The foundation stone of the future converter station was laid on the morning of February 23rd in Folkestone by Jesse Norman, Minister for Industry and Energy signalling the start of the construction work for high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) project ElecLink. Siemens has been awarded an order to supply a link between the French and British power grids by customer ElecLink Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Groupe Eurotunnel SE. The ElecLink high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) link will enhance power supply reliability in both countries and promote the integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid. ElecLink, when complete, will supply enough electricity to power more than 1.65 million typical households per year. The HVDC link between France and Great Britain has been designated as one of the European Commission's projects of common interest to help create an integrated European Union energy market.
- First order for 24 articulated trains based on the new Mireo platform
- 15 double-decker trainsets from the proven Desiro train family
- Commissioning in the summer of 2020
Beginning in 2020, DB Regio AG will operate its Rhine Valley rail network in southwest Germany exclusively with new trains supplied by Siemens. The mass transit arm of Deutsche Bahn has ordered 39 trainsets specifically for this purpose. The order comprises 15 Desiro HC and 24 Mireo trains. This marks the first order for the company's new articulated Mireo regional train platform that was recently premiered at Innotrans, the world's biggest rail trade fair.
The wind service operation vessel (SOV) for the Dutch Gemini project has been christened "Windea la cour" today in Hamburg. The vessel is to set sail to start operations at the Gemini offshore wind power plant this summer. This is the third Siemens-chartered SOV which is supporting Siemens and its offshore service operations. Since June 2015, 'Esvagt Faraday' is supporting service operations at the Butendiek offshore wind power plant in North Sea and 'Esvagt Froude' is utilized for service at the EnBW Baltic II wind farm in the Baltic Sea. A fourth SOV will be utilized for service operations by Siemens at the Sandbank and Dan Tysk wind projects. SOVs are part of innovative approaches in the sector of service for offshore wind power of Siemens anc can make a vital contribution in the future to further reducing the costs for electricity generated by offshore wind farms.
- Multisystem locomotives equipped for the D-A-CH-I corridor
- Deliveries to begin in December 2017
- Initial service with SBB Cargo International
Together with the infrastructure fund of Reichmuth Infrastruktur Schweiz AG, the leasing company LokRoll AG has ordered 18 multisystem Vectron locomotives from Siemens. They will be used for cross-border operation along the Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy corridor. In addition to having national train control systems, all locomotives will also be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS). The locomotives will have a maximum output of 6,400 KW and a top speed of 160 km/h. LokRoll will lease the locomotives to the Swiss freight transport firm SBB Cargo International for a period of 15 years.
- Framework contract of up to 200 Vectron locomotives
- First tranche for 30 Vectron MS
- Delivery to begin in summer of 2018
Austrian Railways (ÖBB) has signed a framework contract with Siemens for the delivery of up to 200 Vectron locomotives. Under the contract, up to 100 alternating current (AC) locomotives, 50 alternating current (AC) locomotives with diesel power modules, and 50 multisystem (MS) locomotives can be called up. A firm order for 30 MS locomotives was placed at the signing. The locomotives will be built in the Siemens plant in Munich-Allach, Germany. The first units are to be delivered beginning in summer of 2018.
The "Fortuna" combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant at the Lausward location in the port of Düsseldorf was successfully handed over to the customer and operator, the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf public utility company, on January 22, 2016. The power plant has broken three world records: in the acceptance test a maximum electrical net output of 603.8 megawatts (MW) was achieved and the net energy conversion efficiency was around 61.5 percent. In addition, "Fortuna" can also deliver up to around 300 MW for the district heating system of the city of Düsseldorf – a further international peak value for a power plant equipped with only one gas and steam turbine. This increases the overall efficiency of natural gas as a fuel to 85 percent. The heart of the "Fortuna" CCGT power plant is the extremely powerful SGT5-8000H gas turbine from Siemens. Highly efficient and flexible CCGT power plants ideally complement renewable energy sources such as the wind and the sun, which are subject to fluctuations in their power outputs.
China's megacities alone are home to more than 260 million people. These gigantic conurbations have recently undergone rapid growth of almost two percent per year, and are suffering increasing traffic problems caused by the soaring rate of car use. Hence the correspondingly strong demand for solutions for the further development of urban rail transport. The Nanjing customer has now commissioned Siemens to equip metro Ninghe Line with the CBTC automatic train protection system Trainguard MT. The contract includes the CBTC trackside equipment for the 36 kilometer line as well as the ATC equipment of the 24 trains. In the long term more than ten metro lines will be built in Nanjing – of which five alone will or already been feature Siemens signaling technology.Siemens can look back on a long partnership in China with the Nanjing Metro Corporation. Siemens equipped metro line 1, which started running in 2005 and is now 47 kilometers long, as well as metro line 2 in 2010. Line 2 serves 26 stations and forms the east-west tangent of the city of Nanjing in eastern China. Following the extension of the city's metro with line 2, the rail network now covers 85 kilometers. Line 10, Nangjing's first cross-Yangtze river metro line was put into operation on July 1, 2014. Its first phase runs 23.6 kilometers with 14 stations. The latest Nanjing metro line fitted with signaling technology from Siemens is Nanjing Metro Line 3, which went on public operation on April 1, 2015.
The Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power and Gas, has commissioned its first micro-scale natural gas liquefaction system at the Ten Man liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Pennsylvania, U.S. The modular, portable LNGo technology enables distributed production of LNG and can be installed in a short period of time to meet local demand for LNG. This cost-effective solution, developed by the Dresser-Rand business, allows the operator, Frontier Natural Resources, to monetize stranded gas assets at Tenaska Resources LLC's Mainesburg field, located in the Marcellus shale play. Frontier Natural Resources is an independent natural gas producer focused on developing conventional and unconventional resources.
The scope of supply included a standardized LNGo solution consisting of four different modules, each handling one step of the liquefaction process. The whole LNGo system can be transported on eight trucks. It is deployed directly at the gas field and has a footprint of approximately 508 square meters, roughly the size of a basketball court. The Ten Man facility commenced production just four months from contract signing, and has produced approximately half a million liters of LNG in the first 20 days.
"This project demonstrates our unique capabilities to deliver innovative solutions for oil and gas applications that help our clients maximize the value of their assets," said Michael Walhof, sales director Distributed LNG Solutions for the Dresser-Rand business. "We are proud to provide Frontier Natural Resources with a reliable, robust solution to liquefy natural gas and cost-effectively move it to market."
The LNGo technology makes it possible to monetize stranded gas deposits due to its relatively low capital and operating costs. The micro-scale LNGo solution can be deployed in rough terrain or remote regions, eliminating the need to establish an expensive gas pipeline infrastructure or arrange for long-distance trucking of LNG from centralized plants to point of use. It can function as a decentralized solution where the requisite pipeline infrastructure is lacking, or as an onsite transformation solution to reduce or eliminate flaring of petroleum gas at, for example, oil rigs or producing gas fields.
Siemens AG is constructing a modern and sustainably designed Siemens Campus Erlangen in the southern part of the city of Erlangen, Germany. By 2030, the company's research center in the south of the city will have been transformed step-by-step into one of Siemens' most advanced locations worldwide. Future-oriented office, research and laboratory jobs will be located on the campus. Equipped with the most advanced building and energy technologies, it will be developed over the long term into Siemens' first CO
2-neutral location worldwide. A new urban residential and living environment will arise on the campus grounds. Siemens will be part of the community as never before. Designed by the Frankfurt architects KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten, the campus's open plan will link the company and society and provide a basis for the exchange of ideas.
The construction project has a planned investment volume of some €500 million and will cover an area of 54 hectares. Siemens Campus Erlangen underscores the company's long-term commitment to its Erlangen location and will be a symbol of innovative power for employees and for the region. The project was planned and designed in close cooperation with the state of Bavaria and the city of Erlangen.
The Velaro D is the fourth generation of high-speed trains that Siemens has developed on the basis of the Velaro platform. Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) classifies the train as the new Series 407 ICE 3 (predecessors: Series 403 and Series 406 ICE 3). In December 2013, Germany's Federal Railway Authority (EBA) approved the trains' operation – also in multiple-unit or so-called double-traction mode – on the Deutsche Bahn rail network. Passenger operation started on December 21, 2013.
Authorization for operation in single-traction mode in France was granted in April 2015. Since June 2015 the trains have been travelling to Paris in regular passenger operation. In addition to Germany and France, the Velaro D is also intended for cross-border operation in Belgium.
Since 2007, trains based on the Velaro platform have operated with high reliability for more than one billion kilometers in China, Russia, Spain and Turkey – equal to roughly 25,000 times around the globe.