ABB made a deal with KEPCO, South Korea’s largest electric utility, to build two new HVDC converter stations connecting the mainland with Jeju—the country’s largest island popular for tourism. In addition, ABB’s HVDC Light will enable KEPCO to operate Jeju’s existing interconnections more efficiently by providing greater stability and minimizing the risk of outages. This deal is expected to not only reduce carbon emissions, but also cut electrical losses over the long distance to around 1%.

ABB is notable for its consistent patent activity in the Energy Financial Settlement. The global Fortune 500 company has been filing patent applications in this sector since 2010 and continues to do so. Its patent portfolio and array of technologies may have played a role in securing it this deal.