ABB Strengthens Data Center and Industrial Monitoring Capabilities with IPEC Acquisition

Global electrification and automation provider ABB announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire IPEC, a UK-based technology company with more than 30 years of expertise in electrical diagnostics. IPEC’s advanced monitoring systems track critical electrical infrastructure around the clock, using AI and advanced analytics to predict failures that could result in multi-million-dollar losses, safety risks, or extended outages for industries such as data centers, healthcare, utilities, and manufacturing. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This acquisition extends ABB’s commitment to safeguarding operational resilience in the world’s most critical industries. Partial discharge activity—small electrical sparks that signal the early stages of equipment insulation failure—is the leading cause of failure, responsible for more than 80 percent of asset breakdowns before unexpected outages. IPEC specializes in detecting partial discharge, enabling businesses to identify problems before they escalate into costly downtime. The result is stronger, more reliable infrastructure that can withstand today’s energy and operational pressures. This expansion of ABB’s Electrification Service portfolio will support customers’ shift from reactive to proactive asset management, helping reduce downtime by up to 90 percent, cut maintenance costs by as much as 85 percent, and extend the life of critical infrastructure by decades.

IPEC is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with 70 employees across its operations in Oxford, Abu Dhabi, Sweden, Riyadh, and Texas. The company has expanded from its UK utility base to serve customers globally, with data centers now representing its largest and fastest-growing market segment, particularly in the United States. IPEC’s monitoring platforms provide 24/7 monitoring of electrical infrastructure, with its flagship system capable of tracking up to 128 connection points simultaneously. IPEC’s proprietary DeCIFer algorithm analyzes monitoring data to identify potential equipment issues before they escalate into failures, enabling businesses to schedule maintenance proactively rather than reactively.

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