ABB Invests Over $500 Million in U.S. Facilities to Support Growing Demand in Energy and Data Sectors
Swiss-based global energy technology firm ABB Inc. is upping its greatly expanded investment in U.S. manufacturing by another $110 million this year to strengthen research and development around advanced electrification for the commercial and industrial sectors.
The latest manufacturing investment follows ABB’s $170 million commitment to its U.S. facilities two years ago. Those include projects around motor drives in Wisconsin and manufacturing, robotics and other services in New Mexico, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
This month’s investment expansion could create nearly 200 new jobs in products serving growth industries such as data centers and the power grid. The International Energy Agency and other forecasters such as Goldman Sachs are forecasting a tremendous demand growth due to artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing, as well as industrial and transportation electrification.
The $110 million new investment will help create a new production line in Mississippi for ABB’s Emax3 circuit breakers. The capital will also be spent to double the footprint of ABB’s power quality and protection equipment manufacturing in Richmond, Virginia, which is opening later this year.
“This $110 million investment in the US is part of our long-term strategy to support future growth in our biggest global market,” said Morten Wierod, ABB CEO, in a statement. “Demand is being driven by key trends, from the surging power needs of AI in data centers, to grid modernization and customers improving energy efficiency and uptime to reduce their costs. Our investments will ensure we can meet growing demand from customers across North America in line with our local-for-local strategy.”
ABB will invest $30 million of its capital to expand three new production lines in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, where the company manufactures smart circuit breakers and switching devices. That expansion will bring 90 new skilled labor jobs by the end of 2026, according to the company.
ABB also is increasing capacity for advanced low- and medium-voltage grid components at its plant in Pinetops, North Carolina, which is going to open next year also.
Earlier this year, ABB announced $120 million investment for new manufacturing sites in Selmer, Tennessee and Senatobia, Mississippi. These are both plants to produce electrical distribution and circuit breakers to market beginning in 2026.
“Demand is increasing steadily for advanced electrification technologies, driven by growth in key sectors including data centers and utilities,” Wierod at the time of the March 2025 announcement. “Our new facilities in Selmer and Senatobia will keep our U.S. customers at the cutting edge of the energy transition and help them meet their performance, productivity and energy efficiency goals.”
Including the past three years, ABB has committed more than $500 million of new investment in its U.S. manufacturing operations. U.S. revenues for the company total nearly $9 billion annually, while the workforce is close to 17,000 people across those facilities.
At last week's RE+ energy conference--where more than 40,000 industry insiders gathered in Las Vegas to talk about the energy transition, enthusiasm and optimism were high for electrification and decarbonization despite recent political headwinds against renewables.
“Technology wins,” said Brian Nelson, renewable segment leader at Swiss-based energy technology giant ABB. “Technology will continue to push the evolution of renewable energy further and further.”
On a purely company level, Nelson highlighted the rise of new 2,000-volt capacity for solar energy collection, pushing module capabilities higher and energy denser than ever.