ABB Motion has made a strategic investment in Virginia-based circular manufacturing company Molg through ABB Motion Ventures. This partnership aims to enhance the design and reusability of ABB’s drive products. By leveraging Molg’s expertise in design and its robotic microfactories in the U.S., the collaboration will streamline assembly and testing processes, improving the circularity and resource efficiency of ABB’s drives.
The collaboration between ABB and Molg began in 2023 when Molg won the ABB Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge. Since then, the companies have successfully tested a proof of concept for drive assembly in Molg’s robotics-based microfactories. This new investment marks the next phase of their partnership.
A key reason ABB Drive Products chose to invest in Molg is the company’s commitment to circularity. ABB aims to achieve a full lifecycle circular approach for 80% of its products by 2030, and Molg’s microfactories will help improve the efficiency of manufacturing configurable drives. By automating assembly and testing, the process will become more efficient, boosting sustainability.
This investment further strengthens ABB’s role in the circular economy by focusing on the reuse, repurposing, and recycling of components. ABB Robotics and Automation Ventures joined Molg’s seed funding round in October 2024, contributing to the scaling of its production capacity and addressing e-waste challenges with robotics and design.
This partnership comes on the heels of ABB’s $100 million U.S. campus project in New Berlin, Wisconsin. It aligns with ABB’s “local for local” strategy, using locally-sourced materials to support in-country manufacturing and better serve local customers. This approach reduces waste and carbon emissions linked to manufacturing while supporting companies throughout the supply chain.
Tuomo Hoysniemi, president of ABB Drive Products, commented, “Our investment in Molg positions us within an innovation ecosystem focused on developing solutions for product circularity. This move aligns with our goal of increasing circularity in our product portfolio by recycling and reusing components. Molg’s microfactories are particularly well-suited to our customisable product range, enabling us to better meet unique customer needs while conserving valuable resources.”
Rob Lawson-Shanks, CEO and co-founder of Molg, added, “Winning the ABB Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge was a significant achievement for us. We are excited to continue our collaboration with ABB Drive Products to design more circular products and manufacturing processes, which will enhance supply chain resilience and ensure valuable materials remain in circulation.”
