Volvo started the development of small gas turbines for automotive use in the early 70s.
Since the late 1980s Volvo Aero and ABB worked together to develop a
microturbine based hybrid system for vehicles. In that co-operation, Volvo
provided the microturbine design, and ABB, the high-speed generator and
power electronics. Both companies realised that the same technology could also be applied to
produce base load power from static low cost installation, this concept was
named “Distributed Energy”.
Turbec AB was founded in 1998 as a jointly owned subsidiary of Volvo and
ABB. During the year 1999 and 2000, Turbec AB redesigned the vehicle-based
microturbine into a more robust industrial product suited for stationary applications
and serial production.
The first commercial T100 unit was delivered in September 2000 and commissioned
in December of the same year. Today Turbec has T100 units worldwide with an
average of 97% availability, including downtime for scheduled maintenance.
On December 30th, 2003 API Com S.r.l., an Italian company, had acquired
all share capital of Turbec AB from Volvo Aero and ABB. As a consequence,
starting from the end of July 2004 Turbec S.p.A. was founded.
Today Turbec is an organisation capable of competing with all the players on
the microturbine market.
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