'One of the big challenges is distributing energy to different parts of Brazil stably' – GE Vernova

Last April, the board of directors of General Electric approved the spin-off of GE Vernova, a company focused on energy equipment manufacturing and services company. 

With a large footprint in Brazil, GE Vernova sees many opportunities related to energy control systems, primary and secondary substations, biomass plants, electric turbines, synchronous compensators and electrification.

BNamericas speaks with the head of GE Vernova’s Latin American power conversion business, Alex Mc Lennan, about the business outlook for the firm.

BNamericas: How does the spin-off of GE Vernova impact the company's activities in Brazil and Latin America?

Mc Lennan: This brings much more clarity to the market and allows us to focus on investments in the segment where we operate.

Vernova stands for green and innovation [in Portuguese], which is the original spirit of GE. This has been part of our DNA since Thomas Edison, the founder of GE.

We’re divided into three major segments: power, wind and electrification. Within that, there are several sub-businesses, all focused on energy.

Now, we’re able to be fully focused on the energy transition, working to electrify and decarbonize, and helping our customers in this endeavor.

In terms of Brazil, we continue to have a significant footprint, with six factories in operation and around 5,000 employees working across the country.

BNamericas: What do the factories produce?

Mc Lennan: In Suape, in Pernambuco state, wind blades; in Itajubá, Minas Gerais, high voltage equipment for power transmission; in Taubaté, São Paulo, hydroelectric turbines and generators and platforms for substation components; in Campinas, São Paulo, power conversion engines; and in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, digital automation [solutions for] energy transmission.

BNamericas: What are the main projects and ongoing contracts of GE Vernova's power conversion business in Brazil?

Mc Lennan: There are some projects in the pipeline, so I can't reveal them yet. But we’re very active in mining and steel, power quality and secondary substations, not only in Brazil but also in Chile and Colombia.

BNamericas: What explains the growth of business in the mining and steel areas?

Mc Lennan: The search for a lower carbon footprint, greater energy efficiency, and stability in plants. Many of the opportunities are related to energy control systems, primary and secondary substations, biomass plants, electric turbines, synchronous compensators, and electrification.

We’re seeing increasing investments in Brazil. Many talks about energy generation, but one of the big challenges is distributing energy to different parts of Brazil stably. That's where investments are needed.

BNamericas: Hence the importance of synchronous compensators, considering the intermittency of solar and wind sources, which are driving the growth of Brazil's energy matrix?

Mc Lennan: Yes. You won't have constant sun or wind, so during fluctuation, you need to think about how to compensate for the variation and not affect a plant's generation. Our added value is related to the innovation aspect. That's the big area where we see growth potential.

BNamericas: In what areas does the company plan to invest?

Mc Lennan: Focusing on the power conversion business in LatAm, in a more generic sense, what we see as more of an opportunity is investment in human capital, at the leadership level, understanding the energy transition and improving our engineering capacity, attracting young talent from universities.

In terms of market and operations, investments will go mainly towards product innovation, as our existing factories are large enough. In these cases, it's just reinvestment for maintenance and machinery.