Turbochargers to tech: Accelleron’s rise

Similarly to ABB, Accelleron has been on the acquisition trail to bulk up its digital offering with the takeover of Canadian weather routing software provider True North Marine during the summer, a move that followed former parent ABB’s acquisition of European weather routing firm DTN in January. We spoke to Shailesh Shirsekar (pictured), head of digital sales at Accelleron about the company’s plans and new services.

“The True North Marine acquisition adds voyage optimisation and advisory services spanning from pre-voyage estimates to post-voyage claims to our digital scope,” says Shirsekar in response to a question about the reasons for buying True North Marine, adding that Accelleron want to be a “relevant service provider” to its customers.

With the current spate of large maritime companies snapping up smaller tech companies, Shirsekar is keen to point out that Accelleron’s M&A policy is discerning.

“We are pretty selective about what we acquire and open to both organic and inorganic growth. We look at the company, we look at the growth potential, its history etc,” he says.

Shirsekar added Accelleron’s focus is on organic growth in every division -turbocharging, fuel injection systems, digitalisation, services, and upgrades – but on the integration and stabilisation phases following recent acquisitions, he says this takes some time.

For instance, Accelleron-owned Officine Meccaniche Torino’s (deal completed 2023) acquisition of Italy’s OMC2 this year is an example of the Swiss company strengthening its position in the fuel injection space. This deal also serves to highlight Accelleron’s capabilities in decarbonisation as it increased OMT’s manufacturing base with the company already focused on supplying components for dual fuel engines including those using ammonia and green methanol.

Shirsekar mentions that Accelleron is working on a consultancy service to aid its clients with among other things, regulatory compliance.

Given the tsunami of regulation hitting the shipping industry this year alone – EU ETS being expanded to include maritime from 2024 and FuelEU Maritime’s implementation – a service assisting its clients on the voyage to decarbonisation is apt.

“This [regulation] is where there’s a lot of complexities involved. Regulations keep evolving, keep changing. And the ship owners, they need to focus on their core business as well. And this is where we see that we can support the customers, identify or navigate through all these complexities,” says Shirsekar explaining how this new service would work.

Shirsekar says that with FuelEU specifically the service will help plan for what It will mean for customers including the costs for “inaction”, which will become more pressing once the teeth of regulation start to bite from 2026.

Accelleron is well known for its hardware solutions but Shirsekar explains that its digital offering complements this well. For instance, the company’s Turbo Insights package lets customers optimise their fuel and emissions efficiency using data sent from the company’s turbochargers. Shirsekar says Turbo Insights gives information about how the turbocharger is operating within its predefined parameters.

This marriage of Accelleron’s digital prowess with its hardware knowledge is further seen with its Tekomar Xpert product, which allows customers to check their engine performance and emissions levels. Unlike its Turbo Insights package, which is specifically for Accelleron turbochargers, Tekomar Xpert is OEM agnostic.

“We can work with all equipment and interface with other ship automation systems; second, since Accelleron also brings a 100-year history of turbocharging and 94 years of fuel injection to the table, we can synthesise engineering and digital insights to optimise operations that much more precisely,” says Shirsekar.

Accelleron’s growth trajectory since its 2022 spin-off from ABB has seen it consolidate its position as the leading turbocharger and fuel injection maker but with an added flair for innovation. Through targeted acquisitions like True North Marine and OMC2, Accelleron has not only reinforced its position in its existing strongholds but expanded its digital capabilities to support this.

As shipping regulations intensify, the company’s blend of hardware expertise and digital solutions, such as Turbo Insights and Tekomar Xpert, positions it as a valuable partner in helping customers navigate the changing regulatory environment while optimising operational efficiency at the same time.