ABB has completed its acquisition of Høglund AS, a Norwegian specialist in marine automation, expanding ABB's capabilities in integrated vessel automation, digital systems, and marine power management.

The transaction was completed on September 1, 2026, following the agreement announced in June.

For the industrial automation sector, the acquisition is notable because marine automation is increasingly moving toward integrated digital control architectures. Modern vessels depend on automation systems to manage propulsion, electrical power, fuel systems, engines, cargo equipment, environmental systems, alarms, and vessel-wide monitoring.

By combining Høglund's technology with ABB's global marine automation business, the companies aim to create a broader technology and service platform for ship operators.

Høglund Brings Marine Automation Expertise

Høglund is headquartered in Tønsberg, Norway, and specializes in integrated marine power, automation, and digital solutions.

The acquired business has approximately 85 employees across Norway, Poland, Romania, and China.

Its technology portfolio includes integrated automation, digital solutions, and power systems.

This combination is particularly relevant to modern vessels because marine automation is no longer limited to individual engine-control functions.

Ships increasingly operate as interconnected industrial systems.

Engine data, electrical power, propulsion, fuel consumption, alarms, cargo systems, navigation-related information, and maintenance data can all be integrated into digital platforms.

Why Marine Automation Is Becoming More Important

The maritime industry is under pressure to improve efficiency while reducing emissions and operating costs.

Fuel is one of the largest operating expenses for many vessels.

At the same time, international shipping is facing increasingly stringent environmental requirements.

Automation can help operators improve vessel efficiency by monitoring equipment and adjusting operating conditions.

For example, automation systems can coordinate power generation with electrical demand.

They can monitor engine performance.

They can provide information about fuel consumption.

They can help operators identify abnormal equipment conditions.

Digital systems can also provide fleet-level visibility.

The result is a shift from isolated equipment control toward integrated vessel management.

The Vessel Is Becoming a Distributed Automation System

A modern ship can be viewed as a large distributed industrial automation environment.

At the lowest level are sensors, actuators, valves, pumps, motors, engines, generators, and propulsion equipment.

Above these are controllers and local automation systems.

Higher-level systems provide visualization, alarms, reporting, monitoring, and optimization.

Communication networks connect the different layers.

This architecture has many similarities with process plants.

A vessel can therefore contain many of the same technologies used in land-based industrial automation:

• PLC controllers
• Remote I/O
• Industrial networks
• HMIs
• SCADA-style monitoring
• Variable-speed drives
• Power management systems
• Safety systems
• Sensors
• Digital analytics
• Industrial communication gateways

The difference is that the entire automation environment operates on a moving platform.

Høglund's Integrated Automation Portfolio

Høglund's portfolio includes integrated automation systems designed for marine applications.

The company's solutions are intended to provide operators with information about vessel performance while supporting automation and control functions.

Its digital solutions can provide access to live ship and fleet data, including fuel consumption and performance information.

Its power systems are designed to support efficient electrical supply and control.

Together, these capabilities complement ABB's existing marine and ports automation portfolio.

ABB's Global Marine Automation Business

ABB already has a substantial presence in marine electrification and automation.

Its marine technology portfolio includes electrical systems, propulsion solutions, power management, automation, digital services, and related infrastructure.

Adding Høglund provides another layer of marine automation expertise.

The combination is strategically important because customers increasingly prefer integrated solutions.

Shipowners do not necessarily want to purchase isolated components from many different suppliers.

They may prefer a system in which electrical power, propulsion, automation, monitoring, and digital services work together.

This can simplify engineering and lifecycle support.

PLC Technology in Marine Automation

PLC technology remains an important part of marine control systems.

A vessel can use controllers to manage pumps, valves, compressors, generators, ventilation systems, ballast systems, fuel systems, and other auxiliary equipment.

Depending on the vessel type, the control architecture may include multiple distributed controllers communicating through industrial networks.

This means PLC engineers working in marine automation need to understand both standard industrial control principles and marine-specific requirements.

The operating environment can be demanding.

Temperature, vibration, humidity, limited maintenance access, power constraints, and electromagnetic conditions all need to be considered.

Power Management Is a Critical Function

Electrical power management is particularly important on modern vessels.

Ships may contain multiple generators that need to operate together.

The automation system must monitor electrical load and generator status while coordinating power distribution.

If demand changes, the system may need to start or stop generators or adjust operating conditions.

Incorrect power management can affect propulsion, navigation-support systems, hotel loads, cargo equipment, and other critical functions.

Therefore, marine automation must provide reliable monitoring and control.

The integration of automation with electrical systems is one of the areas where ABB's broader portfolio can complement Høglund's capabilities.

Digitalization Creates New Opportunities

Marine digitalization is creating opportunities beyond traditional control.

Once operational data is collected, it can be used for performance analysis and maintenance.

Operators can examine fuel consumption.

Engineers can identify equipment that behaves differently from historical patterns.

Maintenance teams can monitor operating hours and equipment condition.

Fleet managers can compare vessel performance.

These applications require reliable data acquisition.

This brings the marine industry closer to the architecture already emerging in smart factories.

The physical equipment generates data.

Controllers collect and process information.

Industrial networks move the data.

Digital platforms analyze it.

Operators use the resulting information to make decisions.

Cybersecurity Will Become Increasingly Important

Greater connectivity also creates cybersecurity challenges.

A vessel with connected control systems has more digital interfaces than a traditional isolated automation system.

Remote monitoring, fleet management, software updates, maintenance access, and digital services all require secure communication.

As maritime automation becomes more connected, cybersecurity will become increasingly important.

This includes authentication, network segmentation, secure remote access, software maintenance, monitoring, and incident response.

Marine automation suppliers therefore need to consider cybersecurity as part of system architecture rather than as an optional feature.

Automation Can Support Maritime Decarbonization

The acquisition also fits into the broader movement toward cleaner shipping.

Automation cannot independently eliminate emissions.

However, it can help vessels operate more efficiently.

Better monitoring can identify inefficient operating conditions.

Power management can reduce unnecessary generator operation.

Performance analytics can help crews understand fuel consumption.

Automation can also support new propulsion and energy technologies.

As the maritime industry experiments with alternative fuels, hybrid systems, batteries, and more efficient propulsion technologies, sophisticated automation will become increasingly important.

Why Integrated Systems Matter

One of the major advantages of integrated automation is that different systems can share information.

Consider a vessel's electrical system.

Generator load affects fuel consumption.

Fuel consumption affects operating cost.

Power demand can be influenced by propulsion conditions.

Propulsion conditions can depend on vessel speed and weather.

Cargo operations can change electrical demand.

An integrated system can connect these variables.

A fragmented system may still control each subsystem effectively, but it can be harder to optimize the vessel as a whole.

Integrated automation provides a foundation for higher-level optimization.

Implications for Shipowners and System Integrators

For shipowners, integrated marine automation can simplify system management.

For shipyards, it can reduce engineering complexity when systems are designed as a coordinated architecture.

For system integrators, it creates opportunities to combine PLC control, electrical systems, HMI, networking, digital analytics, and cybersecurity.

This is similar to the direction of automation in manufacturing.

The industry is moving away from isolated machines toward connected systems.

The difference is that a vessel has to operate reliably under continuously changing conditions and often with limited access to external technical support.

Reliability therefore remains fundamental.

The Broader Automation Market

ABB's acquisition of Høglund also illustrates how industrial automation companies are expanding beyond traditional factory applications.

Marine automation combines several major automation trends:

• Electrification
• Distributed control
• Industrial networking
• Digital monitoring
• Energy optimization
• Predictive maintenance
• Cybersecurity
• Remote operations
• Data analytics

These are the same technologies influencing factories, power plants, mining sites, and process industries.

The boundaries between different industrial automation sectors are therefore becoming less distinct.