- Siemens' lightning information service detected about 443,000 lightning strikes in Germany in 2017 – 11,000 more than in 2016
- Garmisch-Partenkirchen was the German district struck most often by lightning, lowest rates were in the city of Pirmasens
- Germany's "capital of lightning" was Mainz, followed by Wiesbaden and Berlin
- At the European level, Slovenia leads the ranking
Garmisch-Partenkirchen District in Upper Bavaria was the German region with the most lightning activity in 2017. Siemens' lightning information service BLIDS (which stands for Blitz-Informationsdienst von Siemens) registered 3.51 lightning strikes per square kilometer in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2017. The districts of Main-Taunus and Giessen in the state of Hesse were on second and third place with 3.47 and 3.46 ground flashes per square kilometer, respectively. Germany's lowest concentration of lightning strikes was in the cities of Pirmasens (0.16), Oldenburg and Bonn (both at 0.18). With lightning hitting 2.4 times per square kilometer, Mainz led the country's list of state capitals. Overall, at 443,000 strikes, BLIDS again registered a comparatively low level of atmospheric discharges in Germany – although 2016's record low level, with about 432,000 strikes detected, was exceeded in 2017 by 11,000 (2,5 percent). For the first time, BLIDS is also making data available for Central Europe.
- Siemens report "Cities in the Driving Seat" encourages cities to anticipate and tackle upcoming changes to their infrastructures early
- Report urges urban areas to use connected and autonomous vehicles to refocus urban environments on citizens rather than cars
- Connecting autonomous vehicles to intelligent transport infrastructures can maximize their benefit
- Greatest benefit from autonomous vehicles will emerge from capacity to provide "first and last mile" trips and help city government provide new transport services
The advent of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) has the potential to cause major and disruptive changes to cities worldwide, a report launched by Siemens indicates. The report "Cities in the Driving Seat" stresses the need for cities to plan early and tackle the issue in a wider context of mobility transformations. Launched today at the World Cities Summit in Singapore the study explores the interdependencies between urban development, public transportation policies, power supply, pollution and the increasing share of CAV in city traffic. Lack of mid-term planning and delayed investments in infrastructure could create negative social, economic and environmental effects, the authors from Siemens' Global Center of Competence Cities argue.
- City Air Management captures pollution data in real time and forecasts emissions up to five days in advance
- Solution simulates effectiveness of measures for improving air quality
- Siemens and Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City plan to jointly deploy and enhance this software solution as world's first implementation
A new software solution is helping cities remedy the growing problem of air pollution and the associated lack of compliance with emission-control thresholds. Siemens presented City Air Management (CyAM) at the World Cities Summit in Singapore. CyAM is a cloud-based software suite with a dashboard that displays real-time information on the air quality detected by sensors across a city and predicts values for the upcoming three to five days. These air-quality forecasts are prepared with the aid of algorithms that tap into an artificial neural network and draw on historical and current data on air quality as well as weather and traffic patterns. Mayors and other decision-makers can then use this data and a combination of potential solution measures to derive concrete recommendations for action and define measures that help reduce concentrations of nitrogen oxides and atmospheric particulate matter.
- Siemens Arts Program promotes outstanding young talent and awards Siemens Opera Contest France prize to Sarah Shine
The young soprano Sarah Shine is the winner of the Siemens Opera Contest France at the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Sarah Shine was born in 1993 in Ireland and completed her studies with Veronica Dunne at the Irish Royal Academy of Music in 2015. Since September 2017, she has been studying at the Academy of the Opéra national de Paris.
- Memorandum of Understanding signed to target cooperation between Siemens and China's State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC)
- Siemens to become SPIC's potential partner for development of own generation of heavy-duty gas turbines
Siemens and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) of China entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to further confirm intention of technology collaboration in the field of heavy-duty gas turbines. Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG, and Qian Zhimin, Chairman of SPIC, signed the MoU in Berlin in the presence of German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his official visit to Germany.
- First B&R International Summit held in Beijing to "Connect, Create, Collaborate"
- More than ten cooperation agreements signed with Chinese enterprises
- Partnership with over 100 Chinese EPCs in more than 100 markets worldwide
- Siemens calls for digital ecosystem for future-oriented infrastructure development
- Carsten Hasbach to head Siemens' BRI Office in Beijing
Siemens entered into more than ten agreements with Chinese partners today in support and exploration of opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At the Belt and Road International Summit held by Siemens today, more than 1,000 leaders and executive representatives from governments, enterprises, investors, financing institutions and think tanks from more than 30 countries and regions gathered. The cooperation, signed with a number of leading Chinese enterprises - including for example China Gezhouba Group Corporation International Engineering Co., Ltd., Guangdong Yuedian Group Co., Ltd., China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation Ltd. (CNCEC), China Railway Construction Corporation (International) Ltd., China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Resources Cement Holdings Ltd. - covers power generation, energy management, building technology and intelligent manufacturing, and it targets market potentials of countries and regions such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Mozambique as well as South America.
- French Ministry for the Economy and Finance gives green light
- France's financial markets regulator grants Siemens exemption
The planned combination of Siemens' mobility business, including its rail traction drive business, with Alstom has reached the next milestones. In connection with the transaction, the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance (MINEFI) has granted Siemens foreign investment clearance. The Ministry can restrict or prohibit foreign investments in specified industries in France.
- Juan Ignacio Diaz appointed new CEO of Siemens Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean, effective June 1
Siemens Mexico today announced that Juan Ignacio Diaz will serve as the new CEO of Siemens Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean. He succeeds Louise Goeser who has left the company. Diaz was previously Country CEO of Siemens Chile and lead for its Mobility division.
- Technical prerequisites for Industrie 4.0 fulfilled
- Personalized medicine is driving digitalization of the pharmaceutical industry
- IoT solutions as a growth driver
The digital transformation of the industrial sector is in full swing: with its Digital Enterprise portfolio, Siemens has fulfilled the technical prerequisites for implementing Industrie 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As a result, companies of any size or industry can immediately begin using "digital twins" across the entire value chain in order to increase their competitiveness over the long term. "With our Digital Enterprise portfolio, our customers are now already achieving improvements in flexibility, time-to-market, efficiency and quality," said Eckard Eberle, CEO of Siemens' Process Automation Business Unit, at a press event in Vienna, Austria. "With these capabilities, they can successfully tackle some of the challenges that the process industries are currently facing. The growing importance of personalized medicine, for instance, is strengthening demand within the pharmaceutical industry for digital technologies that enable continuous, paperless production in smaller batches all the way down to a lot size of one."
- Building Technologies to acquire leading provider of smart IoT systems in buildings
- Expansion of smart building technology with digital sensory system – advanced lighting control application as core element
- Enhancing building performance by gathering multiple streams of data to improve transparency and efficiency
- Transaction expected to close in the third quarter of 2018
Siemens Building Technologies Division is acquiring Enlighted Inc., a leading provider of smart IoT (Internet of Things) systems in buildings, headquartered in the Silicon Valley. The company is a successful player in the smart building industry, bringing an advanced digital sensory system to market. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details. Closing is expected in the third quarter of 2018. Enlighted will be managed as an independent legal entity and wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Industry, Inc.