ABB buys UK electric failure specialist to boost its maintenance capabilities
17 December 2025 
ABB is buying the UK-based electrical diagnostics specialist IPEC, to complement its predictive maintenance portfolio. The financial terms of the deal have not been revealed. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
IPEC’s headquarters are in Manchester, and it has 70 employees in Oxford, Abu Dhabi, Sweden, Riyadh and Texas. The company, founded in 1995, has expanded from its UK utility base to serve customers globally, with data centres being its biggest and fastest-growing market, especially in the US.
IPEC’s 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 including data centres, utilities and manufacturing.
ABB says the acquisition reinforces its commitment to safeguarding operational resilience in the world’s most critical industries.
IPEC specialises in detecting partial discharges – small electrical sparks that signal the early stages of failure of equipment insulation. These discharges are the leading cause of electrical failures, being responsible for more than 80% of asset breakdowns before unexpected outages.
Early detection of the discharges allows companies to identify problems before they escalate into costly downtime. ABB says that acquisition will help users to shift from reactive to proactive asset management that can cut downtime by up to 90%, slashing maintenance costs by up to 85%, and extending the life of critical infrastructure by decades.
“The cost of downtime is staggering, from multi-million-dollar revenue losses in data centres, to the safety and reliability risks facing utilities and hospitals,” says ABB Electrification Service president, Stuart Thompson. “This acquisition gives our customers the diagnostic intelligence they need to prevent failures before they happen. By turning complex monitoring data into clear, actionable insights, we’re enabling businesses to shift from reactive repairs to predictive maintenance, so they can focus on performance while their critical infrastructure runs leaner, cleaner and smarter.”
IPEC’s platforms provide 24/7 monitoring of electrical infrastructure, with its flagship system being able to track up to 128 connection points simultaneously. Its DeCIFer algorithm analyses the data to identify potential equipment issues before they escalate into failures, allowing businesses to schedule their maintenance activities proactively rather than reactively.
“At IPEC, we’ve spent decades refining how partial discharge data can be translated into meaningful diagnostics through advanced algorithms and, more recently, AI and machine learning,” explains the company’s managing director, Dr Colin Smith. “By joining ABB, we can both continue to develop our technology and bring our innovations to more industries and markets, turning complex data into predictive insight that anticipates potential failures and enables industries to make more strategic, intelligent decisions about their electrical assets.”
