More than 5 billion people around the world already use a mobile phone – and the figures are rising. For their part, smart phones and other mobile devices are becoming more and more sophisticated and powerful. One of the drivers of this technological development is OPPO.

At its major new technology park in Chongqing, China, ABB’s digital energy management and power systems are ensuring OPPO reaps the benefits of intelligent, reliable power supplies.

Due for completion in 2024, the vast 102-hectare OPPO Chongqing Intelligent and Ecological Technology Park will be OPPO’s largest manufacturing base in South China, and once completed, will produce 100 million smart devices annually. The campus will serve as an important production base and logistics center that houses smart manufacturing, automated warehousing and software, and hardware R&D.

Heralded as an all-in-one “smart” tech park, production at the site is expected to exceed more than 30 billion RMB (USD 4.5bn) annually in value and create tens of thousands of jobs. The campus will support OPPO’s ambition to build a range of smart products and services around smartphones and lead industrial development in the 5G+ era.

Financial details of the contract have not been disclosed, but the Technology Park uses the cloud-based ABB Ability™ Electrical Distribution Control System (EDCS)* to monitor, operate and maintain its power distribution system. ABB’s iVD4® intelligent management solution ensures the medium-voltage power supply is stable. ABB solutions enable the site’s management to monitor the operating condition of power equipment in real time with any alerts pushed automatically to the operations and maintenance teams.

As a result, power supply continuity is higher and management costs are lower with up to 20% energy and up to 30% operation cost savings with the application of ABB Ability™ solution. Power equipment maintenance is scheduled more intelligently, and the power distribution system is safer and more reliable. ABB’s AI-powered predictive maintenance also optimizes maintenance workflows while reducing power outages.

China’s mobile phone shipments stood at 308 million units in 2020, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed.

James Zhao, lead business manager of ABB Electrification in China, said: “We are excited to be working with OPPO and for our solutions to be part of the state-of-the-art Technology Park in Chongqing. ABB works with the world’s leading manufacturers to ensure the power distribution and energy management at their facilities meets the 24-7 demands of their operations. Our digital solutions interface effectively with other plant management systems, enabling customers to improve productivity, energy efficiency and sustainability.”

Over the years, ABB has been providing leading-edge robotics solutions to OPPO and helped improve the automation level of its mobile phone production lines.