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Swedish-Swiss multinational ABB, a leading group in power and automation technologies, and Italy's Fincantieri, one of the world's top naval engineering groups, have reached a cooperation agreement to develop solutions for the renewable energy market.

The goal of the partners, who are able to call on the collaboration of other industrial players in the sector, is to develop turnkey systems that generate power from renewable sources, such as concentrated solar power and medium/small-scale biomass plants, as well as cogeneration plants.

The solar systems in particular will exploit the Linear Fresnel technology of Novatec Solar, a company in which ABB has a stake, which uses flat mirrors to concentrate the sun's energy onto a receiver that produces steam. This innovative technology brings numerous advantages in terms of environmental impact, costs, lead times and efficiency. In fact, it requires less installation space and less water for cleaning, making it particularly attractive for the emerging markets where ABB is present.

Under the agreement Fincantieri's Systems and Components business will supply the plant's steam turbines and related components and systems, while ABB will supply the solar boilers and related systems, as well as the electrical and automation systems.

"Benefiting from the complementary nature of our products, we have joined forces to meet the needs of the domestic market, laying the groundwork for establishing ourselves on international markets as well," commented GB Ferrari, head of ABB's Power Systems division in Italy. "Our group has long been at the forefront of generation and integration of renewable sources into electricity grids and we are eager to work together to boost this sector’s potential."

"To stay confident in a time of crisis like the present, it is essential to diversify the product by establishing a presence in several sectors, such as renewable energy," said Domenico Sorvillo, head of Fincantieri's Marine Systems and Components business. "This is why our group continues to invest in steam turbine development, not only to expand the range up to 50 megawatt but also to improve efficiency. We believe this is the way to contribute to the success of this partnership and to achieve other successes as a result."

ABB and Fincantieri are actively working together to participate in tenders for the construction of new generation capacity, both in Italy and abroad.