ABB says the addition of French advanced power electronics innovator BrightLoop to its technology portfolio can accelerate its electrification strategy in industrial mobility and marine propulsion.
The European manufacturing major is acquiring 93% of 16-year-old BrightLoop, leaving the other 7% in the hands of management through to 2028. “BrightLoop’s management team will remain a key part of the business and will be critical to its success under ABB’s ownership,” ABB said.
BrightLoop started in motorsports before having a big impact in mining, construction and marine transport with its compact converters and inverters.
“We’re helping connect next-gen machines to the grid,” it said at last year’s MINExpo event in the US. “We’re pushing the boundaries with our universal power conversion devices.”
The company’s genesis in motorsports “and their extraordinary challenges … gave us the opportunity to unleash our creativity, continuously pushing the limits of power and space constraints”.
ABB said Paris-based BrightLoop had about 90 employees and generated about €16 million of sales in 2024. It isn’t disclosing the acquisition price and expects to close the first part of the deal in the third quarter this year.
“The business has experienced strong growth in recent years, driven by the accelerating shift toward electrification across its core industries,” ABB said.
“The company offers a broad portfolio of high- and low-voltage DC/DC converters designed to handle bidirectional power flows with high efficiency, compactness, and scalability. BrightLoop’s converters are built to perform in harsh environments where space, weight and reliability are critical, making them especially well-suited for electrifying industrial vehicles and marine vessels.”
ABB’s Traction division president Edgar Keller said BrightLoop’s software-defined power platform and expertise in high-performance applications would allow the company to deliver “even more value to our customers as they transition to cleaner, smarter energy systems”.
BrightLoop CEO Florent Liffran said the union presented an opportunity to scale the business’ exposure to fast-growing markets.
ABB said it planned to retain BrightLoop’s engineering and manufacturing footprint in France and to invest in scaling its operations globally.
