ABB has announced an agreement to acquire IPEC, a UK-based technology company known for its expertise in electrical diagnostics over the past three decades. This strategic acquisition aims to provide earlier warnings of potential failures in critical sites such as utilities, airports, and hospitals, with a particular emphasis on data centres.
The acquisition highlights IPEC’s capability in continuous monitoring for partial discharge, which are small electrical sparks indicating early-stage insulation degradation in medium- and high-voltage assets. According to ABB, partial discharge is the primary cause of insulation failure, accounting for over 80% of asset breakdowns prior to unexpected outages.
Stuart Thompson, Division President of ABB Electrification Service, stated, “Across critical industries, the cost of downtime is staggering, from multi-million-pound revenue losses in data centres to the safety and reliability risks facing utilities and hospitals. This acquisition gives our customers the diagnostic intelligence they need to prevent failures before they happen. By turning complex monitoring data into clear, actionable insights, we’re enabling businesses to shift from reactive repairs to predictive maintenance, so they can focus on performance while their critical infrastructure runs leaner, cleaner, and smarter.”
Data centres are identified as a core market for this acquisition, with the sector experiencing rapid growth in the UK and internationally. While ABB has long been a player in the data centre power market, it seeks to further strengthen its offerings using IPEC’s expertise. For data centres, the benefits are clear: unplanned electrical faults can quickly lead to service disruptions, and planned maintenance windows are increasingly scarce as facilities operate at full capacity. The acquisition will be integrated into ABB’s Electrification Service portfolio, assisting customers in transitioning from reactive fixes to proactive asset management.
IPEC, headquartered in Manchester, employs around 70 people and operates in Oxford, Abu Dhabi, Sweden, Riyadh, and Texas. Historically serving utilities and industrial clients, data centres now represent its largest and fastest-growing market segment, particularly in the US.
ABB stated that IPEC’s monitoring platforms offer 24/7 oversight of electrical infrastructure, with a flagship system capable of monitoring up to 128 connection points simultaneously. IPEC utilises its proprietary DeCIFer algorithm to analyse data and identify emerging issues before they escalate, enabling operators to schedule maintenance proactively rather than reactively.
The emphasis on early warning is likely to appeal to operators striving to maintain uptime while extending asset life. Even when redundancy is in place, insulation failures in switchgear, transformers, and cable terminations can cause complex outages that are costly and disruptive to resolve, especially when capacity is tight.
ABB claims the acquisition will enhance its broader predictive maintenance and service offerings, potentially reducing downtime by up to 90% and cutting maintenance costs by up to 85%. The actual savings depend on the initial condition of the assets and the maturity of a site’s maintenance regime. However, the industry consensus is clear: increased instrumentation, enhanced analytics, and fewer surprises.
Dr. Colin Smith, Managing Director of IPEC, commented, “At IPEC, we’ve spent decades refining how partial discharge data can be translated into meaningful diagnostics through advanced algorithms and, more recently, AI and machine learning. By joining ABB, we can both continue to develop our technology and bring our innovations to more industries and markets, turning complex data into predictive insight that anticipates potential failures and enables industries to make more strategic, intelligent decisions about their electrical assets.”
The acquisition is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2026, although ABB has not disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.
