The Marcus Wallenberg Prize – an international award made annually in recognition of a research breakthrough likely to have a significant effect on industry – has gone this year to three people at ABB in Finland for their pioneering work on the Direct Drive System (DDS).

Jouni Ikäheimo, Vesa Kajander, and Bengt Welin of ABB were the recipients of this year’s Marcus Wallenberg Prize in recognition of their work in developing the Direct Drive System. This is the 26th time that the prize, valued at SEK 2 million, has been awarded. Photo courtesy of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

DDS is described by the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation as a radical rethink of the traditional drive technology used in the paper industry, which dates back around a century. DDS is based on permanent magnet synchronous motor technology and provides better torque characteristics, very precise speed control, and high efficiency without the need for gearboxes, pulse encoders, and auxiliary components.

This new approach offers new freedom to create innovative machine design concepts and process configurations that require less space, simpler machine layouts, fewer components, less civil work, and that cost less as well. In terms of operations, this results in better runnability with less frequent web breaks, better machine availability and overall efficiency, and reduced lifecycle costs.

If applied to all paper machines with a wire width exceeding 5 metres, DDS has the potential to reduce energy consumption by approximately 400 GWh in Europe and more than 1,200 GWh worldwide.

After many years of intensive development, including extensive cooperation with universities and research institutes, DDS technology is quickly becoming an industrial standard and being adopted by recognised pulp and paper industry suppliers.

DDS technology is a major innovation for improving paper machine efficiency. Image courtesy of ABB.

For more about ABB, see our latest article or visit www.abb.com. For more about the Marcus Wallenberg Prize, visit www.mwp.org.

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