- Siemens’ lightning information
service recorded about 399,000 lightning strikes in Germany – 21 percent more
than in 2019
- City of Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony was
Germany’s 2020 “lightning capital”
- Germany’s lowest lightning densities
measured in Coburg, Bamberg and Mainz
- Hamburg was the German state with
the most lightning activity in 2020; Munich topped list of state capitals
- June 13 was the day in 2020 with the
most lightning strikes in Germany – over 89,000
- At the European level, Trieste and the
surrounding areas top the ranking in Siemens’ 2020 lightning atlas
The city of
Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony was Germany’s “lightning capital” in 2020. Siemens’
lightning information service BLIDS (which stands for Blitz-Informationsdienst
von Siemens) detected just under 5.8 lightning strikes per square kilometer there
in 2020. The towns of Kempten in the Allgäu region and Miesbach in the region
of Upper Bavaria took second and third places with 5.1 and 4.7 ground flashes
per square kilometer, respectively. BLIDS recorded the lowest lightning density
in the Bavarian cities of Coburg and Bamberg, where considerably fewer than 0.1
lightning strikes per square kilometer were recorded in each case. Mainz, which
is the capital city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate was also at the bottom
of the list, recording just under 0.1 lightning discharges per square kilometer.
With a lightning density of just under 2.3, Munich led the country’s list of
state capitals, followed by Hamburg (1.9). With this figure, the Hanseatic City
of Hamburg, which has the status of a federal state, also recorded the highest
lightning density among the German states. The state with the highest number of
ground flashes detected in 2020 was Bavaria, which accounted for a quarter of
all strikes measured. Overall, at 399,000 strikes, BLIDS recorded another
increase in lightning activity in Germany, up around 21 percent compared to 2019.
- Siemens Mobility and Continental cooperate in manufacturing pantographs
for trucks
- Initiative of the Ministry of
Transport recommends eHighway on 4,000 kilometers of autobahn
Siemens Mobility and
Continental Engineering Services (CES) will cooperate in the future on the
development and manufacture of pantographs for trucks. The eHighway technology
from Siemens Mobility supplies trucks with electricity via an overhead line. The
cooperation aims to electrify key stretches of highway-networks in Germany’s autobahn network with
overhead contact lines and thus significantly reduce CO
2 emissions from
trucks. The new partnership combines expertise from two technology worlds:
Siemens Mobility is a specialist in rail electrification, Continental
Engineering Services is a development and production service provider for
automotive technologies. The two companies will now pool their know-how to
quickly achieve series production of truck pantographs.
- Environmentally-friendly
and sustainable portfolio
- New Siemens ADVtechnology ensures more efficient design process with
multi-use components
- Support throughout the entire fire safety system lifecycle thanks to
extensive Siemens expertise and access to digital tools
Siemens Smart Infrastructure introduces its
new natural agent extinguishing portfolio, Sinorix NXN. Focusing on the
protection of lives, assets and business continuity, the new fire extinguishing
portfolio combines simplicity with advanced technology to modernize traditional
fire safety. The agents consist of the natural gases argon, nitrogen and carbon
dioxide. They are ideal for specific application areas such as storage rooms
for chemicals (argon), critical electrical infrastructure (nitrogen) or
unmanned areas (carbon dioxide). The new Sinorix NXN portfolio uses only agents
and compounds that are naturally found in our atmosphere and do not harm the environment. It also has a reduced
ecological footprint, thanks to its compact and versatile product design.
ÖBB is investing in a new maintenance fleet with 50
low-emission high-performance maintenance vehicles, including 6 cab cars. The Austrian
vehicle manufacturer Plasser & Theurer has been awarded to modernize the
ÖBB fleet and selected Siemens Mobility as trusted ETCS onboard unit partner to
equip the fleet with the latest European train control system (ETCS). The
Trainguard ETCS Level 2 solution that it deployed to ÖBB is based on the latest
Baseline 3 Release 2 standard. To ensure an economical transition to ETCS a
unified cabinet design with standardized interfaces is applied. The new
maintenance fleet is intended to operate throughout the ÖBB network and
cross-border to Germany. To operate in Germany the vehicles will additionally
be equipped with the Siemens PZB solution Trainguard Basic Indusi (TGB-I). TGB-I
with ETCS is a smart combination for operation on both existing and ETCS lines
thanks to proven and harmonized interfaces. By end of 2023 the first vehicles
will operate on the new high-speed Koralmbahn. The contract includes the option
to equip additional 46 high performance maintenance vehicles.
- SSB customers travel at the lowest
ticket price with the ‘Best Price’ option
- Mobile ticket with fully automated
billing process
- eos.uptrade provides XiXo solutions
Siemens
Mobility subsidiary eos.uptrade has partnered with Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG
(SSB) to integrate the ‘Best Price’ option into the
SSB Move app, making it more convenient for passengers to buy
public transport tickets. eos.uptrade utilized its XiXo ticketing software to
create a new ticketing module that automatically calculates the best possible
price at all times. Passengers no longer need to decide whether a single
ticket, a day ticket or even a weekly/monthly ticket is the right choice for
them. The automated calculation of the best price offers maximum flexibility
for passengers and operators.
- Letter of intent signed for the construction of one of Europe’s largest energy storage facilities in Wunsiedel, Germany
- Zukunftsenergie Nordostbayern GmbH aims to store locally-generated electricity from renewable energy and reduce CO2 emissions
- Siemens to supply 100 megawatt turnkey plant
- Partners to examine implementation, develop suitable financing concept
Siemens Smart Infrastructure and Zukunftsenergie Nordostbayern GmbH (ZENOB) signed a letter of intent in Wunsiedel for the turnkey construction of a 100 megawatt battery storage facility in the German town. The plant, with a storage capacity of 200 megawatt hours, is intended to use surplus renewable energy and cover demand peaks in the power grid. The 5,000 square meter energy storage facility is capable of supplying 20,000 average households with electricity. The lithium-ion battery storage system will be provided by Fluence, a joint venture between Siemens and AES. Siemens will handle project management, including a technical implementation concept, as well as the construction of a medium-voltage switchgear system and connection to the high-voltage grid. Among other things, the letter of intent also includes the development of a financing concept.
- 250,000 euros in immediate aid for first-aid organizations
- Unbureaucratic support planned for affected employees and locations
Siemens AG is making a short-term contribution to the fight against the
flood disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate and affected
regions outside of Germany, providing immediate aid of 250,000 euros to first
responders such as the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief and the
German Red Cross through Siemens Caring Hands e.V.