ABB Motion’s drive products division has invested, through
ABB Motion Ventures, in Virginia-based circular manufacturing company
Molg to optimise manufacturing design and reusability of ABB drives. The collaboration will leverage Molg’s design expertise and US-based robotic microfactories to streamline the assembly and testing processes within ABB’s manufacturing operations, while simultaneously increasing drives’ circularity and resource efficiency.
ABB and Molg’s relationship began in 2023 when the latter was recognised as a winner of the
ABB Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge. ABB Drive Products and Molg have subsequently delivered a successful proof of concept in drives assembly in robotics-based Molg microfactories and this fresh investment will enable the next phase of their partnership.
A central aspect of ABB Drive Products’ choice to invest in Molg is the firm’s circularity credentials. ABB is committed to achieving a full lifecycle circular approach for 80% of its products by 2030 and Molg’s robotic microfactories will help to improve the efficiency of manufacturing configured-to-order drives by streamlining the assembly and testing processes with automation.
The investment strengthens ABB’s position as a key enabler of circular economy by re-using, re-purposing, and recycling components. ABB Robotics and Automation Ventures participated in Molg’s seed round of funding in October 2024 to help scale the start-up’s production capacity and tackle
e-waste with robotics and design.
‘Local for local’This strategic partnership follows ABB’s recent $100 million US campus project in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and further enables its ‘local for local’ strategy — using locally-sourced materials for in-country manufacturing to service local customers. This is also a vital part of ABB’s circularity-based approach, not only minimising waste and manufacturing-related carbon emissions, but providing crucial in-market support for companies across the supply chain.
Tuomo Hoysniemi, ABB drive products division president, said: “Our investment in Molg means we are part of an innovation ecosystem which develops new solutions for product circularity. This investment to develop our drives portfolio through recycling and reusing of components is aligned with our aims to increase circularity within our portfolio. What is more, Molg’s microfactories are especially suited to the ABB Drive Products’ customisable product range and will give us an increased ability to meet unique customer and market future requirements, while at the same time preserving valuable resources.”
Rob Lawson-Shanks, CEO and co-founder of Molg, concluded: “Winning ABB’s
Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge was great recognition for us, and we are even more excited to continue our collaboration with ABB Drive Products within circularity and automation. We are thrilled to work with ABB Drive Products to design more circular products and create circular manufacturing processes for electronics to enhance supply chain resilience and ensure valuable materials are kept in circulation.”