- Siemens successfully completed the first phase of its shallow water test of the Subsea Power Grid.
- The development program was conducted in collaboration with industry partners Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, and Eni Norge.
- This will be the world's first Subsea Power Grid for medium voltage power distribution using pressure compensated technology.
Siemens has successfully concluded the first phase of its Subsea Power Grid shallow water test in Trondheim, Norway. Siemens, in collaboration with industry partners Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, and Eni Norge, is in the final stages of a program to develop a barrier-breaking system that will become the world’s first Subsea Power Grid designed for distribution of medium voltage power using pressure compensated technology.
With the DynaGridCenter project, Siemens worked alongside partners in science and research to develop the next generation of grid control centers. For the first time, assistant systems visualize dynamic processes that bring the energy transition to the power grid and provide targeted recommendations for actions to optimize the grids and prevent blackouts.
Siemens Building Technologies Division is acquiring Building Robotics Inc., a market leader in the fast growing digital workplace experience app domain. The simple-to-use app Comfy enables people to take control of their environment and provides feedback on their space. With this acquisition, Siemens is setting a further milestone in smart building solutions.
Scandinavia is the first region in the world to rely increasingly on battery-powered and thus environmentally-friendly technologies in the shipbuilding industry. After "Ampere", the world's first electrical ferry in Norway, and a follow-up order of the Finnish shipping company FinFerries, Siemens has now received an order from Norwegian ferry operator Fjord1. Ampere was put into operation in Norway in May 2015, and has traveled a distance equivalent to more than 1.5 times around the equator. With the change from diesel propulsion to battery, Norwegian ship owner Norled has reduced the cost of fuel by 60 percent. Now Siemens has tailor-made a suitable technical solution for Fjord1. With this contract, the first four battery-driven ferries in the world will run on technology developed and manufactured by Siemens.
"Elektra" - the newest member of the electric ferry fleet: In June 2017, the Elektra began regular operation between Nauvo and Parainen in the Turku archipelago. Battery packs, which are charged via the land-based charging stations in the harbor for use by the ferry, serve as the primary source of energy, with Diesel engines used as emergency power units. The Elektra is also Europe's largest car ferry. At nearly 98 meters long and 16 meters wide, the Elektra can transport up to 90 cars per trip. The ferry purchased by FinFerries will now be traveling this route every 15 minutes. The batteries will be charged in roughly five minutes while cars move off and onto the ferry. The two lithium-ion batteries each have a capacity of 530 kWh.
Siemens and The AES Corporation announced on July 11, 2017 their agreement to form a new global energy storage technology and services company under the name Fluence. The joint venture will deliver the Advancion and Siestorage energy storage platforms and will continue to develop new storage solutions and services. Fluence will empower customers around the world to better navigate the fragmented but rapidly growing energy storage sector and meet their pressing needs for scalable, flexible, and cost-competitive energy storage solutions. Its global headquarters will be located in the Washington, DC area with additional offices located in Erlangen, Germany and other cities worldwide. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2017, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
For many holiday-makers, a cruise on board a luxury liner is right up at the top of their wish list. No wonder that the leisure cruising market has been booming for many years. In the past year alone, more than 20 million cruise passengers embarked in locations around the world – and the trend is upwards. This year saw the launch of the Aida shipping company's ninth ship fitted out with automation technology from Siemens.
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 discovery of the dynamo-electric principle has brought about greater changes to the way our society lives than practically any other scientific breakthrough. By inventing the dynamo machine, not only did Werner von Siemens help bring about the advent of electrical machinery, he was also instrumental in accelerating and facilitating industrial processes. Seen from the perspective of society, this completely changed accepted concepts of time and mobility.
In May 2014 Siemens, together with the public utilities of Mainz, Linde and the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, has laid the foundation stone for a new type of energy storage system. Now, time has come: By pressing a symbolic button, the Chairman of the Board of Linde Group, Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, Siemens board member Professor Siegfried Russwurm, two board members of Stadtwerke Mainz AG, Detlev Höhne and Dr. Tobias Brosze, and Professor Dr. Detlev Reymann, President of RheinMain University, officially launched a hydrogen production plant at the Energiepark Mainz on July 2, 2015. With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as part of the Energy Storage Funding Initiative the 17-million-project could be realized. The system, equipped with an electrolyzer from Siemens, will convert surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen from now on. In this way, it will be possible to store electricity from renewable sources over longer periods of time. With a peak rating of up to 6 megawatts the plant is the largest of its kind in the world.
The principle of electrolysis has been tried and tested for decades. What is special about the Mainz system is that it involves highly dynamic PEM high-pressure electrolysis which is particularly suitable for high current density and can react within milliseconds to sharp increases in power generation from wind and solar sources. In this electrolyzer a proton exchange membrane (PEM) separates the two electrodes at which oxygen and hydrogen are formed. On the front and back of the membrane are precious-metal electrodes that are connected to the positive and negative poles of the voltage source. This is where the water is split. The system in Mainz will thus have a capacity relevant for bottlenecks in the grid and small wind farms.