in savings over 25 years.

ABB motor achieves 99.13% energy efficiency at steel plant, sets a new record

Zurich (Switzerland)

Global electrification and automation leader ABB has achieved a new world record in energy efficiency for large synchronous electric motors, with a motor designed for a steel plant in India reaching 99.13 per cent efficiency during testing. This breakthrough surpasses ABB’s previous world record of 99.05 per cent, set in 2017, underlining the company's relentless focus on engineering excellence and sustainable innovation.

The record-setting motor is part of ABB’s Top Industrial Efficiency (TIE) initiative, which delivers motors and generators engineered to exceed standard performance benchmarks. These high-efficiency machines help customers reduce electricity consumption, lower operating costs, and improve total cost of ownership (TCO) without sacrificing performance or increasing system complexity.

The new motor is set to power an air separation unit (ASU) at a major Indian steel manufacturing facility. The unit will liquefy atmospheric air to extract pure oxygen and nitrogen—essential inputs in the steelmaking process. Compared to a standard motor with 98.64 per cent efficiency, the TIE-optimised design will save approximately 61 GWh of energy and $5.9 million in electricity costs over 25 years. That’s enough energy to match four days of peak output from the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

The motor's extraordinary efficiency will also help avoid nearly 45,000 tonnes of CO? emissions, equivalent to taking 10,000 cars off the road for an entire year. Due to rising energy costs, potential savings and environmental benefits could be even greater in countries where electricity is more expensive.

“ABB is on a mission to help industries outrun – leaner and cleaner,” said Brandon Spencer, President of ABB Motion. “This project shows how our Top Industrial Efficiency (TIE) initiative goes beyond current standards to deliver the highest possible energy efficiency. It boosts profitability by cutting energy costs—which account for the majority of TCO—while reducing carbon emissions.”

Achieving a 99.13 per cent efficiency rating places the new motor extremely close to the theoretical 100 per cent limit, where all the energy drawn is converted into motion. Pushing this boundary required innovations in both electrical and mechanical construction, and deep expertise gained from over a century of ABB's experience in electric motor manufacturing.

The previous record of 99.05 per cent stood for eight years, underscoring the technical challenge of making even marginal gains at these high efficiency levels. Most synchronous motors of this size (3 MW and above) operate at average efficiencies between 98.2 per cent and 98.5 per cent, making ABB’s latest achievement a significant leap forward.

Large industrial motors above 3 MW constitute only a small fraction of the global motor base, yet they consume roughly 25 per cent of all motion-related energy, making them a critical target for efficiency upgrades. ABB’s TIE program addresses a notable regulatory and innovation gap in this space by pushing the limits of what's technically achievable in efficiency and reliability.

The design and manufacturing improvements embedded in this motor demonstrate ABB’s commitment to both operational excellence and sustainability, providing steel producers and heavy industries with tools to significantly lower their energy footprints.

This development comes at a time when India is rapidly industrialising, with growing focus on energy efficiency, green technologies, and reduced dependency on fossil fuels. ABB’s breakthrough supports the broader vision of making India’s steel industry more competitive, sustainable, and technologically advanced.

The fact that such a high-efficiency motor is being deployed in an Indian steel plant underlines India’s growing relevance in global industrial innovation and the country’s commitment to cleaner and smarter manufacturing.

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, committed to enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company leverages its expertise in engineering and digitalisation to help industries run smarter and greener.

ABB Motion, the business division behind the record-breaking motor, provides digitally enabled motors, drives, and services that help customers enhance performance, safety, and reliability. The division is a global leader in motion solutions that drive productivity while reducing environmental impact.