Recently, the MCR1000 high‑power rectifier, supported by ABB’s global R&D system, continuously localised by ABB China teams and manufactured at ABB’s Shanghai High‑Power Rectifier Plant, has successfully completed its Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and officially obtained the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification. This certification provides customers with independently‑verified environmental‑performance data to support their low‑carbon transition and sustainable‑development initiatives.

As sustainability requirements are increasingly integrated into industrial procurement and international‑trade frameworks, manufacturing industries are confronted with rising demands for environmental‑information disclosure. The implementation of policies such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), alongside growing customer focus on supply‑chain carbon‑emission transparency, is driving mounting market demand for verifiable and comparable environmental data.

Against this backdrop, the EPD‑certified MCR1000 delivers reliable full‑life‑cycle environmental data for customers across steel, non‑ferrous metal, green hydrogen production, chemical and other industries. It supports customers in compiling sustainability reports, making green‑procurement decisions and formulating carbon‑reduction roadmaps. Third‑party independently‑validated environmental‑performance information empowers customers to advance sustainability targets in a more transparent and scientific manner.

This certification also carries great significance for ABB. The MCR1000 is the first model within ABB’s global high‑power rectifier portfolio to secure both LCA and EPD certifications. It marks a major step forward for ABB in full‑life‑cycle carbon‑footprint management and environmental transparency, and establishes a standardised foundation for future environmental‑certification work across ABB’s full HPR product range.

The pioneering EPD certification secured by the MCR1000 lays solid data foundations and standard paradigms for the green upgrade of ABB’s complete HPR product portfolio.

Ralph Burgener, Global Head of ABB HPR Business, commented: “As sustainability becomes an increasingly critical consideration for industrial investment and procurement decisions, customers are raising higher requirements for environmental‑impact information relating to the technologies they deploy. The EPD certification for the MCR1000 represents a key milestone. It demonstrates our practice of embedding life‑cycle thinking into product development and enables customers to access independently‑verified environmental data to better underpin their sustainability and carbon‑reduction objectives. This constitutes another advance by ABB in boosting industrial resource efficiency through innovative power‑electronic conversion technologies.”

Qin Ming, China Head of ABB HPR Business, stated: “The EPD certification of the MCR1000 is not only a major achievement for the China team but also reflects our long‑term commitment to supplying customers with transparent and credible environmental data. Going forward, building on the MCR1000, we will press ahead with carbon‑emission assessment and environmental‑certification work for the HCR6000 product and the LCR900 series, progressively achieving full‑spectrum green coverage for high‑power rectifiers manufactured at ABB’s Chinese production sites.”

The HCR6000 series products manufactured at ABB’s Shanghai High‑Power Rectifier Plant

This EPD certification was conducted in strict compliance with ISO international standards. Leveraging SimaPro professional software and the Ecoinvent database, the project systematically evaluated environmental impacts spanning raw‑material extraction, component manufacturing, assembly and production, transportation and delivery, operational service, through to end‑of‑life recycling.

For ABB, LCA is more than a certification; it delivers vital reference for future product design and continuous iterative optimisation. By identifying environmental impacts across all product‑life‑cycle stages, ABB can make better‑informed decisions covering material selection, manufacturing processes and product innovation.

The MCR1000 serves as ABB’s core offering for high‑power power‑electronic conversion applications. Derived from the well‑established Swiss‑engineered MCR platform, it has undergone continuous optimisation following localised development in China back in 2012, and is widely deployed in sectors including aluminium electrolysis, steel, chemicals, non‑ferrous metals and green hydrogen production. As a mainstream model in ABB’s HPR product portfolio, more than 300 units of the MCR series have been commissioned worldwide since 1999.