ABB takes stake in US circular manufacturing start-up to transform drive designs
6 March 2025 
ABB Motion’s Drive Products division has invested an undisclosed sum in the US-based circular manufacturing company Molg, to help it to optimise the design and reusability of its drives. The collaboration will combine Molg’s design expertise and robotic microfactory technologies to streamline the assembly and testing processes in ABB’s manufacturing operations, and increase its drives’ circularity and resource efficiency.
Molg’s robotic microfactories can disassemble complex electronic products autonomously, helping to keep valuable components and materials within supply chains and out of landfills. The comopany works with electronics manufacturers to design products with re-use in mind, so that one product’s end is another’s beginning. Last year, it won a $5m grant from the US Department of Energy to develop a robotic technology that could disassemble laptops to harvest their batteries 50% faster than previous processes, and at half the cost.
ABB began its relationship with Molg in 2023 when the Virginia start-up won ABB’s Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge. The two companies have subsequently delivered a drives assembly proof-of-concept using Molg’s microfactory technology. The new investment will allow them to proceed to the next phase of their partnership.
ABB says it is committed to achieving a full lifecycle circular approach for 80% its products by 2030. Molg’s microfactories will help it to improve the efficiency of producing configured-to-order drives by using automation to streamline its assembly and testing processes.
ABB adds that the investment strengthens its position as an enabler of the circular economy by re-using, re-purposing and recycling components. ABB Robotics & Automation Ventures took part in Molg’s seed round funding in October 2024, helping it to scale up its production capacity and to tackle e-waste with robotics and design.
This strategic partnership is line with ABB’s strategy of using locally-sourced materials for in-country manufacturing for regional customers. This is also part of ABB’s circularity-based approach, not only minimising waste and manufacturing-related carbon emissions, but providing in-market support for companies across the supply chain.
“Our investment in Molg means we are part of an innovation ecosystem which develops new solutions for product circularity,” says Tuomo Hoysniemi, president of ABB’s Drive Products division. “This investment to develop our drives portfolio through recycling and re-using of components is aligned with our aims to increase circularity within our portfolio. What’s more, Molg’s microfactories are especially suited to the ABB Drive Products’ customisable product range and will give us and increased ability to meet unique customer and market future requirements, while at the same time preserving valuable resources.”
“Winning ABB’s Accelerating Circularity Startup Challenge was great recognition for us, and we are even more excited to continue our collaboration with ABB Drive Products within circularity and automation,” adds Molg’s CEO and co-founder, Rob Lawson-Shanks. “We are thrilled to work with ABB Drive Products to design more circular products and create circular manufacturing processes for electronics to enhance supply chain resilience and ensure valuable materials are kept in circulation.”
