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Pictures of the Future The Magazine for Research and Innovation | Fall 2013

Solutions for Integrated Resilient How Ideas Tomorrow’s Systems Infrastructures Mature Harvesting synergies from Maximizing survivability Generating innovations World disparate systems in a world of risks from inspiration Pictures of the Future | Editorial Pictures of the Future | Contents

Joe Kaeser is President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG.

Success Factor Innovation Integrated Systems Resilient Infrastructures How Ideas Mature

Innovations generate prosperity and among the top 30. What’s more, Siemens field of electrification — partly as a result of 112 Scenario 2062 148 Scenario 2050 190 Scenario 2035 sustainable competitiveness. Switzerland, has received the Future Prize — the German new applications: computer centers for the Utopia on a Chip Protective Island Deep Vision Singapore, the Scandinavian countries, the President’s Award for Technology and Inno- massively growing volume of data traffic (p. 114 Trends 150 Trends 192 Trends Making Sense of Complexity A World of Risk Reinventing Innovation U.S., and Germany regularly appear at the vation — four times. That’s more than any 84), industrial automation (pp. 30, 32), smart 117 Urban Energy Efficiency 153 New York City 195 Strategies top of the Federation of German Industries’ other company. Nonetheless, in spite of an grids (p. 62), new methods of extracting oil The City Next Door Securing the City From Ideas to Innovations innovation index. In these countries, the in- average of 41 innovations per working day and gas (p. 60), and electric mobility (p. 105). 119 City Intelligence Platform 156 Interview with Prof. Peter Höppe 196 Facts and Forecasts Cities with Brains terplay of science, education, business, gov- and a continuous increase in R&D invest- At the same time, energy systems are in As CO2 Level Increase Leading through Innovation 120 Efficient Building Management Extreme Weather Events Proliferate 198 Patents ernment, and society currently works best. ment over the years to more than €4 billion, a state of transition worldwide. In tomor- U.S.A.F. Academy Brings Energy Costs 158 Facts and Forecasts The Business of Defending Ideas But other countries are also improving their Siemens’ gross margin recently decreased by row’s cities (p. 17), it will be necessary to Down to Earth A Growing Spectrum of Risks 100 Creating Ideas innovative capability. For example, China several hundred basis points. In other words, combine these systems intelligently so that 120 SENSEable City Lab 160 Subsea Technology Knowledge-Sharing Culture MIT Researchers on Research In Uncharted Waters 102 Pictures of the Future now has one fifth of the world’s researchers; after the deduction of manufacturing costs, they will be able to provide a green and cost- Living in an Open-Air Computer 162 Power Grids in the U.S. Predicting the Next Big Thing China’s investments in research and devel- Siemens had less profit from its sales than efficient supply of power, heat, cooling, gas, 122 Electrical Grids Keeping the Lights on 105 Electric Mobility opment (R&D) are significantly greater than before. Put simply, we now receive a lower and drinking water (p. 24). Building and Harmonizing Supply and Demand 164 Energy Storage Test Drive in Sweden Japan’s; and in terms of domestic patent premium for our products. traffic infrastructures must be integrated. 124 Energy Optimization Bottled Sunlight 106 TTB Munich The Promise of Integrated Grids1 166 Tsunami in Japan An El Dorado for Startups registrations China is the world leader. We therefore have to ask ourselves some Everywhere, including the healthcare sector, 128 Wind Heating Odaka Revisited 109 Interview with Startup Pioneer The rules that apply to countries are key questions: Has our innovative strength it will be necessary to integrate complex Eco-Energy Takes the Floor 169 Smart Grids Alex Farcet also valid for companies. The higher profits declined? Are we investing in the most at- stand-alone systems into a smoothly operat- 130 Smart Controls Keeping Paradise from Going Dark Where Fear and Experience Meet generated by innovative products and serv- tractive and future-oriented areas? Are our ing whole. Systems integration (pp. 12–43) Learning from Robots 171 Geothermal Power 109 Interview with Dr. Sven Scheuble, TTB 132 Facility Planning Energy from the Earth Siemens and Startups: ices enable firms to invest more in R&D, processes for transforming an invention into is a key challenge of our time. Here, a Building in Virtual Space 173 Water Networks Many Mutual Benefits modern plants, growth, and jobs. Werner a commercially successful innovation on the broadly structured provider of infrastruc- 134 Facts and Forecasts Big Savings in the Pipeline 111 High-Altitude Laboratory von Siemens believed that his company’s world market still sufficiently fast and effec- tures such as Siemens is ideally equipped to Smart Cities: Great Business Potential 174 Wireless Sensors Cutting-Edge Research at the success was due to the fact “that the prod- tive? A look at our most profitable business provide solutions. It can help to make infra- 135 Security Systems Measuring Tons in Microseconds Top of the World Data Synergies Equal More Security 176 Traffic Management ucts we make are largely based on our own areas is revealing. Most of them not only structures more robust — by making them 137 CT and Ultrasound Fusion Cutting Smog with Data inventions.” The Siemens name is linked occupy the Number One or Number Two capable, for example, of coping with natural Opening a Three-Dimensional Window 178 Historic Infrastructures with the beginning of the age of electricity, position on the world market; they are also disasters (pp. 48–85) or creating customer 139 Personalized Prosthetics Resisting Time’s Ravages the first power plants, electric railroads, technological leaders. They foster a culture utility from large data volumes (p. 80). From Bytes to Bones 180 Big Data 141 IT Solutions Early Warning Systems industrial automation, and pioneering imag- of excellence in their innovation and pro- But it’s not only technologies and mar- Networking U.S. Healthcare 182 Interview with Prof. Hans Uszkoreit ing processes in medical technology. duction processes, which are continually im- kets that are changing. Methods of innova- A Legal Framework for the Virtual World In the rankings published by patent of- proved. They also regularly compare them- tion are also being reinvented (pp. 90–113). 184 Computer Centers fices, Siemens has been in the top group for selves with their best competitors. Today the emphasis is no longer on the Smart Diet for Energy Eaters many years. In a recent survey by the Boston This is how things should be throughout insights of individual researchers in their Consulting Group in which 1,500 top man- Siemens in the future! We must continuously labs, but rather on cooperation between agers were asked to name the “most innova- strive for innovation leadership and defend researchers, scientists, fast startup compa- tive companies of 2012,” our company was our gains. Those who stand still will be over- nies, and leading international customers. taken! That’s because market requirements, A firm such as Siemens must address these competitors, and technologies are constantly factors if it is to remain profitable. After all, Cover: Innovation, resilience and the inte- changing. Conditions are becoming tougher, one fact has not changed since Werner von Features 184 Short Takes 186 Mandela School gration of technologies will drive the devel- as this issue of Pictures of the Future demon- Siemens’ days: We will be successful only if News from Siemens’ Labs South Africa’s School of Thought opment of automated deep sea energy ex- strates. We are at the beginning of a new we impress our customers through our skill- 186 Transition to Renewables 187 Green Power for South Africa Germany’s Energy Future A Fresh Wind Along the Coast traction. This image of the future envisions age of electricity. Demand for electric ful engineering, our innovative power, our 189 Africa 188 Leipzig Zoo systems driven by their own electrical net- power is increasing three times faster than sense of quality, and our reliability. These Angolans Come Home Technologies for the Tropics works – like those now being developed by the world’s population. Society’s need for are the things Siemens stands for! They 144 Rural Healthcare 114 Feedback Siemens in Trondheim, Norway (pp. 60, 90). sustainability is driving advances in energy epitomized our company yesterday — and From Animal Sacrifices to Science 115 Internet and Publications efficiency. And digitization is entering the will continue to do so in the future.

2 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 3 Pictures of the Future | Short Takes Pictures of the Future | Short Takes

Biofuels from Steel S. Korea’s Combined Cycle Power Plant Exhaust Gases Plant Sets World Efficiency Record

Siemens and biotech company LanzaTech are Asia’s most efficient fossil fuel-fired power plant is now on line with a working together to use gas that is rich in car- gross efficiency of almost 61 percent. The Dangjin 3 plant achieved this result bon as a basic raw material and energy source. with the help of a Siemens H-Class world-record-setting turbine and a special Their focus is on steel mill exhaust gases, steam cycle. The facility has an electric output of 415 megawatts. The Dangjin which can be converted into biofuels and basic 3 combined cycle plant was built by Siemens in Dangjin City, which is around chemicals. The technology is based on a fer- 120 kilometers south of Seoul. Siemens served as consortium leader with GS mentation process developed by LanzaTech. New ceramics are helping to shrink transformers. E&C in a turnkey project that was handed over 12 days ahead of schedule. The process enables steel manufacturers to South Korea has taken delivery of eight of the 24 H-Class turbines sold by convert exhaust gases such as CO, CO2, and hy- Siemens to date (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2013, p. 60). The country Siemens’ first HVDC drogen into environmentally compatible fuels Ceramics Are the Key imports nearly all of its gas as North Sea platform and chemicals. The procedure reduces steel liquefied natural gas that is will transmit power mill CO2 emissions and opens up a new source Thanks to the development of new types of ce- shipped by sea. The efficiency from offshore wind of biofuels that won’t be in direct competition ramics in which transformers can be embedded, of gas-fired power plants farms onto land. with food production. At the heart of the new transformers for power supply units can now be re- therefore plays a very impor- technology are special microorganisms that duced to one fifth of their former size. The size re- tant role in South Korea. In ad- convert CO and CO2 into ethanol, acetic acid, duction will also make it possible to integrate dition, demand for electricity is switched-mode power supply units into the heat rapidly rising. As a result, sinks of LED modules. Such units were previously a South Korea plans to increase separate component. Siemens researchers devel- its generating capacity from Power-Saving Conversion oped the technology with partners in a project for the current level of 95 gi- the activation of LEDs by means of LTCC-ferrite gawatts to 150 gigawatts by A project designed to link German offshore wind farms to the land-based modules (ALFerMo). To miniaturize the transform- 2030. At that point, gas-fired power grid took a major leap forward in August 2013 when Siemens com- ers, the scientists increased their switching fre- plants will account for around pleted the installation of its first high-voltage direct-current transmission quency by a factor of four and developed a new lay- one third of South Korea’s platform (HelWin1) in the North Sea. The platform will play a key role in ered system based on magnetic ceramic films. power generation facilities. The Dangjin 3 power plant south of Seoul. bringing electricity generated by offshore wind turbines onto land. It will convert the alternating current (a.c.) from wind turbines into direct current (d.c.). This is important because the cable transporting the electricity onto land is 130 kilometers long (85 km underwater) and its transmission losses Efficiency in the Arena Vegetable Oil: Much More than would be excessive if a.c. were used. Use of efficient d.c. technology results Just a Salad Dressing in losses of less than four percent. The customer, grid operator TenneT, will The new Mané Garrincha national stadium in begin delivering cleanly-generated electricity to some 500,000 households Brasília is considered to be the most modern and Siemens has built the world’s on the German mainland in 2014. The platform’s counterpart, a land-based sustainably designed sports arena in Latin America. first large-scale vegetable oil- station that was also supplied by Siemens, is located in Büttel, near Ham- It was the venue for the opening game of the 2013 based transformer. The unit, burg. This facility transforms the d.c. back into a.c. — the form of electricity Confederation Cup and will host seven World Cup which is located in the Bruch- used by the grid. HelWin1, which is fully automated, is scheduled to go on games in 2014. Siemens supplied state-of-the-art sal-Kändelweg substation near line in the second half of 2014. It will be possible to remotely monitor and building systems for the facility, including building Karlsruhe, Germany, will link control the platform from land thanks to numerous cameras and sensors. Al- automation technology that manages not only the the 380-kV ultra-high voltage together, it took seven days to transport the platform by ship to its final des- demand, measurement, and use of water and elec- level with the 110-kV grid. tination and another four days to install and anchor it. HelWin1 is a colossal Bacteria make biofuels from steel mill exhaust gas. tricity, but also climate control equipment and the Transformers increase or re- facility: It is 75 meters long and 50 meters wide, and it weighs 12,000 tons. integration of fire, alarm, and security systems. duce an a.c. voltage so that The ten steel pillars that anchor it to the sea floor are up to 100 meters long acetone, and other basic chemicals. The Thanks to its clean technologies, Mané Garrincha power can be appropriately — about as high as London’s hallmark, Big Ben. HelWin1 has seven decks ethanol can replace biofuels that are currently may become the world’s first sports arena to receive transmitted. Due to the high that house its high-voltage direct-current transmission system, as well as derived from agricultural products. The CO2 LEED Platinum sustainability certification. currents and voltages involved, quarters that will be used by maintenance crews. The platform is designed balance of ethanol from steel mill exhaust transformers get hot and must to reliably operate for decades in the rough waters of the North Sea. gases is 50 to 70 percent lower than that of pe- be cooled using oil. Up until troleum-based fuels. The technology was suc- now, petroleum or silicone oils World’s first vegetable oil-based transformer. cessfully launched at the Baosteel plant in have been used for this pur- Shanghai, China, in 2012. pose, because they conduct heat very well and also provide good insulation On average, about 1.8 tons of CO2 are pro- against electrical flashovers. However, these oils are highly flammable and can duced for every ton of steel manufactured. The cause environmental damage. In contrast, vegetable oils made from rapeseed, iron and steel industries account for roughly soy, or sunflowers are biodegradable and have a much higher flashpoint. Their 6.7 percent of global CO2 emissions. A steel superior fire protection classification also means that they can be used in mill that currently uses its exhaust gases to densely populated residential areas. The new Siemens transformer weighs just generate electricity can lower its CO2 emissions under 340 tons and contains 100 tons of insulating oil made exclusively from by a third using the new fermentation process. Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasília. renewable plant-based raw materials.

4 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 5 Pictures of the Future | Transition to Renewables Siemens presented nine action areas The Siemens tent featured for sustainable energy systems to government discussions on policies and solutions. and industry leaders at the Berlin event. The “Energy Dance” was a big hit.

Germany’s Energy Future

In June, Siemens hosted a nine-day Energy Transition Dialog in Berlin. The event brought together German politicians, representatives of the business and scientific communities, and Siemens experts to discuss the development of Germany’s energy system. The dialog revealed an urgent need for new approaches — but also many existing solutions for shaping the new age of electricity.

The energy transition is Germany’s project Nevertheless, German grids are increasingly gave visitors an idea of what it means to The annual conferences of the German Elec- associated with the energy transition, as was expansion target for renewables should be of the century. The country plans to funda- being stretched to their limits. restructure the energy system of an entire trical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Associa- revealed in a Siemens survey of 250 cus- abandoned and that the focus should instead mentally change its energy system by 2050 Putting the energy transition back on country. The exhibition also illustrated that tion (ZVEI, June 5–6) and the Federation of tomers from various sectors. For example, 90 be on CO2 reductions. To this end, greater use in a way that will make it unique in terms of track urgently requires a constructive dialog Siemens is the only company worldwide that German Industries (BDI, June 11) took place percent of the companies said they support should be made of highly efficient combined sustainability, climate protection, and inde- among all stakeholders — i.e. the govern- already offers, or is developing, solutions in in the Berlin Tempodrom, which is directly the energy transition, but 93 percent were cycle power plants and wind turbines. That’s pendence from fossil fuels. Plans also call for ment, citizens, scientists, and industry. The all of the areas in which action must be adjacent to the Siemens exhibition tent. not satisfied with its implementation. Afford- because state-of-the-art combined cycle Germany to abandon nuclear power. How- Siemens Energy Transition Dialog (June 3– taken. Such solutions include innovations for The dialog attracted some 2,000 execu- ability, security of supply, and energy effi- plants, which have an efficiency rating of ever, there are still many problems. For one 11, 2013, in Berlin) gave decision-makers wind and gas turbines, intelligent building tives from Germany’s top companies, as well ciency were the top priorities for over 90 per- over 60 percent, generate less than half the thing, electricity prices are steadily rising and from the government, industry, associations, management systems, smart grids, energy as high-ranking politicians, including the cent of the companies. They also expressed level of CO2 emissions produced by a new have more than doubled since 2000. Elec- and the scientific community, as well as in- storage devices, and cross-border electricity country’s Minister of the Environment and their desire for a restructuring of the electric- coal-fired plant, while the cost of wind power tricity costs in Germany are now two to three terested individuals, the opportunity to talk highways. All of these are important for the the parliamentary leaders of the Social Dem- ity market, greater support for energy effi- is set to decline to that of conventional power times higher than in the U.S. German indus- to Siemens experts about the future of the German economy’s competitiveness and for ocratic and Green parties. All of the partici- ciency, and more research into energy stor- plants in the future. try is therefore concerned about its competi- German energy supply system. Discussions the quality of life of the country’s citizens. pants were able to gain in-depth knowledge age solutions. This approach would also enable Germany tiveness. Moreover, despite the fact that focused on existing solutions, those that re- The Siemens tent also featured discussions of the challenges, opportunities, and solu- to meet its climate protection targets. A study renewable energy sources now account for main to be developed, changes that must be with, and presentations by, high-ranking rep- tions associated with the energy transition. Three-point Plan. Members of the Siemens conducted by Siemens’ Energy Sector found more than 20 percent of the electricity mix in made to the overall framework, and interna- resentatives from government, industry, and “We believe we are obligated to explain to Managing Board were on hand at the dialog that the investments and operating costs Germany, CO2 emissions are actually rising in tional examples of best practice. The goal the scientific community. politicians what is possible and practical, and to discuss the discrepancies involved in the needed to achieve this would be at least the country (by two percent in 2012) due to was to gain a comprehensive overview of the The dates for the event in Berlin were how trends in the energy sector are develop- restructuring of the energy system and to €150 billion lower by 2030 if Germany took the increasing use of cheap coal. Fortunately, areas in which action needs to be taken. carefully chosen. For example, the German ing,” said Dr. Udo Niehage, who is responsi- present possible solutions. Peter Löscher, this approach rather than limitlessly expand- power outage duration in Germany remains The centerpiece of the event was an exhi- Municipalities Conference was also held in ble at Siemens for all matters pertaining to who was still the CEO of Siemens at the time, ing renewables. “Our climate target for 2030 very low, at around 15 minutes per capita bition tent that featured numerous exhibits Berlin from June 3 to 4 and was attended by the energy transition. Many German compa- suggested to politicians, business leaders, can be achieved with a lower level of renew- and year (the OECD average is 53 minutes). and descriptions of reference projects that some 800 mayors from all over the country. nies take a similar view of the challenges energy experts, and the media that a firm ables and at a much lower cost,” said Löscher.

6 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 7 Pictures of the Future | Transition to Renewables Pictures of the Future | Africa

“It makes both economic and environmental take on more responsibility when feeding en- perts about a new structure for the electricity sense to strive for a 40 perce nt share of re- ergy into the grid. They need to provide elec- market. It became clear that despite very dif- newables in the mix by 2030, rather than the tricity as reliably as other power suppliers, ferent proposed solutions, the representa- planned 50 percent.” which means they will have to buffer them- tives of Germany’s political parties are in Angolans Come Home Siemens has therefore drawn up a three- selves with flexible power plants or energy agreement as to where problems currently point plan for a cost-efficient energy transi- storage devices. Such a step would create an lie. Germany’s Minister of the Environment, tion. The first point involves restructuring the energy market in which only the amount of Peter Altmaier, pointed out the challenges For a long time Africa was considered the “lost continent.” However, the economies electricity market and radically reworking electricity that is actually needed is delivered. that still need to be overcome. “We need ceil- of some African countries, such as Angola, are now growing faster than China’s. Siemens is Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act Subsidies for renewables will have to be ings for electricity prices, and the EEG should supporting Angola’s efforts to achieve sustainable growth. It is also helping countless people by (EEG). This also means that suppliers of re- structured in line with market forces, with an be extensively reformed,” he said. “We also boosting the capacity and resilience of the country’s overburdened infrastructure. newables will have to face competition and emphasis on greater efficiency, and with auc- have to ensure that power plants that pro- duce efficient and clean fossil-based energy become more closely integrated with renew- Gisela Gonçalves long ago learned to cope the terrace of the Espaço Bahia, a popular Lu- the country’s difficult economic situation. “Of able energy producers, and that all of these with the chilly wind and drizzling rain in Lon- andan bar. “Although I miss London, of course I could have filled shelves in a super- Challenges from the systems are further developed in line with don. Gonçalves, a native of Mozambique, has course, I miss my wife and kids even more, as market, but that’s not why I went to univer- Customers’ Perspective the goal of grid expansion.” been working in London as a director at Elite, I’ve had to leave them behind for now,” he sity,” Miranda explains. At Gonçalves’ recom- The dialog was also a big event for the a human resources consulting firm, for the says. However, when an oil company offered mendation, Miranda earned a supplementary 97% 95% 89% 86% 80% 73% 72% public, providing visitors with a lot of infor- past five years. She specializes in recruiting Miranda a job in Africa, he couldn’t refuse. qualification in supply chain management. At mation as well as entertainment. For exam- people for jobs in Africa. “Angolan oil and gas His story is a typical one for a whole gen- a recruiting fair for Angolans, he then landed ple, a choreographed Energy Dance was companies in particular are desperately try- eration of young Angolans who have scat- a procurement job at a U.S. oil company in staged at the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz, ing to find highly trained workers,” she says. tered throughout the world in order to es- Luanda. and the Energy Transition Path treated visi- At the same time, in Luanda’s muggy cape from decades of civil war, but are now Most economies north of the Mediter- tors to a scavenger hunt that focused on the heat, José Miranda takes a sip of orange juice being drawn back home by their country’s oil ranean Sea are barely growing. By contrast, new age of electricity. Many people came to that costs US$10 per glass. He is looking and gas boom. Miranda studied at a UK uni- economic growth has averaged around five see the exhibition in the tent, where various across the bay of Angola’s capital. Ever since versity, where he earned a degree with hon- percent per year in sub-Saharan Africa over exhibits and Siemens experts provided visi- he came here, Miranda, 29, no longer goes ors in marketing and advertising. However, the last three years. What’s more, some of Affordability tors with detailed information about the en- to a British pub after work; instead, he sits on he failed to get a job afterwards because of the countries in this region are now posting Energy efficiency Security of supply Climate protection ergy transition. mate protection policy Subsidies and innovations Europe-wide energy andHigher cli- share of renewables The Energy Transition Dialog illustrated that most of the technical solutions that are needed to achieve a transition already exist.

Opportunities for the Energy Transition Three-point plan for a cost-efficient energy transition: a restructured electricity market, greater “What can Germany learn from selected energy efficiency, and Europe-wide harmonization international best practices?” This question was addressed by McKinsey consulting with support from Siemens in a study presented during the tions being an option. For example, contracts Siemens now offers, or is developing, solu- Energy Transition Dialog in Berlin. The study for the construction of a new wind farm tions in Germany and in international refer- examined 20 selected examples of best practices could be awarded to companies that offer the ence projects for all the areas in which action The flames of the liquefied natural gas from all over the world in terms of environmental lowest price for feeding their power into the needs to be taken to ensure a successful en- plant in Soyo give many Angolans hope compatibility, cost-effectiveness, and security of grid. Secondly, there must be a stronger fo- ergy transition. More than 90 percent of the that they will have a job and a better life. supply. It also examined why certain measures cus on energy efficiency, since wasted energy Group’s environmental portfolio and over The government wants the proportion of local have yet to be implemented in Germany, or also produces emissions. Finally, government €30 billion of its sales involve products and value creation to continue to increase. are being implemented only to an insufficient and the private sector need to align their poli- technologies for sustainable energy systems. degree. International solutions have been cies, and there has to be closer coordination A total of €23 billion in sales is accounted for developed for the entire energy value chain between individual countries in Europe and by highly energy-efficient products for build- — from power generation and distribution to individual states in Germany. ings, industry, and transportation. Siemens is enhanced efficiency in buildings, industry, convinced that if Germany implements the and transport. The U.S., for example, is now New Technical Solutions. Together with energy transition in an intelligent manner, it the leader in the targeted control of electricity other experts, Siemens CTO Klaus Helmrich will create economic opportunities for the use using measures that temporarily reduce organized an Innovation Day at the Energy country and its industries. After all, the tech- electricity demand, while Brazil, Denmark, and Transition Dialog. The event highlighted the nologies for renewable sources of energy, the Netherlands are modernizing their energy importance of technical solutions for the en- highly flexible gas-fired power plants, smart systems with the help of auctions for wind farm ergy transition, such as those for smart grids grids, and — above all — energy efficiency contracts. and energy storage devices. On the following will also be needed in many other countries. day, Siemens Energy Sector CEO Michael Süß Sebastian Webel talked with high-ranking politicians and ex- More @ www.siemens.com/energy-transition

8 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 9 Pictures of the Future | Africa Pictures of the Future | Africa higher growth rates than China. Angola’s In Soyo, Figueiredo and his team have Unlike Miranda and Figueiredo, the locals ensure that an increasing share of the eco- ted to ethics and compliance is also impor- wrote, “The year 2013 will mark a turning economy, for example, is expected to grow built a larger power plant with 150 MW of ca- generally don’t have university degrees from nomic value created in the country gener- tant to us. We won’t do business with com- point for Africa south of the Sahara. Often by 8.2 percent this year. pacity. It is equipped with Siemens gas tur- London or Lisbon. Many of them live from ates jobs so that more Angolans can benefit panies that don’t have a clean record.” viewed as frontier markets, sub-Saharan Night has fallen on the Bay of Luanda. bines, which will supply electricity to the ad- hand to mouth and must subsist on the from the nation’s oil and gas boom. Angola is widely considered one of the economies are gradually advancing towards Lights go on in the old Portuguese colonial jacent liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. The equivalent of less than one U.S. dollar per most corrupt countries in the world, having the top ranks of emerging economies.” There buildings, which are becoming overshad- LNG plant cools and compresses the natural day. Armando António Kombu, 26, used to Mobilizing Local Resources. Sonangol, a been listed 157th out of 174 nations in the has never been more hope than there is to- owed by more and more skyscrapers. Excava- gas that is extracted offshore so that it can be be one of them. He has seven siblings and state-owned oil and gas company, pays par- 2012 Transparency International rankings. day that Africa will succeed, and there is also tors are digging up the earth in order to cre- loaded onto large ships and transported to had to earn money for his family after his fa- ticularly close attention to local value cre- However, these rankings are based on the a great hope that as many Africans as possi- ate an elegant boulevard along the beach. consumers all over the world. ther died. Kombu could not afford to study ation when it is calling for bids for the con- perceived level of corruption, because cor- ble will benefit from this development. The pattern of its cobblestones will be some- Figueiredo can see the LNG facility during medicine and had to drop out of college. He struction and maintenance of new drilling ruption by nature is not something that can To make this happen, Angola needs to what like that of the Copacabana in Rio de his walks along the Praia dos Pobres (Beach began to work as a taxi driver in Luanda. facilities, such as “floating production, stor- be measured precisely. International experts train its people better. More and more pro- Janeiro. In order to earn a livelihood, children of the Poor). The factory looks like a space- However, the high cost of living prevented age, and offloading units” (FPSO). These are such as Sofie Geerts from the Ethics Institute fessional academies are therefore now being and adults offer passing drivers chewing ship that has landed in the jungle. It consists him from saving much money. The oil boom ships that take in oil and gas from different of South Africa are optimistic. “We’re contin- established in order to ensure that workers gum, bottles of water, and other small items. boreholes and then process them for trans- ually seeing progress,” says Geerts. “Compa- gain knowledge more quickly in the future So where precisely does Angola’s new portation to a refinery. The Paz Flor FPSO nies understand that if they want to partner and pass it on to their compatriots. wealth come from? Around 60 percent of An- Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has averaged around stationed off the coast of Angola has em- with major players from abroad, they need One such academy is Centro Integrado do gola’s proven oil and gas reserves can be ployed Angolans for jobs such as welding to have ethical business practices.” Formação Tecnológica (Cinfotec), which is found in Soyo, which is more than 300 kilo- five percent per year over the last three years. and paint work during construction of The Ethics Institute of South Africa has located near the Siemens office in Luanda meters north of Luanda. Most of these de- It is expected to reach 8.2 percent in Angola in 2013. drilling rigs. But that’s not all. In addition, the joined forces with Angolan companies to and has run programs with the company.

In Soyo (left), 300 kilometers north Armando António Kombu (center), used to of the capital, Luanda, a gas-fired power plant drive a taxi. Now he is a Siemens employee at posits are located under the ocean floor. from Siemens (center) will supply has made Luanda an expensive place to live. insulating materials and the materials used the new airport terminal in Soyo (left). In the basement of the Cinfotec campus, Siemens recently completed the first small electricity to a liquefied natural gas plant In fact, it is considered the world’s second- for its helicopter landing pad were made in Manuel Garçía Primeiro (far left, standing) a dozen young men are gathered around a power plant that runs on natural gas ex- (right) and around 30,000 city residents. most expensive city, right behind Tokyo. Angola. Siemens supplied the motors that is also working hard to improve his income. table piled with cables and electrical compo- tracted from such deposits. “The plant’s out- Today Kombu stands proudly in front of drive the pumps on the ocean floor, provided nents. “Today we’re going to assemble a put of 24 megawatts (MW) should soon Soyo Airport’s new terminal, which will be frequency converters, and handles their transformer,” says Manuel Garçía Primeiro, a cover Soyo’s rather modest needs,” says José of a maze of pipes that lead into huge gas officially opened for passenger flights in late maintenance. The outstanding performance draw up a code known as the “Principles of 36-year-old electrician. Primeiro makes good Figueiredo. Its 30,000 inhabitants hope that storage tanks. “The environmental conditions 2013. Cutting-edge technology has been in- of the shipbuilding project was honored with Ethical Business Angola.” This project is money at his job, so he can pay the US$560 they will soon be able to retire some of their here in Soyo are extreme,” says Figueiredo. stalled in the halls behind the terminal’s an international award in 2013. partly funded by Siemens. “We were pleas- for the training course out of his own pocket. rattling, smelly, and expensive diesel gener- “It’s hot and humid, and the saltwater mist in black mirrored facade. Raul Madaleno helped plan the Paz Flor. antly surprised to see how committed and “It’s definitely worth it to me, because now ators once the new power plant goes on line. the air eats away at metal. Only top-quality Among other things, Siemens supplied Madaleno was trained as a mining engineer active our partners were to the process of de- for the first time I completely understand all Theoretically, it will be able to produce more products can withstand this mix; low-quality and integrated the terminal’s power supply in Lisbon. His original plan was to go to the veloping the principles,” says Geerts. “We be- the components of a transformer and how electricity than 20,000 generators. parts would rapidly corrode.” By way of ex- and its video surveillance, lighting, and fire northern Angolan province of Lunda Sul to lieve that when it comes to corruption, An- they interact with one another,” he adds. Figueiredo, 43, has been working for ample, he points to a rusty beverage can ly- alarm systems. “I started out here as a la- work for a diamond company. In the end, gola will soon improve its reputation.” While Primeiro is working on the trans- Siemens for only a few months. In early 2013 ing on the beach. borer, but I was promoted after a few however, he became more interested in former, José Miranda is taking a final sip of he moved from his house on Portugal’s At- months,” says Kombu. “Now I do final working in the oil and gas industry, and to- Accelerated Development. Investors used his orange juice on the terrace of Espaço lantic coast to a room on the shores of the Great Opportunity. LNG facilities generally checks, which means I have to make sure day he’s an employee of Sonangol EP in Lu- to view countries like Angola as “frontier Bahia. It’s time for him to go. He is eager to same ocean in Angola. “At that time, I wanted flare some components of the gas they that all of the systems function properly. anda. He would love to have an opportunity markets,” meaning economies that grow rap- get home, because he has to get up at 5 a.m. to switch careers,” he says. “The job with process, namely impurities such as sulfide, Siemens has given me a great opportunity, to work with Siemens again following the idly but also harbor substantial political and the following day in order to beat the morn- Siemens was the most exciting of all of the which could cause damage when they are and a lot of my friends envy me for having completion of the Paz Flor project. “Siemens economic risks. Frontier markets typically lag ing rush hour on his way to work. “At the mo- offers I received. It was clear from the start burned in gas turbines. At night the gas this job. I’m also proud that I was able to re- has been in Angola since the 1950s, so the up to 20 years behind the established ment, Angola is undergoing an extraordinary that I would be working not in Portugal but flare’s tall flame can be seen many kilome- turn to my home town of Soyo and con- company is a reliable partner for the long emerging markets. However, Nigerian Fi- phase in its economic development,” he in Angola.” Many other Portuguese besides ters away. The flare also illuminates the tribute to Angola’s economic development.” term,” he says. “Of course we like to work nance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala firmly says. “In 50 years, I would like to be able to Figueiredo are moving to the former colony. courtyard of Figueiredo’s new home. Its Kombu’s words echo the sentiments of with partners who have a lot of international believes that Africa’s development is now ac- look back and tell my grandchildren that I They’re going where the jobs are, to places warm light gives the inhabitants of Soyo many young men and women of his genera- experience and can deliver what they prom- celerating. In an article published in a sup- was part of its development.” like Soyo. hope — hope for jobs and prosperity. tion. The Angolan government is working to ise. The fact that Siemens is clearly commit- plement to “The Economist,” Okonjo-Iweala Andreas Kleinschmidt

10 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 11 Highlights Integrated Systems | Scenario 2062

17 The City Next Door Aspern — a planned city near Utopia on a Chip Vienna, Austria — will be a world- class living laboratory in which the energy interactions among build- A virtual city brings ancient models of urban life into the ings and power supply systems will future and becomes a center of learning for students who be studied and optimized to want to create the perfect urban environment. identify synergistic advantages.

22 Harmonizing Supply & Demand In the context of the EU’s Future internet for Smart Energy project, Siemens engineers are sketching out a data network that will sup- port the energy transition and make building a smart grid easier.

24 The Promise of Integrated Grids Siemens researchers are develop- ing the smart grids of the future. The idea is to combine all energy systems in such a way that suppli- ers, consumers, and building systems are integrated.

32 Building in Virtual Space A desalination plant on the- drought-prone island of Majorca is a model in its field. Siemens engineers developed and tested the plant in the virtual world.

38 A 3-D Window into the Body Thanks to a new technology that automatically integrates real-time ultrasound images with previously- acquired 3-D CT images, doctors can see into the body as never before, thus performing needle biopsies and ablations.

To commemorate the 2062 2,500th anniversary of the construction of the Acropolis, governments “It’s really starting to take shape,” I said feeling of reality that some of us, Solon and I 2,500th anniversary of the construction of have commissioned the planning and test- to Solon as we looked across the vast agora. included, have started projecting ourselves in the Acropolis back in 438 BC, the new city ing of a future city in the virtual world — a Solon and I — my name’s Ligeia — are the period clothing. will be called Aristopolis city based on the human dimensions and project’s Chief Integrated Systems Architects. Most of us have not physically met, but Of course, for now, I’m just talking about classic architecture of ancient Athens. Long But hundreds of others, including historians, we were all recruited by the Greek and Euro- the virtual version of the city. But it is a con- before the city is built in the physical world, sociologists and all sorts of technology spe- pean Union governments to conceptualize, struction-ready, fully-functional version, future residents use deep immersion sys- cialists from around the world, are also in- create and optimize a virtual city based on complete with energy- and resource-opti- tems to visit it — including students from a volved. We’ve been meeting in a network of the democratic principles, human dimen- mized-and-integrated infrastructures from massive open online course who intend to powerful “deep immersion” virtual reality labs sions, and architectural style of ancient water and power to ubiquitous virtual-pres- test an energy-saving hypothesis. for months. The labs provide such an intense Athens. Designed to commemorate the ence communications, and from under-

12 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 13 Systems Integration | Scenario 2062 Integrated Systems | Trends The integration of hardware and software, and thus of the real and virtual worlds, is generally referred to as systems integration. ground-hydroponic gardening to networked other student, Wahib, without missing a transportation and predictive health care — beat. “With your permission, we will down- in short, at the moment, it’s a city on a chip. load our algorithm into the city’s Intelligence A striking site high above the Aegean Sea Platform to initiate the experiment.” “They for the city’s physical counterpart has been certainly came well prepared,” I said to Solon set aside and its basic below-ground infra- as I pulled up our 3-D Virtual City Control structures, including a subway line and pipes Center (VC3) on my Scroll-Viewer. The center to an underwater desalination plant, have is a cockpit for the city’s infrastructures. I been installed. But before ground-level con- touched the panel marked “Streets,” then struction begins, contractors have been en- dragged and dropped an icon for the boys’ al- couraged to build their buildings and infra- gorithm over it. structures in the virtual world where they can Simulating the accelerated passage of be tested, analyzed, and optimized. days and months, the streets in the viewer Around 7,000 virtual residential units image began darkening and brightening in have already been realized. Before signing a rapid succession — as did the surface of the rental or sales agreement, future residents agora around us, reminding us that, after all, can use their own deep immersion units to we too were in the virtual world. “The algo- explore the city on foot or on an electric rider, rithm assumes coverage by the polymer sol- get a feel for the sights and sounds of their vent of all paved surfaces that are exposed to prospective neighborhood, meet local butch- direct sunlight for at least 10 percent of the ers and bakers, and re-acquaint themselves year,” explained Wahib. “It determines this by with the lost art of face-to-face contact. measuring the angle of the sun for each Thanks to its virtually limitless potential as square meter of surface over a year, while a laboratory for urban studies, Aristopolis is taking the shadows cast by nearby buildings already being used as a test bed for a range into account. It then calculates the difference of MOOCs — massive open online courses. in temperature over time between the cur- For instance, just this morning, a class that rent static surface and the dynamic one be- includes students from around the world sub- ing tested and translates this into radiated mitted an algorithm for testing. Using their energy and an estimate of the amount of en- schools’ deep immersion systems, two boys, ergy saved per dwelling to maintain a com- one from Dubai, the other from Baku, Azer- fortable temperature.” baijan, joined us — virtually, of course. “Does your program take lighting into ac- “Let’s take a look at what they’re up to,” I count?” asked Solon. “After all, on a dark win- said to Solon, pulling a pencil-thin Scroll ter night you would not want to have dark Viewer from my wrist holster. The boys, paving material. That would require more en- whose faces appeared on the viewer follow- ergy for lighting.” “That is a subject we would ing a split second security check, explained like to examine in collaboration with poly- that their algorithm was designed to predict mer-solvent manufacturers,” interjected Making Sense of Complexity the amount of energy a city can save in heat- Faruq. “It may be possible to include a pho- ing and cooling costs if it invests in a material tochromic layer in the sprayed material. The that allows its pavements to alter their color pavement would then work like sunglasses Systems integration has many faces — the increasing convergence of hardware and — and thus their thermal absorption — that become transparent as the level of light software, the integration of energy generation systems with smart buildings and grids, based on ambient temperatures and sea- decreases, thus returning the material to its and the fusion of medical images from different modalities. Ultimately, what all have in sonal conditions. “We’ve examined the lead- original white complexion at night.” common is a quest for an understandable way of representing an increasingly complex world. ing products and built a database,” said one “And there is an additional advantage,” of the boys, who identified himself as Faruq. said Wahib; “since streets and sidewalks are “We want to test our top choice on location.” contiguous, the carbon nanotube material, “Sounds like an excellent idea,” I said. “But which is conductive, forms a virtual informa- is the product rugged enough to withstand tion network covering the entire city. Once We can’t see it, but it’s happening all for Software at Siemens Corporate Technol- tation in the real world.” And, ironically, by that is, the use of conceptual models of ap- decades of wear?” “We do not foresee a prob- connected with your VC3 — as it already is — around us. Like a proliferating meshwork of ogy (CT). the fact that as our systems — everything plications rather than computing concepts. lem,” answered the young man with self as- and after a brief learning phase, the system invisible fibers, high-speed computing and Most software experts would agree that from sensor networks to cities — become in- “For example,” explains Dr. Lothar Borrmann, surance. “We have identified a product that would be able to identify patterns of move- communications are making it possible for one of the major trends in systems integra- creasingly complex, our ability to efficiently head of Software Architecture Development consists of a transparent carbon nanotube- ment throughout the city in real time as well systems of all sorts to talk with one another, tion is that, “in order to accelerate processes understand and manage them depends on at Corporate Technology, “if you work in au- based microencapsulated polymer solvent. It as over seasons. If you think about it,” he share information, distribute work, and opti- and reduce the potential for error, it is in- how successful we are at representing them tomation, you program in terms of the au- radically changes its color based on temper- added, “it could add up to a new kind of vote- mize a spectrum of collective functions. “This creasingly taking place in the virtual world,” in simple and unambiguous ways. tomation domain and not in terms of com- ature, is impervious to degradation, and can with-your-feet democracy in which businesses phenomenon, which, in its most fundamen- says Dr. Ulrich Löwen, Senior Principal Key Ex- As the birth of manmade objects migrates puter systems. You have a graphical be sprayed onto most surfaces by standard and city departments would have the infor- tal form, integrates software with hardware, pert Engineer at Siemens CT and a pioneer in from the real to the virtual world, software description of your system and then you have automated street maintenance equipment.” mation to provide services based on where and thus the virtual world with the real the field of systems engineering. “In addi- architects have migrated from the old error- a more complex piece of software that auto- “Is it expensive?” I asked. “That depends people really are — the modern equivalent of world, is generally referred to as systems in- tion,” he says, “this process is being driven by prone paradigm of programming to the sleek matically translates this model into exe- on how much energy it saves,” answered the the ancient agora.” Arthur F. Pease tegration,” says Thomas Hahn, Chief Expert the need to simplify and facilitate implemen- new world of model-driven development — cutable software.”

14 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 15 Integrated Systems | Trends Integrated Systems | Urban Energy Efficiency The Aspen project has been designed to test technologies that could make future cities extremely energy efficient. Thirst for Software. Few places on earth turned into a “living lab” to study the integra- Aspern could be important for cities all stand to benefit more from model-driven tion of technologies that support energy ef- over the world because, if the battle to con- software than the Mediterranean island of ficiency and sustainable urban development. tain climate change is to be won, it will be Majorca. There, the Alcudia reverse osmosis So novel is the study of real-time information fought in cities, which is where 75 percent of desalination plant (see page 32), which was generated by armies of sensors in buildings the world’s energy is consumed and 85 per- largely developed using Siemens software, that the project calls for the development of cent of its greenhouse gases are produced. now produces some 14,000 cubic meters of specialized algorithms capable of making Known as “Aspern — Vienna’s Urban Lake- fresh water per day. The plant is not only an sense of the data. “The resulting information side,” the 240-hectare lab site is one of Eu- example of state-of-the-art desalination tech- is expected to generate dividends in terms of rope’s biggest development projects. Al- nology, but is also a case study for the design energy, environmental, and related techno- though there is little more there today than a and testing of a highly complex facility in the logical know-how that will hopefully benefit subway station and one finished building, by model-driven virtual world. cities around the world,” says Siemens’ Dr. early 2015 there are expected to be 3420 The ease of programming offered by Gerald Murauer, who heads the Aspern joint apartments, part of a school campus, and model-driven development is also the driving venture. dormitories. And by 2028 Aspern is sched- force behind Siemens’ Totally Integrated Au- Naturally, systems integration is not limited uled to have around 8,500 apartments, tomation Portal, which offers an intuitive, to the world of factories, buildings, grids, and 20,000 jobs, a commercial campus, and a re- building-block approach to design that makes infrastructures. It also has a major role to play search center — all within a 25-minute sub- the integration of hardware and software al- in healthcare. Take eSieFusion™ imaging, for way ride from downtown Vienna. most effortless. The Portal has made it possi- instance (see page 37). This new technology Aspern is not just another big real estate ble for engineers to rapidly develop mini ro- from Siemens creates a virtual 3-D window development project. What will set it apart bots for use in dangerous environments (see through the body by integrating the informa- from dozens of other major projects around page 30). tion from two completely different sources: the world is a recently-signed five-year, €40 Systems integration is also a driving force the patient’s imported 3-D CT scan and his or million (estimated) joint venture (JV) be- in the field of regenerative energy. For in- her real-time ultrasound images. tween the City of Vienna, the city’s utility stance, a European Union program coordi- Systems integration is even bridging the company (Wien Energie), and Siemens — the nated by Siemens is investigating how wind, gap between the worlds of medical and in- only industrial partner involved in the project. solar, biomass and cogeneration plants can dustrial technology (see page 40). Working Indeed, a coordinated research plan driven by trade information in real time over the Inter- in collaboration with major orthopedic im- Siemens Corporate Technology (CT), and the net to maximize the level of regenerative en- plant manufacturers, Siemens researchers company’s Smart Grids and Building Tech- ergy on the grid (see page 22). The program and engineers have developed a process nologies divisions in Siemens’ Infrastructure not only envisions the integration of energy called “Image-to-Implant” that will allow com- and Cities Sector calls for the city to be turned generation systems with communication sys- puted tomography and magnetic resonance into a “living lab,” according to Dr. Wolfgang tems, but also the integration of the Internet scans to be automatically translated into per- The City Next Door Heuring, Head of CT’s Research and Technol- of Things (meter boxes, transformers, etc.) sonalized prosthetic devices for knees, hips, ogy Center. “Aspern,” he says, “provides a test with an evolving internet of services such as shoulders, or other joints. Hospitals, doctors Vienna is planning to build a city where the buildings and bed for the integration of technologies that real-time pricing information for customers. and patients also stand to benefit from sys- support energy efficiency and sustainable ur- tems integration, which is the driving force the power supply are so interconnected that synergistic ban development. Learning how these tech- Living Lab City. Just as entire electrical behind the adoption of the electronic health effects are created. The vision: A world-class living laboratory, nologies can be integrated in the field is ex- grids are in need of new technologies that record (see page 41). where the energy-saving technologies needed for the city tremely important for Siemens and for our can efficiently balance fluctuating energy As more and more elements of our physi- of tomorrow can be optimized. research and development activities.” from renewable sources with power from cal world are born in the virtual world, im- It is also a top priority for the city of Vi- conventional sources, so too are an increas- mense quantities of data are generated (see enna, which has made a major commitment ing number of small communities that rely page 35), digested, and transformed into ac- to minimizing its environmental footprint on renewables for much of their energy. Such tionable information — a process that is as while enhancing quality of life. “We want to communities are looking to smart grid solu- much pushed by our need to reduce energy At first glance, an abandoned airfield on get a handle on what our future energy tions that can reliably and safely switch back and resource demand as it is pulled by accel- the northeastern outskirts of Vienna, Austria Actionable Energy Information for Cities needs will be, “says Marc H. Hall, member of and forth between energy sources not only erating computing and simulation power. Al- may seem like a strange place to build a lab- the Executive Board of Wiener Stadtwerke Real World Research Municipal Data Center User as they fluctuate, but also in response to fluc- though our instinct may be to welcome our oratory. But then again, this lab is going to Holding AG (Vienna’s municipal services cor- Aspern’s electrical infrastructure tuating demand. With this trend in mind, re- increasingly integrated universe as it prom- need a lot of elbow room — enough, in fact, is the subject of intense 0100101101001011 poration) in charge of energy, research, tech- searchers at Siemens’ Development Center ises ever more efficiency, a note of caution for about 20,000 people. That’s because the research. Real-time, real world PC/Notebook nology and innovation. “This is all about in- laboratories include a multi-use 0100101101 01001011010 Tablet PC Smart phone for Decentralized Poly-Generation in Erlan- should be kept in mind. “lab” will be a city — perhaps the first ever to building, an apartment house, The city’s control center telligent energy management and smart and an educational campus. networks the elements of this The whole system becomes gen, Germany (see page 24) are investigating As Prof. Carlo Ratti of MIT mentions (see be built so that scientists and urban planners complex system: power more intelligent thanks home solutions and about how conventional Buildings and de- generation, distribution, storage, to optimal networking with how to manage information ecosystems that page 20), “There are many open issues: Who can learn how buildings, renewable energy centralized renew- and use. users. solutions such as district heating can be com- optimize energy generation, storage and use. has access to the information we generate? sources, local electrical distribution networks, able generation bined with new, decentralized solutions.”

Aspern, a new planned city on the out- How is it archived? And what happens in a and the entire grid can optimize their inter- Smart meters, Output Already Number 1 on the UN’s Livable smart grids skirts of Vienna, Austria, is taking this con- world where nothing can be forgotten? These actions in order to maximize their efficiency The results of the research Cities Index and heading the list of “The Top cept one big step further (see page 17). are issues we should all be aware of, and we and minimize their collective energy use. form the basis of new intelligent Business 10 Smart Cities on the Planet,” Vienna wants market models. Energy Products models There, a joint venture between the City of Vi- should vigorously debate publicly, as they will (Another major urban infrastructure project efficiency, the reduction of CO2 to learn how to further reduce its environ- Low-voltage levels, and user-friendliness are Apps enna, the city’s utility company (Wien En- shape tomorrow’s society.” Siemens is involved in is Tianjin, China, see grids key subjects of analysis. mental footprint. But meeting that goal in a

ergie), and Siemens, calls for the city to be Arthur F. Pease Pictures of the Future, Spring, 2012, p. 90.) / Wien Energie Source: Siemens meaningful way calls for it to objectively de-

16 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 17 Integrated Systems| Urban Energy EfficiencyAspern Integrated Systems | Urban Energy Efficiency

termine its current level of energy efficiency, mented by a power management system de- which is the first step on the road to measur- signed to minimize energy use while maxi- ing improvements over time. “To do that, you mizing cost efficiency. Heating systems and Weather statistic during outage Pressure must overcome the problem of data being other major energy users in such buildings, (+ -1 day) distributed among silos,” explains Dr. Bernd automation systems, and in some cases even Wachmann, who heads CT’s Sustainable appliances, will be outfitted with sensors to Cities Technology Innovation Project. “You track their energy use and efficiency. Se- Cloud amount have to collect different types of data from lected information — with the express per- building automation systems, combine it mission of building occupants in rental and with current and predicted weather informa- purchase agreements — such as a building’s Wind direction and wind speed Wind speed tion, and integrate it. Based on this dataset load forecast, will be exchanged with energy forecasting concept, optimization and deci- utilities via standardized bilateral communi-

sion support in real-time would be possible.” cation. In addition, Aspern’s entire low volt- Temperature age grid will be new, giving the JV a unique When Buildings Speak. And that’s exactly opportunity to equip it with a network of sen- what Siemens is aiming for in Aspern. The sors for real-time measurements of its behav- company has assembled a three-part pack- ior. Finally, all of the resulting data will flow age that includes technologies for power into a City Data Center. “All in all,” says Dr. Cities with Brains Could Be the Next Thing Cities and Citizens: management in smart buildings, solutions Monika Sturm, Senior Manager, Smart Cities, Benefitting from Systems Integration for the low voltage grid — the electrical dis- who will coordinate CT’s Aspern projects, “by tribution system from transformers down to analyzing the most efficient mixes of tech- Scientists at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) want to make cities run as smoothly as an electric individual buildings and apartments — and nologies and their influence on end-user be- motor. With a view to cutting energy use and carbon dioxide emissions, while improving quality of life, How will cities and the lives of their inhabitants change as data from previously separate services is solutions for managing “big data” that in- havior, we expect this advanced combination they are piloting a scalable, high-performance data integration system called a “City Intelligence Platform.” integrated? The answer is: slowly but profoundly. Consider a hypothetical 100-unit apartment building clude the establishment of a City Data Center. of IT infrastructures to help us understand Capable of handling inputs from systems as varied as apartment buildings, power plants, and traffic, wa- in Vienna’s Aspern community. Here, data from many sources will be integrated to minimize each apart- Unlike virtually any other large-scale urban the correlations among the underlying sys- ter, and lighting infrastructures, elements of the platform are now being tested in Milan, Italy and ment’s energy costs and CO2 emissions. Long before the sun and the thermometer sink on an icy winter development project, in Aspern all of the el- tems with regard to our optimization goals.” Timisoara, Romania, where they are being used to reduce water leakage and minimize power consump- afternoon, for instance, warmth stored in well water might be circulated through the building by a heat ements in these systems — regardless of Understanding those correlations will, tion by integrating data from the cities’ water distribution and power generation infrastructures (for more, pump driven by electricity stored in banks of batteries. And those batteries would have been charged manufacturer — must be able to share data however, pose significant challenges in terms see page 73). In addition, pilot projects designed to optimize transportation are now being launched in earlier in the day — or week — by the building’s rooftop photovoltaic system. Furthermore, this entire That specification alone has set the stage of interpretation. “We will need to learn what Berlin, Germany; Rovereto, Italy; and Tampere, Finland. process would be coordinated by the building’s automation system based on temperature predictions, for a procurement process that is as novel as the information means,” says Sturm, who Such projects are expected to generate huge amounts of data — the building blocks of new knowledge. occupancy sensors, and historical data. Residential units in the building would participate in incentive Aspern itself. “If you were to try to build a points out that monitoring of the low voltage “As data pours into a City Intelligence Platform, data analytics algorithms will be able to assess how sys- programs — a research subject at Siemens — designed to minimize individual demand for energy in the smart city by means of the old-fashioned ten- grid is basically a new area of research. “As tems throughout a city behave in real time,” explains Bernd Wachmann, head of CT’s Sustainable Cities context of the building’s collective demand. Over time, our hypothetical building would learn to minimize dering system you would never be able to in- soon as the first buildings are occupied and technology and innovation project. But the long-term vision behind the Platform goes further. “What we its collective energy demand — as would dozens of other facilities — and would share information with tegrate services. You would be forced to pur- their systems are running, we will start eval- foresee is a kind of data ecosystem,” says Christian Schwingenschlögl, the platform’s project manager. “It the low voltage grid. “The resulting information is expected to generate dividends in terms of energy- chase cheap components that would, uating the data they generate in order to un- will be like a natural system in which everything will have a feedback loop so that the system — ultimately environmental- and related technological know-how that will hopefully benefit cities around the world,” however, not be able to talk to each other,” derstand the relationships between variables an entire city — regulates itself within its natural energy limits.” says Siemens’ Gerald Murauer, who heads the Aspern joint venture. Indeed, a key part of the new city says Vesna Mikulovic, who is responsible for and the factors affecting both the grid and A modular group of programs that can be adapted to the unique requirements of a specific city, the City and its very first building is the “aspernIQ Technology Center,” an Energy Plus facility designed to provide strategic coordination of Siemens Building the buildings.” That, in turn, calls for the de- Intelligence Platform gathers data from a variety of infrastructure domains, standardizes the formats, es- a home for young companies. “We expect that the knowledge generated from Aspern will become a Technologies’ pilot projects in Europe. “What velopment of specialized algorithms capable tablishes relationships between their contents, and combines this content with other information, such as launching pad for a range of smart city businesses,” adds Murauer. we are doing in Aspern is creating new rules of making sense of the new data. The result- weather forecasts and historical data patterns. The result, according to Wachmann, is a clear, networked for business that are based on the integration ing information will be particularly important presentation that renders a city’s processes understandable and opens the door to identifying options for of services rather than on a siloed approach. because plans call for a high level of integra- saving resources and cutting costs. Arthur F. Pease In short, integration is the biggest challenge tion of renewable energy systems. “We need we face in major urban projects.” to know how all these sources, working in Comparison of meter values and tarif average and forecast values But overcoming that challenge has a price different mixes, and under changing weather City Intelligence Platform — at least in terms of initial capital outlays. conditions will affect the grid and buildings,” That’s why the Aspern JV is covering the dif- says Sturm. “This line of research will take us ference in cost between conventional and in the direction of forecast optimization and smart components — as well as the installa- even higher levels of energy efficiency.” tion of many renewable energy systems — and why such systems will be installed in only Local Energy Generation. Among the a representative selection of Aspern build- many unique features of Aspern’s “living lab” ings. In order to maximize what it can learn concept is that the cost efficiency of its elec-

about energy use optimization, the JV will trical grid will not be based on a classic de- Absolute errors of tarif average and forecast values to meter values therefore support installation of different mand-response system. “What we are aiming “mixes” of technologies ranging from photo- at is the production of as much local genera- voltaic panels and heat pumps to a variety of tion and use as possible, enabled through lo- energy storage solutions. The integration and cal energy storage,” says Mikulovic, a special- coordinated control of local energy use, gen- ist in smart building technologies. “After that, eration, and storage elements will be imple- as we see it, the next level is to interact with

18 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 19 Integrated Systems | Urban Energy Efficiency Integrated Systems | Interview Integrated Systems | Interview the smart, low voltage grid. Once you reach tems as they couple electrical power, gas, tems to interact in real time. That can po- of civilization until 2003. And when that level, coordination between buildings and heating or cooling. “Our Smart Grid ap- Living Kristian Kloeckl tentially make cities more responsive to the this data and knowledge are shared with and the grid will be much simpler.” proach starts with power grids — integrates (36) leads the needs of their residents, which boils down citizens, they can make more informed Mikulovic explains that in buildings buildings and production plants into the grid Real-Time City ini- to making them more human. choices. I think that our options for shaping equipped with energy-saving technologies — and ultimately aims at growing the role of in an tiative at the MIT cities will change radically in the next few from Aspern’s joint venture, a building man- multi-modal energy systems in this picture. SENSEable City Are bicycles being integrated into the years, just as they have over the last 15 or agement system will coordinate energy sup- Aspern is therefore the ideal place to bring Open-Air Lab in Boston and urban data picture? 20 years. But the fundamental trend I see ply from photovoltaic or solar-thermal sys- our new developments to the real world and Singapore and Biderman: The younger generations in de- in all of this is that information will allow tems to the building’s heat pumps. “To do this anticipate new market requirements.” teaches design at veloped economies are moving away from us to do in modern cities what was once you need forecasting, generation, and stor- “I see a payoff,” adds Siemens’ Gerald Mu- Computer MIT and the University of Venice. An in- car ownership in search of a different done in ancient cities. In the Middle Ages in age management,” she explains. “All of this rauer, head of the Aspern JV. “It is knowledge. dustrial designer, he studied in Austria, lifestyle. With this in mind, we have devel- Europe, citizens had a say as to how a new adds up to a huge data integration challenge It is prototyping applications. It is a final proof Italy, and the UK and has a PhD in Design oped the Copenhagen Wheel — a wheel building would be built or how a square on the building level as different mixes of en- of concept that the smart city really can work. The SENSEable City Lab, which Sciences. His projects have been exhib- that can be mounted on any bike to turn it should look. There was a relationship be- ergy generation options are analyzed.” And assuming the concept does work, then is part of the Massachusetts ited at the MoMA (2008), the Venice ar- into a smart electric hybrid. There’s a 250 W tween the civitas, or the idea of a commu- “Aspern will be a very important proof the Siemens technologies involved in it will Institute of Technology, is a chitecture Biennale (2008), the Vienna motor inside the wheel that kicks in when nity of citizens, and the urbs, meaning the point for Smart Grids,” says Robert Simon, benefit. These include building- and energy- research group that explores MAK (2009), the Singapore Art Museum you press harder on the pedals. It captures physical city. This relationship shaped much project manager of CT’s Smart Grid Core automation technologies, smart grid tech- the “real-time city” by study- (2011), and the China Millennium Monu- your energy when you brake, storing it in of the last 2,000 years of urban history until Technology Initiative, who points out that to- nologies, and the ability to integrate all of the ing the increasing deployment ment Museum of Digital Arts (2012). the wheel’s battery. Using that same en- cities just became too big. What we are day’s buildings are already multi-modal sys- above.” Arthur F. Pease of sensors and networked ergy, we power a controller that processes seeing now is that our new technologies data. The data goes from the wheel to the are allowing us to go back to the past and miniaturized electronics, as rider’s phone, which is used as a gateway be more engaged as citizens. well as their relationship to Cities are home to over 50 percent of between the wheel and the cloud. Users the urban environment. The the world’s population and account for can plug multiple sensors into the wheel With a few modern pitfalls? Air Force Academy Brings Energy Costs Down to Earth lab has become renowned be- 67 percent of energy use. How can the and make their data available for external Ratti: Yes, there are many open issues: who cause of its research on cities integration of data sources help make applications. For example, an operator can has access to the information we generate, and its inventive designs. One them more efficient and more human? run fleet management applications over how it is archived, how you differentiate be- According to recent studies from the United States Energy Information Administration, global energy of these is the Copenhagen Kloeckl: Many systems that serve urban this platform, and a biking community tween good and bad information, and what use is expected to jump over 50 percent by 2035. To proactively address this trend, Siemens Corporate Wheel, which made its debut environments generate huge amounts of can measure environmental factors such happens in a world where nothing can be Technology, in a strategic alliance with Boeing Energy, has proposed a solution that is expected to demon- data. In Singapore, for instance, where we as ambient carbon monoxide. forgotten, just to mention a few. These are at COP15 and has won numer- strate 40 percent building energy savings and a 25 percent reduction of peak load using Siemens’ ad- set up a lab in 2010, one of our focus points issues we should all be aware of and vigor- vanced building control and energy management technologies. Siemens and Boeing, together with the ous prizes, including the U.S. is mobility. We have concluded agreements Are cell phones, high-speed comput- ously debate publicly, as they will shape to- University of California at Berkeley and KEMA Services Inc., are working to coordinate the deployment of James Dyson Award and the with the country’s transit authority, the air- ing, and apps “rewiring” our cities? morrow’s society. Siemens’ Intelligent Building Management System at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado. The system is Thomas Edison Award. port, a taxi company, the environmental Biderman: Yes. And so are a growing Interview by Arthur F. Pease designed to enable seamless integration of individually controlled buildings and building subsystems to agency, the seaport, and the electricity variety of sensors, microprocessors, and achieve maximum aggregated energy savings. provider in order to share anonymized, ag- wireless devices that become integrated “Siemens’ Intelligent Building Management System offers energy consumers and providers a more gregated data and experiment with combi- with objects in our surroundings, from integrated solution compared with systems currently on the market,” explains Dr. Yan Lu, a research Assaf Biderman nations of data streams. For instance, one garbage cans to automobiles, buildings, Carlo Ratti (42) group head in the Automation Control Technology Field at Corporate Technology in Princeton, New (36) is a technol- project is studying data from 16,000 taxis and infrastructure. There is, in effect, a practices architec- Jersey.“ Services that were once supplied by multiple vendors can now be consolidated into one ogy inventor, au- and combining it with highly accurate cli- growing digital layer that is interconnected ture and engineer- streamlined system that can provide optimal, thor, and entrepre- mate condition data, especially with regard with our physical environment. If you flip ing in Italy and dynamic energy saving solutions for an entire neur. He teaches to rainfall. This combination of data is im- this idea on its head, the city is becoming teaches at MIT, Efficient Building campus.” By integrating various subsystems at MIT, where he is portant because it rains often in Singapore, a kind of open-air computer. And if we can where he directs Management Systems and buildings into one overarching energy the associate di- and often in small geographic pockets. Such start to program that computer, our cities the SENSEable City monitoring and control system, the Intelligent rector of the data could help to dynamically balance taxi could become more sustainable and cater Lab. He graduated Orchestrator Energy price Building Management System can make energy SENSEable City Lab. Assaf holds multiple capacity with upcoming demand to ensure to our needs more effectively. The intro- from the Politecnico di Torino and the Weather management decisions for a building — or a patents and has co-authored over 40 that enough taxis are available when and duction of data flows and analytics can im- École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées Schedule cluster of buildings — in response to changes publications. His background in physics, where they are needed. Here you need to prove the coordination and management of in Paris, and later earned his PhD at the Microgrid DRAS** in internal and external environments. While design, and computing comes together know how many people are in an area systems in a top-down manner. New tech- University of Cambridge, UK. Carlo holds most systems rely on static programming and in his work on the evolution of cities and where it is set to rain heavily, the historical nologies can also improve the sometimes several patents and has co-authored over Holistic, settings, the Intelligent Building Management digital technologies. His work has been patterns of movement in that area at that chaotic bottom-up processes of citizen ini- 250 publications. His work has been ex- market-oriented System utilizes innovative dynamic decision- featured worldwide in venues such as time of day, and how many taxis are already tiatives by expanding ways that people can hibited worldwide at venues such as the optimization making processes that facilitate more efficient the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the area. This data would be even more self-organize. That helps citizens to shape Venice Biennale and the Museum of energy use by adapting to changes in weather and over 1,000 publications and media useful if it were combined with real-time urban life on a broad scale. Modern Art in New York. His Digital Wa- and occupancy. Additional savings can be such as the BBC and the Discovery Chan- bus data. We are also exploring how taxis ter Pavilion at the 2008 World Expo was Generation achieved by responding to dynamic energy nel. He founded “Superpedestrian,” a can be used as proxies for all road trans- What is your vision of how information hailed by Time as one of the “Best Inven- Loads pricing. Both deep energy efficiency and micro- venture that develops lightweight net- portation. This makes it possible to see how integration will change the way we live tions of the Year.” Carlo is a member of HVA* Light grid-level demand-response demos are now worked vehicles in order to connect driv- long it would take to get from any spot in in cities in the future? the World Economic Forum’s Global * Heating, ventilation, air conditioning ** Demand Response Automation System being tested. Arthur F. Pease ers, riders, and sensors with the urban the city to any other spot in real time. The Ratti: According to Google, every couple of Agenda Council for Urban Management. environment in new ways. data can facilitate intermodal optimization days we produce as much data as all of the by allowing the databases of different sys- data that was produced from the beginning

20 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 21 Integrated Systems | Electrical Grids Siemens and its partners are studying Integrated Systems | Electrical Grids how smart grids can be combined with Internet technologies. sumed locally. But if supply exceeds demand, things and the Internet of services are taking work quality. This is more expensive but nec- it can become a problem. That’s because con- on tangible forms,” says Eger. But not every essary. Because of the large number of com- ventional transformer stations can’t transfer solar panel needs a separate information ponents in the network, it is also expected energy upstream. To prevent damage, gener- highway just to send a few bytes to a utility that the recently introduced IPv6 will be ation must thus be throttled. “Power suppli- company. Here it suffices to use narrow-band used, since only this version can provide an ers are still almost blind locally; they don’t connections laid out with the power line it- adequate supply of addresses. In Asia, use of know anything about the flow of power on self, for instance (see Pictures of the Future, the old Internet protocol has already led to a the other side of individual stations,” explains Fall 2012, p. 98). shortage of addresses and thus to serious Eger. “That has to change as soon as possi- However, some components of the power problems in everyday communications. ble.” grid, such as important substation transform- Nonetheless, theory by itself cannot make An additional problem is that electrical ers, require highly reliable connections. In this substantive assertions about the real behav- grids have developed in different ways in dif- case, the devil is in the details. Such trans- ior of a complex network made up of parts in ferent markets. In Germany, for example, formers are located in small huts. “There’s a constant state of interaction. The authors electric meters have traditionally been lo- hardly any room left for communications of the study therefore had their ideas tested cated in cellars or hallways, but in other equipment,” says Helbich. These buildings in a practical setting by the FINSENY partners countries they are outside the house. Distri- are usually very old, and no one foresaw the at the Institute for the Automation of Com- bution substations are also located in differ- need for ductwork for data networks when plex Power Systems at RWTH Aachen Univer- ent places. In the U.S., transformers are at- they were built. Cellular networks are there- sity. The institute has a simulator that can tached directly to utility poles; in Germany fore an appealing option, since they have al- represent an electrical grid. It uses powerful they are in small buildings. For the U.S., one most universal coverage in most countries hardware and software to react in real time obvious option is to set up wireless networks and are cheaper than fiber optic cables. just like the actual grid. For the FINSENY proj-

The Intelligent Electrical New Communications Infrastructure Grid of the Future Internet Smart energy applications of the Smart for the stabilization of networks, smart meters, future energy and smart cities)

General Smart grid- services of Communications Intelligent buildings specific the Internet of services for intelligent Harmonizing Supply and Demand Electronic power Distribution Microgrids electrical grids services markets. networks the future

In the context of the EU’s Future Internet for Smart Energy project, Siemens engineers are sketching Elements of the smart grid out a data network that will support the energy transition and make building a smart grid easier. Electric cars

Until recently, whenever Acme Refriger- Although this is a fictitious example, it Now, however, “the energy transition has modeled on domestic WLANs, since utility “Our study recommends powerful UMTS ect, the researchers chose Ireland’s power ated Warehouses Ltd. switched on its indus- outlines what the European Union’s Future inverted these relationships due to the grow- poles and transformers are erected with very and LTE platforms or solutions using private grid, which is considered to be a special chal- trial cooling systems, the local power com- Internet for Smart Energy (FINSENY) project ing number of decentralized power genera- short distances between them. In Germany, wireless networks,” says Helbich. But the lenge, since the wind energy fed into it is sub- pany was thrilled. Refrigeration was usually sees as the challenges facing smart grids. The tors,” says Eger. As a result, power networks solutions of this kind are not feasible, be- quantities of data involved are not the only stantial in relation to the size of the grid. performed at night. At that time, there were project foresees the need for a close-knit net- are now in a state of flux. “But,” he adds,“field cause the distances are much greater. The consideration. Tolerable signal delays in a cel- “For the first time, using our electrical grid few buyers for energy and prices were low. work of relationships among participants in tests have shown that communication can FINSENY recommendations therefore vary by lular network fluctuate between a few hun- simulator, we were able to develop technical The refrigeration units would start humming the power supply system, enhanced commu- avoid the need for much costly grid expan- country and grid architecture. dred milliseconds and a whole second. If data thresholds for the quality of communications again during the daytime only if tempera- nications, and improved quality. sion, even if the proportion of renewable en- Since March 2013, engineers have been in the power grid reaches its target too late, networks,” says Prof. Antonello Monti of tures rose beyond a predefined threshold. FINSENY is the first project to consider the ergies increases dramatically.” (see Pictures applying the results of the project to concrete the result can put the power supply at risk. RWTH Aachen University. On the graphic in Now, however, it’s the other way around. At entire grid, from the high-voltage level with of the Future, Spring 2012, p. 46). With this situations, says Guido Helbich, head of the Helbich’s office, these results are reflected in night everything is shut off, even in midsum- 220 to 380 kilovolts (kV) to the medium-volt- in mind, together with 35 partners from 12 Smart Communication unit in the Smart Grid Information Highway for the Power Grid. data stream bit rates and in milliseconds of mer, but the systems purr almost constantly age level of 10 to 30 kV and the low-voltage countries, Eger has assembled and coordi- Division of Siemens’ Infrastructure and Cities As a rule, the more powerful and safety-crit- tolerable latency. The authors distinguish during the daytime. What happened? Today level of 230 to 400 V. “Prior to the beginning nated the details of the FINSENY project. Sector. Together with his team, Helbich has ical a component is, the faster and more reli- among three service classes: “safety-critical,” they are powered by solar energy. But if the of the transition to a sustainable energy sup- In a conventional system, energy from transferred the results of the study into a able its data connections must be. The com- “very important,” and “normally important.” sky is cloudy, utility companies have to switch ply in Germany, the three levels hardly com- high-voltage network flows to the levels be- graphic. What the graphic illustrates is that munications provider must therefore The first category comprises messages re- over to other energy sources from one mo- municated at all,” explains Dr. Kolja Eger, a low it. At the “top” are large power plants, the transition to a steadily-growing percent- guarantee line availabilities and the maxi- garding the safety of man and machine; the ment to the next. To accomplish this, the in- grid expert at Siemens Corporate Technology and the segments below that simply transmit age of renewable energy is leading to an un- mum permissible delay times. In view of this, second focuses on ensuring grid stability. The telligent power supply system — the “smart (CT). “It wasn’t necessary,” he says, “because power onward. But today, power is also gen- precedented convergence of the fields of the study calls for separate communications third deals with messages in normal operat- grid” — requires a completely new commu- the low-voltage level only played the role of erated locally by consumers. That isn’t a prob- power engineering and communications at networks: separate lines or special contracts ing states. This model represents everything, nications infrastructure. a consumer.” lem as long as the resulting energy is con- Siemens. “For the first time, the Internet of that guarantee sufficient bandwidth and net- from smart meter to transformer. The objec-

22 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 23 Integrated Systems | Electrical Grids Systems Integration | Energy Optimization The Siemens smart grids team led by Dr. Rolf Integrated System | Energy Optimization Hellinger (left) and Sebastian Nielebock (top right) can build almost any type of smart grid. tive is always the same: react quickly enough Siemens Development Engineer Sebast- fluctuating sources, intelligent control sys- that the grid remains stable and safe despite ian Nielebock is looking through a long list of tems will be needed to ensure that distrib- load fluctuations. calculations on his laptop. “These are the pa- uted electricity suppliers interact perfectly. If rameters for a photovoltaic inverter,” he says. they don’t, blackouts that might cause major Readjustment in Half a Second. One of “We’re optimizing them in order to ensure damage could occur. the simulation’s key finding was that the rel- that our small grid remains stable and oper- And that’s what Nielebock wants to pre- ative quantities of conventional and volatile ates optimally in all types of load scenarios.” vent. Right now he’s simulating intense sun- forms of power significantly influence the The small grid consists of a battery the size of light, which causes the photovoltaic unit’s in- outcome. “The higher the share of renewable a cabinet wall and control cabinets with in- verter to produce a lot of electricity. “If this energies in the grid, the greater the demands verters for connecting components to the leads to surplus energy in the grid, the result on the communication networks,” explains grid. The components include energy storage will be an increase in voltage and frequency,” Monti. In the past, the tons of rotating mass devices and photovoltaic and wind power Nielebock explains. “I’m adjusting the inverter in conventional power plants bridged sudden units. In other words, the setup represents a parameters in a way that ensures they will fluctuations in the grid. However, the number typical configuration for providing electricity contribute to grid stability instead of just of such power plants is dwindling. “Today to shopping malls, hospitals, and hotels — blindly feeding in their maximum output.” If much more readjustment is needed, and it al- even if there is no grid connection. Depend- a blackout nevertheless occurs, the distrib- ways has to be done according to current de- ing on the amount of sunlight available, the uted suppliers, such as the batteries and the mand and current supply. We’re talking about battery has to either temporarily store surplus photovoltaic units, must be able to get the latency times of half a second,” says Monti. power or feed it into the isolated grid when grid up and running again. Otherwise, the fluctuation in the grid fre- it’s needed. If demand increases substan- That’s not as easy as it sounds, because a quency would be too extreme. tially, a diesel generator springs into action. so-called “black start” requires all compo- The EU is testing FINSENY’s conclusions in The sun isn’t shining at the moment, and nents to be synchronized in such a way that pilot projects, and Siemens is participating in the diesel generator isn’t operating either — they operate in phase to step up the grid volt- many of them. “What’s lacking is not the yet the grid is up and running. That’s because age to a predefined value. Power must be technical knowledge but the political will to also apply these insights in a large market,” says Eger. One prerequisite for this would be The aim is to combine diverse energy sources in such clear European standards to guarantee the interoperability of countless components and a way that power, heat, cooling, and drinking water ensure that the communication network de- can be provided in an efficient and green manner. fined in FINSENY can be built up quickly. This would then clear the way for local power markets in which autonomous software mod- the grid isn’t in a big city but instead at the supplied to loads equally by different sources. ules, the “software agents,” would harmonize Siemens Development Center for Decentral- “If internal controllers are set properly, the in- supply and demand. In addition, demand-re- ized Poly-Generation in Erlangen, Germany. verters can synchronize themselves using sponse providers could supply load that can This is where researchers from Siemens Cor- voltage and frequency data and thus ensure be switched off so that, for example, power porate Technology (CT) test the smart grids stable operations,” Nielebock explains. Like a hogs could be temporarily shut down with- of tomorrow under laboratory conditions. conductor synchronizing the instruments in out any harmful repercussions (see Pictures The lab’s experts can create virtually any type an orchestra, the inverters establish order in of the Future, Spring 2012, p. 46). of smart grid in their 170-square-meter labo- a smart grid — thus the alternating voltage And that’s just the beginning, experts be- ratory hall. In addition to the cabinets of bat- from a diesel generator oscillates exactly in lieve, if communications technologies’ brief teries, a cogeneration unit, an emergency tune with the voltage from an inverter. innovation cycles are taken into account. generator, a variable local grid transformer, Studies such as these offer a preview of “We’ll achieve our energy-policy objectives various electrical loads, and dozens of invert- the challenges grid operators will face as the for 2020, 2030 and 2050 only if we con- The Promise of ers, the facility houses two refrigeration units transition to renewable and decentralized en- stantly use the best technologies,” says Eger. and a drinking water purification system. Be- ergy sources proceeds (see p. 6). Power sup- “The pace of development is very fast.” cause scenarios differ, the lab’s 20 employees pliers will need to link countless photovoltaic In addition to shutting off its equipment Integrated Grids include thermodynamic and process automa- facilities, wind turbines, and biomass reactors for a few hours when necessary, the fictitious tion experts who work alongside electrical with conventional power plants and energy Acme Refrigerated Warehouses Ltd. could engineers and computer scientists. storage devices to create a stable grid. To de- also use the huge rechargeable batteries of Siemens researchers in Erlangen are developing the The lab’s range of equipment enables the termine how such a system would work in its forklifts and its newly acquired electric smart grids of the future. These grids will not only team to reproduce a variety of smart grids on practice, Siemens examined a local grid serv- cars. These electrical storage media could link all types of electricity consumers and suppliers a small scale. A diesel generator, for instance, ing the village of Wildpoldsried (population: serve as local buffers that would help keep but also integrate building system components. can play the role of a cogeneration plant or a 2,500) in the Allgäu region of southern Ger- the grid frequency stable. In a win-win situa- biomass reactor. The important thing is that many from 2011 until the fall of 2013 (see tion, the power supplier would also pay for The idea is to combine all energy systems in such the proportions of fluctuating and conven- Pictures of the Future, Spring 2012, p. 46). this assistance from the consumer and credit a way that they can supply electricity, heat, cooling, tional energy sources correspond to those of Nearly every house in the village has solar the company’s account with a considerable and potable water as efficiently as possible. the original models. Such smart grids will be cells on its roof, and the resulting electricity amount of money. the norm in just a few years. That’s because production is supplemented by several cogen- Bernd Schöne as grids take in more and more energy from eration plants that are supplied with gas from

24 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 25 Integrated Systems | Energy Optimization Integrated Systems | Multimodal Energy Systems biomass reactors. The village energy system Energy Conversion Technology Field, to which be used to recycle waste water into drinking is rounded out by five wind turbines. All in all, the Development Center belongs. “The next water, for example. With this in mind, Wildpoldsried is now producing five times step is to integrate building system compo- Siemens researchers in Erlangen have devel- more electricity than it consumes. nents, such as the compression refrigerating oped the EvaCon (Evaporation and Conden- The Elements of an Advanced Energy Ecosystem As good as this sounds, it amounts to a machines used in air conditioning units.” This sation) system, which uses waste heat within problem for local grid operator AÜW because will increase the smart grid’s flexibility, be- the temperature range of 70 to 120 degrees Heat collection Smart infrastructure Heat pump the surplus energy makes its power lines un- cause intelligently-controlled buildings can Celsius to vaporize wastewater. The resulting stable. AÜW therefore teamed up with absorb surplus power when demand is low. steam is channeled into a condenser, where Water treatment Coolant/storage Siemens, RWTH Aachen University, and it precipitates in a process that produces pure Kempten University to launch IRENE (Integra- Water from Heat. The Siemens researchers’ water and some concentrated wastewater. tion of Regenerative Energy and Electric Mo- long-term goal is to combine diverse energy This wastewater is then disposed of. bility), a project designed to test large-scale sources, such as oil, gas, wind, solar, biomass, The EvaCon prototype at the Development Intelligent energy agents smart grids. Some 200 measuring devices and waste heat in a way that ensures they pro- Center is 5.5 meters high. Wastewater flows Intelligent Smart grid have been providing an overview of the grid’s duce electricity, heat, cooling, and potable in from the top right side through insulated factories and Gateway Smart operation ever since the project began, and water in the most efficient and environmen- pipes. It then passes through several heat ex- buildings meters a variable local grid transformer, a battery tally friendly manner possible. They also want changers, where waste heat is used to raise storage unit, and remote-controlled photo- to integrate these sources into a multimodal the water’s temperature. After that, the Electricity voltaic inverters ensure stability. energy system (see box). “In most cases, only wastewater trickles through an evaporator Water The centerpiece of the system is SOEASY the individual aspects of such systems were and evaporates. A fan generates an air cur- — Siemens’ Self-Organizing Energy Automa- examined until now — for example, ap- rent that carries the vaporized water upward. Gas tion System. SOEASY balances demand and proaches for feeding in energy from renew- The vapor condenses again on the right side, Heat supply. In this setup, each power supplier and able sources,” says Dr. Jochen Schäfer, who where the condenser is located. This may Data flow Energy flow

sound simple, but the details are compli- Siemens Source: cated. “We want to use a minimal amount of electrical energy to transport as much water vapor as possible,” says Dr. Manfred Baldauf, Toward Holistic Energy Management of air conditioners, whose power demands at peak times can strain a grid. Head of the Environmental Technologies re- Such cold and heat storage units are often less expensive to produce than search group. “To do this, we need to pre- electricity storage devices. cisely regulate the temperature distribution Power generation used to be a simple matter. Power plants produced Another example involves seawater desalination in Singapore (see Pictures of and the air volume.” The next step could be electricity and households and industry consumed it. Heat was generated the Future, Spring 2011, p. 30). Desalination facilities need electric pumps. To to build a pilot facility that would purify 25 with oil and gas, and air conditioners cooled rooms off. Power suppliers com- ensure a continual supply of drinking water even at maximum demand or de- cubic meters of water per hour. That would pensated for fluctuations in demand by starting up gas-fired plants or using spite electricity bottlenecks, either an electricity storage device can be used to be sufficient to treat the wastewater from pumped-storage electrical power stations, which meant there was never real- keep facilities running at all times, or a certain amount of drinking water can bottling processes in the beverage industry. ly any undesired fluctuation in electricity production itself. But things got be stored as a reserve. The latter option is less expensive, because it’s easier However, EvaCon can also be used to purify more complicated once countries started using energy from renewable to store water than electricity. the wastewater generated by brewery sources. For example, 15 years ago Germany had several hundred medium- The chemical industry needs large amounts of electricity, gas, heat, and cool- processes and oil drilling operations. sized and large power plants; but today it has 1.5 million energy producers in ing. Electricity is also an important cost factor for the industry. Here, a de- In some cases, however, there is no cost- the form of solar cells on roofs, wind turbines, and biomass power plants. coupling of power generation and demand through the conversion of energy effective way of exploiting low-temperature More and more households, buildings, and industrial facilities are thus be- into heat, cooling, hydrogen, or other resources that are needed anyway and waste heat. With this in mind, the researchers coming “prosumers” — i.e. consumers who also produce energy. can be stored would reduce the severity of demand peaks while lowering op- Waste heat drives an evaporation and condensation process that produces potable water. have built a heat pump that can raise temper- Electricity from renewable sources generally isn’t produced when and where erating costs. atures to a maximum of 140 degrees Celsius it’s needed. For example, wind turbines on the North Sea increasingly have to Energy efficiency experts at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) therefore — as opposed to the previous limit of 90 de- be shut down even when it’s windy because demand is too low. In other take a holistic view of energy systems in order to optimize the combination of each consumer is represented by a Personal heads the Heat Conversion and Distributed grees. “The heat pump’s mechanics are basi- words, their energy potential is wasted. In order to prevent this, electricity has conversion, storage, and transport solutions. They study ways of linking vari- Energy Agent (PEA). The system software Energy Systems research group. “By contrast, cally the same, but we use a special process to be either stored or transported to where it’s needed at a given time. This is ous components such as heat pumps, power plants, electrolysis units, water knows, for example, the minimum price the we are working with grids that consist of fluid for the heat cycle,” Schäfer explains. where multimodal energy systems come in, as they are able to combine dif- treatment plants, refrigerating units, resistance heating devices, and a range owner of a photovoltaic unit is willing to ac- many components. We are also studying the “This fluid can be used at higher tempera- ferent forms of energy into one system. Instead of being fed into the grid, of associated storage devices in multimodal energy systems. Their goal is not cept for electricity. The software then submits way these components interact with one an- tures, and it’s also environmentally compati- electricity can be converted into thermal energy — in the form of heat or simply to optimize each energy system in and of itself, but instead to use flex- the quote to a Balance Master that represents other and the effect they have on overall sta- ble and completely safe.” The new heat pump cooling — or into chemical energy in the form of hydrogen or methane. Ener- ible energy conversion solutions and intelligently network different systems the grid operator and decides whether or not bility. In other words, we’re interested in sys- would, for example, make it possible to boost gy in these forms can also be transported, stored, and utilized; this reduces in order to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of energy systems (see pp. to accept the PEA’s quote. tem integration and an optimal interplay the temperature of industrial waste heat or costs and makes energy systems more flexible. 22, 24). Prior to the test in the Allgäu region, the re- between all of the components of the system.” heat from geothermal sources from between This holistic view of energy opens up many opportunities. For example, wind To this end, CT researchers are working to determine which conversion, stor- searchers at the Development Center in Erlan- The researchers are particularly interested 70 and 90 to 130 degrees Celsius — the power can easily be transported and stored if it is converted into hydrogen or age, and transport systems make sense from a technical point of view. They gen built their own grid in order to study the in exploiting, for example, the waste heat norm in district heating systems. The heat methane. The use of existing gas grids and storage facilities also reduces in- are also examining possible business models for Siemens. The biggest obsta- interaction between the battery, the photo- from machines and other industrial equip- could be used ito warm buildings. In combi- vestment costs. Electricity can be used to heat water that can then be sent cle to implementation thus far has been the lack of intelligent control sys- voltaic units, and the variable local grid trans- ment (see Pictures of the Future, Spring nation with EvaCon and other equipment at through a district heating system. In hot regions, the opposite would make tems. Researchers are therefore now considering equipping a compression re- former. The researchers are now analyzing 2012, p. 104). Today, waste heat in the low- the Development Center, the new heat sense — using electricity to power a central cold water or ice storage unit. frigeration unit with an intelligent controller that will connect the machine to more complex smart grids. “In the first stage, temperature range in particular is rarely used pumps will help researchers move closer to The cold air could then be channeled into buildings, thereby reducing the use the grid and a cold storage device. Fenna Bleyl we linked only electricity consumers and pro- in an economically viable manner. However, realizing their dream of ensuring that no en- ducers,” says Prof. Rolf Hellinger, Head of the this heat contains valuable energy that can ergy source is wasted. Christian Buck

26 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 27 Integrated Systems | Wind Heating Under-floor storage heating systems Integrated Systems | Wind Heating can store surplus energy generated by wind and solar sources day or night. able energy sources, the units had to be mod- The results indicate that the idea works, sume electricity when it is inexpensive. More- ified so that they could charge flexibly. “At the technically. The next step is to determine if over, even temperatures are more comfort- beginning of the project, we wanted to know the new storage concept can measurably re- able. Storage heaters use surplus energy that how the static charging model could be duce energy consumption. Rummeni thinks has been generated in an environmentally made more flexible,” says Rummeni. To do that a more uniform temperature distribution friendly manner, thus enabling it to indirectly this, tekmar replaced the old heater control in apartments should make heating more en- reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, the im- units with smart new devices that use a wire- ergy-efficient compared to a fluctuating heat proved balance between electricity production less network to switch the charging process supply. “But the price must also be acceptable and consumption helps stabilize the grid and on and off. These charging controls ensure to the customers,” Rummeni cautions. One reduces the load it has to carry. These benefits that electricity can be stored at any time of advantage of the new concept is that it re- create a win-win situation for energy suppli- day, whenever the wind is blowing or the sun quires only the controller to be replaced and ers, customers, and the environment. is shining. As a result, surplus electricity from not the entire heating system. However, it’s If the RWE wind heating system for private renewable sources is no longer wasted. also clear that consumers will switch to a flex- consumers proves to be profitable, RWE plans Siemens supplies the associated software. ible heating control system only if operating to offer the smart control concept to a Known as a Decentralized Energy Manage- costs decline. But laws would have to be broader customer base. But first, the smart ment System (DEMS), the software was de- changed for that to happen, says Rummeni. control system would have to reduce the veloped in 2002 (Pictures of the Future, Fall One possibility would be to offer tax breaks price of electricity to less than 20 euro cents 2012, p. 68). “It predicts and optimizes the to encourage consumers to switch to flexible per kilowatt-hour. If that comes about, wind use of storage heaters while taking the con- storage heaters. and solar energy will serve as flashes of in- ditions of the energy market into account,” Wind heating systems offer many advan- sight for innumerable furnaces. Eco Energy Takes the Floor explains Thomas Werner, Product Manager tages. As with storage heaters, customers con- Ulrich Kreutzer for Virtual Power Plants at Siemens. The tool How can surplus electricity from wind and solar energy systems be utilized? Siemens and RWE decides how much electricity from renewable sources can be stored and when. It does so have come up with a solution: wind heating systems. The idea is to make the previously rigid charg- by incorporating information from weather ing model of residential night storage heaters more flexible so that such systems can soak up forecasts as well as current electricity prices Decentralized Energy Management Systems: excess eco-electricity. Two test projects in Germany demonstrate that the system works in practice. and the energy needs of each household. On Setting the Stage for Virtual Power Plants the basis of this data, DEMS regulates the in- put of wind and solar power into the heaters’ Interconnected Effectiveness unused storage capacity. Each of the 50 external processes DEMS households is regulated individually. The € Weather forecast (Decentralized Energy “Flashes of insight can illuminate the surface then rises to as high as 40 degrees this concept will pay off. Around 1.4 million charging process is interrupted as soon as the Management System) world, but they can’t heat up a furnace,” said Celsius. The heater’s built-in fan continuously German households currently use storage storage heaters are “full.” Energy market Current the German lyrical poet Christian Friedrich blows heat out of the core as needed. heaters, each of which has an installed load ● Modeling Hebbel back in 1842. But what he couldn’t For a long time, storage heaters didn’t have of 10 kilowatts on average. “The heaters are Win-Win. In the fall of 2012, the inhabitants Billing ● Forecasting ● Planning know was that flashes of insight would, some a very good reputation. Some people mistak- potential storage units with a total rating of of the 50 test households were satisfied with Contract management ● Real-time optimization Optimization 170 years later, allow furnaces to be heated enly considered them to be power hogs. 14 gigawatts (GW) and an annual storage ca- the results. “The new storage heaters en- up with surplus electricity from wind and so- That’s because the heaters are sometimes too pacity of 14,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) — sured that temperatures in the apartments Network operation lar energy systems. To be more precise, such big, have inaccurate settings, or are obsolete. that makes them relevant for the entire en- were much more stable than in the past,” “furnaces” consist of night storage heaters. In such cases, it’s not surprising that they ergy industry,” says Rummeni. By compari- says Rummeni. Previously, houses equipped Loads and power production Storage heaters were developed in the consume a lot of energy when used in badly son, Germany’s pumped-storage power sta- with storage heaters were quite warm in the 1950s as an alternative to coal and oil fur- insulated houses. However, state-of-the-art tions have a combined storage capacity of 40 mornings because the heaters had stored naces. They funtion according to a very sim- systems can bring all of the heater’s advan- GWh and seven GW of output. heat during the night. However, tempera- ple principle: turning electricity into heat. Al- tages to bear if they are well adapted to the In view of this, the two companies initi- tures were low in the evenings because the CHP/diesel emer- Wind/solar gency power Biomass Storage Industry Commerce though they were originally used to merely buildings they’re used in. Such systems are in- ated the RWE Wind Heating project in March heaters were unable to store much heat dur- heat water, their most modern incarnations expensive to purchase, easy to install, and 2011. Together with tekmar Regelsysteme ing the day. The flexible charging model has store heat in an insulated magnesite core. To need very little maintenance. The heater’s GmbH, they decided to conduct a test in a 20- substantially reduced these temperature fluc- save costs, the heater consumes electricity ability to store electricity as heat is now pro- year-old residential area in Essen’s Stoppen- tuations, says Rummeni. Energy Management 3.0 during low load phases, which occur prima- viding another big benefit as well. berg neighborhood. The test area consists of In the fall of 2012, the project’s good re- rily at night. “On average, a heater charges it- 50 identical one, two, and three-family build- sults encouraged Siemens and RWE to test 30 Siemens developed the Decentralized Energy Management System (DEMS) more than ten years ago self for about eight hours at night and for Flexible Charging Model. For the past two ings populated by RWE customers. The proj- buildings in Meckenheim, Germany. Unlike and has continuously updated and expanded it ever since. In October 2013 Siemens will launch DEMS 3.0 around two hours during the day,” explains and a half years, Siemens and RWE have been ect partners intentionally chose a homoge- Essen, the Meckenheim project focused on on the market with a powerful new tool: the DEMS Designer. The new tool makes it even easier for users Jörg Rummeni, project manager of the Wind researching how the storage capacity of such neous neighborhood where all the houses traditional furnace technology, along with a to create and operate “virtual power plants.” To do this, the user will feed information about weather fore- Heating project created by energy supplier heaters can be used for electricity from re- were equipped with under-floor heating sys- sprinkling of block storage units. Some 80 casts, electricity markets, wind turbines, solar cells, storage systems and negative energies (loads) into RWE. The heating elements are encased in newable sources of energy. Their goal is to tems instead of traditional furnaces or block heaters are involved with a combined virtual DEMS. Using this data, the software will draw up a concrete energy schedule, stipulating which power the magnesite core, in which electricity is equip storage heaters with smart control storage units. Initially, only the under-floor storage output of one megawatt. Initial tests plants should feed electricity into the grid and when. DEMS Designer augments this feature with an auto- converted into heat and stored. Tempera- technology and use them as energy storage heating model was to be tested to determine have been very promising. “Meckenheim matic map that displays current energy needs. The system’s simple user interface reduces the time needed tures here can rise up to 600 degrees Celsius. units for the fluctuating amounts of electric- its storage capabilities. demonstrates that the wind heating system to train new customers in its operation by 60 percent. Storage heaters release the energy again dur- ity generated by wind power and photo- To allow the test area’s storage heaters to also works with other types of night storage ing the day. The temperature on the heater’s voltaic systems. Rummeni is convinced that consume electricity exclusively from renew- heaters,” says Rummeni.

28 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 29 Integrated Systems | Smart Controls Mathias Hubrich used Siemens Integrated Systems | Smart Controls software to equip his Forbot A4 with artificial intelligence. The adage about not judging a book by its Digital Brain. Developer Arno Klüglein ity for mobile manipulators”). In cooperation cover couldn’t be more appropriate in the opens the lid of a Forbot A4. Under the WLAN with the Technical University of Munich and southern Bavarian town of Chieming-Hart. antenna that links the robot to his iPhone are Ingolstadt University of Applied Science, The village, with its 4715 inhabitants has a a sophisticated chain drive, two rechargeable Roboterwerk is now developing a semi-au- church, a pub, rows of neat houses, and a battery packs, and a set of colorful wires. In tonomous robot for the German Research small warehouse with a loading ramp and of- the midst of it all is a small gray box bearing Ministry. The robot will be used for safety ap- fices housed in a former bank building. But the Siemens logo. Most of the wires come to- plications such as measuring pollutants. this is neither a warehouse, nor a bank, nor gether at this box, which is a programmable Birgit Vogel-Heuser, a professor of Au- anything else one would expect in this pictur- logic controller (PLC) that serves as the ro- tomation and Information Systems at the esque retreat. For this place, in its breathtak- bot’s “brain.” It collects sensor signals, such Technical University of Munich (TUM) has the ing unobtrusiveness, is a robot factory. as those emitted by an induction sensor, robot’s predecessor in her office. The device Outside the building, on a quiet street which enable the robot to follow an alu- features 1990s technology and is hard to op- where cars are rarely seen, Mathias Hubrich, minum strip in factories, or by a laser scanner erate. “DRIEM2 is a big improvement,” she the founder of robot production firm Robot- that searches the device’s surroundings for says. The original robot was used as a erwerk GmbH, is hard at work on a summer obstacles. The other ends of the wires are minesweeper. It first brought Vogel-Heuser morning at a makeshift desk. He’s working connected to the motor. There are eight input into contact with Hubrich, through whom here undisturbed at his Mac. The village is wires and ten output wires. she got to know the big robots and small A4 home to Hubrich and his company’s two en- The PLC must be programmed to keep the models from Chieming-Hart. gineers, Arno Klüglein and Manuel Wenten- robot on track. To do this, Manuel Wenten- schuh, who are inside the building, tighten- schuh starts Siemens’ TIA Portal (Totally Inte- Robots in the Classroom. There are two ing screws and soldering components. “Many grated Automation), a program that allows Forbot A4s in Vogel-Heuser’s conference engineers to define the control system’s be- room. One of them still lacks a superstruc- havior. Although the program has an optional ture, but the other one is equipped with sen- window for entering cryptic programming sors and actuators that keep it from colliding code, most commands can be simply entered with obstacles or falling off a table. However, and tested with a computer mouse. The sys- the device can do this only if its control system Learning from Robots tem isn’t intended for lay people, but engi- is correctly programmed. This will be done by neers only need a few hours of training be- students, starting in the winter semester of fore they can begin creating simple 2013–14. During internships, the students command sequences. will have to train the robots to fulfill certain In a Bavarian village, Mathias Hubrich is building remotely controlled robots designed to perform Siemens first introduced TIA in 1996. In tasks, such as traveling along a wiggly line. tasks too dangerous for human beings. Robots are now also being used as teaching aids because 2009 it added a convenient software environ- Although that can also be done with Lego’s their Siemens control systems make them ideal for learning about automation technology. ment, together with the new S7-1200 control Mindstorms, these systems do not work with system, which is also found in the A4 robot. traditional control technology, says Vogel- The company merged three previously sepa- Heuser. “Our students learn how to solve rate software modules under a uniform user problems with industrial technology.” interface, which it introduced as the Totally The students also learn how to program people are moving from Munich to the coun- Integrated Automation Portal in 2010. The control systems from Siemens, the market try,” says Hubrich, who is delighted that the modules consist of a control configuration leader. These systems are used not only in area has no shortage of skilled workers. system, a user interface design feature that the TUM’s training robots but also in over 80 He picks up his iPhone and swipes his can now be operated by touch as well, and a percent of the machines the students will thumb across the display. A six-wheeled vehi- drive parameterization function. work with after they graduate. The systems cle immediately begins to move. It looks a bit “The TIA Portal is a bit like Microsoft Of- are even used in beverage vending machines. like an early Mars rover, but lacks the space fice,” says Marketing Manager Carsten Meier The students use the TIA Portal from the probe’s elaborate superstructure. It was in from Siemens Industrial Automation. “Al- start, since it has replaced older program- fact the Sojourner rover, which landed on though programs like Word and Excel perform ming tools at most companies. Mars in 1997, that stimulated Hubrich to get different tasks, they work together and are Most students have no problems using the into the business of building robots. Control- Hubrich’s first concept robots, Robopark these early concepts; other, larger robots are the cart to clean paddocks,” says Hubrich. To operated the same way.” Moreover, the TIA Portal, says Jens Folmer, a doctoral candidate ling robots is much easier on earth, of course. and Roboplay, were developed during the taking shape in the workshop. One of them operate the system, farmers simply walk next Portal has a single user interface for all fea- in Vogel-Heuser’s department. He offers a It takes signals about seven minutes to reach dot.com craze, when he was the CEO of an has a mount for attaching a rotating brush to the pushcart, driving it along and loading tures; that’s why it’s called a portal. It was course in the use of A4 robots in teaching. One the Red Planet, but the small vehicle in front Internet firm. The devices were targeted at and a vacuum cleaner nozzle. It is designed it with the horse manure. “It reduces the time completely new at the time, and it’s still difficulty, he says, is that programmable con- of the loading ramp responds instantly to video game players who wanted to control to remove dust and grease as it travels auto- needed for this task by one third,” says unique. “None of our competitors offers any- trols operate on the principle that real-time every thumb swipe. The robot turns right and real robots through the Internet. Hubrich also nomously through factory ventilation shafts. Hubrich. thing comparable,” says Meier. The introduc- systems use clock cycles while sensors are left, goes forward and backward, and rotates planned to use the robots at company events. Photos taken during a test demonstrate the The part-time farming sector is expected tion of the S7-1200 and S7-1500 ensured that queried at defined intervals. Many people are in place. Known as the Forbot A4 because it However, these plans did not materialize, as system’s effectiveness. The ventilation shaft to be one of Roboterwerk’s future markets. previous S7-series control systems remained not used to this, as it contradicts the proce- has the same dimensions as an A4 format potential investors declined to get involved. used for the test was dusty and encrusted, Despite the luscious meadows, many local useful. Siemens has always safeguarded its dural programming approach used for many sheet of paper, it instantly performs every Instead, the systems attracted the attention but looked like new afterwards. farmers prefer to leave their cows in the customers’ investments, so the TIA Portal also computer programs. “But our students quickly command. The tiny vehicle can even climb a of the German military, for which Roboter- In Hubrich’s conference room is a push- sheds because it makes farming easier. That’s allows users to program older hardware. get the hang of it. The robots allow them to hill and has no problem traveling over tall werk GmbH has regularly conducted projects cart equipped with an electric motor at the why the self-driving pushcarts from Chiem- Mathias Hubrich’s latest project is DRIEM2 learn in a playful way,” he says. grass. since 2004. The Forbot A4 is the offspring of wheels and a joystick on the handle. “We use ing might also make cows happier. (the German acronym for “Complete reliabil- Bernd Müller

30 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 31 Integrated Systems | Facility Planning With a view to saving time and money while Integrated Systems | Facility Planning improving accuracy, Siemens is creating an entire desalination plant in the virtual world. ceives funding from the German Ministry of project such as Alcudia isn’t planned and im- efficiently, models must be coordinated with Education and Research. The aim of the proj- plemented in detail by a single person. In- one another. In addition, all of the tools need ect is to seamlessly integrate software mod- stead, the task involves numerous engineers to speak a common “language” that is based eling methods and tools with analytical tech- from a wide variety of disciplines,” says on a centralized IT platform. “Siemens is the niques for the development of embedded Löwen. only company that can supply a facility plan- software. Project participants include process engi- ning integration path of this kind — a path neers for handling physical and chemical that connects all of the different engineering Case Study. Siemens’ objective is to refine a processes and systems providers for installing tools that have been developed independ- method for planning desalination plants that high-pressure pumps and membrane mod- ently of one another,” says Pirsing. “In other enables coordinated virtual models of indi- ules, as well as pipe planners and electrical words, Siemens is the only company that has vidual plant components to be edited on a engineers for the automation technology and all of the pieces of the puzzle for putting to- common IT platform with a uniform set of the power supply. gether the big picture — such as the life cycle software tools. “At the moment, each participant uses his engineering and facility management system “We are employing this method for the Al- or her own tools for this task. Examples in- known as COMOS and the SIMATIC PCS 7 cudia plant,” explains Pirsing. “This means clude the use of CAD tools for process design control system. That’s why we are the only that we are using a kind of shadow engineer- and pipe construction and of MS Excel for the company that can offer such an engineering ing approach to create a simulation of the en- lists of drives and instruments. These tools method to the market.” tire plant and to conduct tests to determine represent the system in completely different how much time and money this method can ways, including process flow diagrams, 2D or Transferable Methodology. Collectively, save. Alcudia is especially well suited for use 3D models, circuit diagrams, and much this kind of engineering, which encompasses as a case study because our good relationship more,” explains Löwen. the entire virtual planning, modeling, and with the customer ensures that we not only Incompatibilities between tools result in a simulation process for the Alcudia desalina- have all of the data regarding the plant’s great deal of wasted time and money. That’s tion plant on a new IT platform, is designed Siemens automation systems, but also the because the planning data is processed by to demonstrate the method’s efficiency and Building in Virtual Space relevant planning data from other contract many different people, reformatted multiple calculate how much time and money can be partners.” times, entered into new tools, and translated saved. “Our project has reached the halfway “When we have all the data, as we do into various “languages.” In the process, in- mark. If we are successful, the results will not Many drought-prone areas rely on seawater desalination for their water supply. One such place is here, we can plan an entire plant in a com- formation is lost at the interfaces between only affect the construction of desalination Majorca, where a plant equipped with Siemens technology will now serve as a model facility. Siemens puter without too much difficulty,” explains tools, and planning data is sometimes misin- plants,” says Pirsing. “but will open up a engineers developed the plant in the virtual world to test their innovative engineering techniques. Dr. Ulrich Löwen from Siemens Corporate terpreted by users. “You also continuously newly developed IT landscape in which

Water is a valuable resource nearly every- cations for the desalination market. Whereas where on the Iberian Peninsula. And because the market had a volume of $18.4 billion in Spain suffers from extreme droughts with 2012, Companies & Markets predicts that it alarming regularity, water is particularly valu- will grow to more than $50 billion by 2020. able if it can be used for drinking. Empty Siemens is present in this market all over reservoirs, rationed drinking water, and with- the world. In Singapore, Siemens engineers ered fields are now a common feature of life have won a state-organized Singapore Chal- in Spain. On the other hand, the scarcity of lenge competition for energy-saving desali- fresh water has also given Spaniards expert- nation technologies (see Pictures of the Fu- ise with regard to seawater desalination, be- ture, Spring 2011, p. 30). “Siemens also cause the country has plenty of saltwater participated in the Spanish government’s de- along its coasts. velopment program,” says Pirsing. “Our In- through but keep salt out. Using this process, Technology (CT), who is responsible for the risk undermining the consistency of the dif- recipes that address distinct challenges can “Several years ago the Spanish govern- dustry Sector equipped several plants with the facility can produce up to 14,000 cubic scientific foundation of the case study. “A ferent planning models whenever anything be easily transferred to other types of facili- ment initiated a special development pro- automation technology. One of these plants meters of freshwater per day. Although the great deal of planning is already being con- is suddenly changed. For example, let’s as- ties such as wastewater treatment plants, gram in order to counteract the scarcity of is in Alcudia on the island of Majorca.” As a Alcudia desalination plant is only one of ducted in the virtual world. This is referred to sume that an engineer who is responsible for pumping stations, and waterworks. More- freshwater,” says Dr. Andreas Pirsing from popular holiday resort, Majorca is especially many such facilities in the Mediterranean re- as ‘model-based systems integration,’ which the pipes’ innumerable fill level sensors and over, this method could also be used in other Siemens Industry. “As part of this program, dependent on desalinated seawater, because gion, it has become a focus of engineering means that many plant components are differential sensing devices suddenly notices sectors, such as the oil and gas industries, the around 30 new desalination plants were built the island only has a thin aquifer of fresh wa- research. “It is being used as a case study for planned, assembled, and tested as computer- that he needs another fill level sensor. This pharmaceutical industry, and the chemical along the Mediterranean coast. When it ter, which “floats” on brackish groundwater. a completely new methodological approach generated virtual representations — or mod- sensor and its associated wires then have to industry.” awarded the contracts, the government fa- This aquifer is incapable of supplying masses that could totally revolutionize the world of els — of reality before they are installed in be entered into the process engineering pipe, If it is combined with the focal topics of vored local companies so that it could build of tourists with sufficient amounts of drink- engineering,” says Pirsing. the real world. In the Alcudia case study, we the instrument flow diagram, the automation the other SPES_XT project partners — com- up a high level of local expertise. This expert- ing water. Together with companies such as Airbus, have already simulated the entire process of technology location plan, the electrical plan, panies that are working on comparable issues ise is now being successfully exported to the The plant in Alcudia produces freshwater Bosch, and Daimler, as well as several univer- pumping seawater in the individual wells as and the pipe plan,” explains Löwen. in the aeronautical and automotive sectors — rest of the world.” by means of reverse osmosis. In this process, sities and Fraunhofer institutes, Siemens is in- well as parts of the reverse osmosis process.” In order to ensure that such corrections, the result could lead to a comprehensive Experts expect the fresh water crisis to be- seawater is forced through semipermeable volved in the SPES_XT (Software Platform According to Löwen, the simulations have re- which affect a wide range of the system’s methodology that might transform the entire come much worse — with significant impli- membranes that allow only water molecules Embedded Systems XT) project, which re- vealed considerable savings potential. “A model representations, can in fact be made engineering landscape. Nils Ehrenberg

32 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 33 Integrated Systems | Facts and Forecasts Integrated Systems | Security Systems Multiple security systems protect intellectual property and literary treasures at the Bibliotheca Albertina in Leipzig. plications and services that go with them. Other Smart Cities: Urban Pioneers growth areas include intelligent logistics and trans- portation in smart cities and, of course, all the atten- with Great Business Potential dant information and communications technology, ranging from radio frequency identification chips to the associated sensors that are required for purposes Only a few years ago, the concept of the “smart city” The current general opinion can be summarized in incoming supply — e.g. from renewables — and a of data collection and networking. was practically unknown. Today, however, everybody as follows: a city is smart if it makes use of the “Inter- large and diverse group of consumers. Smart meters For the year 2016, the market research company is talking about it. In fact, there is even a ranking list net of Things” and other intelligent systems to use its provide a clear picture of supply and demand — and, ABI Research is projecting an investment volume of of the world’s smartest cities. The list is available at resources more efficiently and thus improve the lives equally important, help balance one against the other. over €30 billion for the installation of sensors in smart www.fastcoexist.com, where climate strategist Boyd of its citizens and enhance its own competitiveness. The power company that serves the Canton of Zurich, cities. This would be a fivefold increase compared to Cohen has rated Austria’s capital, Vienna, ahead of Fields that are relevant to this concept include energy, Switzerland plans to install 50,000 smart meters over 2011. According to the consulting firm Global Infor- Toronto, Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, Berlin, transportation, industry, and public administration. In the next two years at a cost of around €400 per meter. mation, 70 percent of total capital expenditures in Copenhagen, Hong Kong, and Barcelona. The ranking addition, a smart city must be able to combine a host The rest of the network, totaling over 280,000 cus- 2013 will be devoted to energy, transportation, and is based on a range of diverse indices, including the of different systems into a coherent whole; thus sys- tomers, will be equipped in the following years. That public security, with 90 percent of this expenditure Green City Index that was commissioned by Siemens tem integration is the order of the day. represents a major investment in a comparatively being funded either in total or in part by national or (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2012, p. 40). According to Löwen, there is another big challenge small part of a smart city. local governments. But what exactly is a smart city? Corporate consult- in a world of decentralized networks, where traditional A closer look at the global market for smart grids All in all, we are looking at global investments in ants Frost & Sullivan use eight “smart” categories to hierarchies no longer exist: the need to define clear reveals the true dimension of this business opportu- urban infrastructure amounting to hundreds of billions define this entity: smart buildings, smart energy, areas of responsibility. In a closed system like an air- nity. A study conducted by EIT ICT Labs — a knowledge of euros in the period until 2020. By then, half of all smart information technology, smart mobility, smart craft, it is always clear who is in control, despite in- and innovation community set up by the European In- buildings in the world’s smart cities will be fitted with city planning, smart business, smart governance, and creasing levels of automation. In a smart city, by con- stitute of Innovation & Technology, which includes intelligent building systems; multimodal transport smart citizenry. Senior Principal Key Expert Engineer trast, there are no such clear-cut system boundaries. Siemens as a partner — forecasts a volume of around hubs — interchanges between different modes of Ulrich Löwen from Siemens Corporate Technology “Smart” meters are an example of the kind of tech- €10 billion for smart homes in the year 2020. This, in transport — will be the norm; one fifth of the energy (CT) believes that this concept of “smartness” is still nology featured in these clever conurbations. Such turn, translates into a potential global market of al- required by such cities will come from renewables; and too vague. “It needs to be made more specific with re- meters are an essential part of a power network that most €400 billion for smart grid technology. Equally one in ten vehicles will be electrically powered. By gard to technology,” he says. features localized sources of generation, fluctuations important as smart homes and smart grids are the ap- 2025, according to a study conducted by Frost & Sul- livan, only around half of the world’s smart cities will be found in Europe and North America. In 2011, four Building stock is out of every five were still in these regions. In India Worldwide Building Stock projected to increase Categories that Define a Smart City Why Data Synergies worldwide by and China alone, we may see the creation of as many around 30 billion Citizenry Governance square meters from as 50 smart cities up to 2025, some of them built en- Billion m2 2013 to 2021, 200 tirely from scratch. particularly in Asia. Equal More Security 180 Such forecasts are music to the ears of many com- 160 € panies. “Right now there’s particularly strong demand 140 North America City Planning Business for our consulting services,” says Löwen. “We’re being Regardless of whether they cover a building, an airport, or an Western Europe 120 asked to identify and then implement partial projects entire city, today’s safety and security systems tend to operate Eastern Europe Mobility Buildings 100 Asia-Pacific within existing smart cities. As a rule, the situation on independently of one another. In the future, data streams 80 Latin America the ground is too complex for comprehensive, inte- from such systems will be increasingly integrated. This will 60 Middle East grated solutions. Generally speaking, you can only Africa open the door to coordinated and optimized planning, better 40 take one step at a time in this area.” At the same time, use of resources, and prediction of potentially risky situations. 20 there are already a number of smart urban develop- Information Technology Energy ments, such as Seestadt Aspern, near Vienna, which Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Source: Frost & Sullivan — Frost Source: The smart diamond defines a smart city Source: Pike Research Pike Source: are looking to implement fully integrated solutions in cooperation with a technology partner — in this in- Global Market for Smart Grids — Growth Projections and Key Elements to 2020 stance, Siemens (p. 16). The security sector has traditionally re- zines, which number in the millions. Here, Given the massive global trend toward urbaniza- lied on systems that operate independently sensors in windows, doors, and display cases, Billion euros 600 Billion euros 45 tion, smart cities will continue to be pioneers for the of one another, such as motion detectors, as well as seismic sensors, motion sensors, Smart homes foreseeable future, serving as examples of one route cameras, and smoke detectors. The technolo- cameras, and smoke detectors and tempera- Power distribution Security 40 500 Power transmission to a more sustainable future. The majority of the gies involved monitor specific zones in a ture sensors, watch over the library’s literary Services 35 Applications world’s cities still face completely different challenges. building, for which individual security set- treasures. 400 ICT 30 Dan Hoornweg, Lead Urban Specialist at the World tings have been defined. An alarm is trig- But security can be set even higher, ac- 25 Bank until 2012, offered the following message in a gered whenever an anomaly is detected. This cording to Peter Löffler, a security systems ex- 300 20 blog: “Being really smart about cities is improving basic approach is used with access control, video pert at Siemens Building Technologies. He service delivery to the one billion urban poor now surveillance, and fire alarm systems, among points out that improved security can be 200 15 going without clean water, or the two billion without others. achieved by integrating the data generated 10 100 sanitation. And we need big-time smarts as we build The Bibliotheca Albertina library at the by previously isolated systems, such as the 5 cities over the next twenty years for an additional two University of Leipzig, Germany, uses individ- units that manage access control and video 0 0 billion residents — this time locking in energy savings ual security systems from Siemens to protect surveillance. “For example,” he says, “if a se- 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: EIT KIC InnoEnergy Strategic Roadmap Strategic EIT KIC InnoEnergy Source: and a high quality of life for all.” Urs Fitze its collection of valuable books and maga- curity system determines that someone is try-

34 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 35 Integrated Systems | Security Systems Integrated Systems | Fusing Ultrasound with CT Researchers use a new technology that combines real-time ultrasound with existing CT images to guide a needle to a liver in a phantom (center). added value for operators of critical infra- structures. One example involves the moni- toring of aircraft taxiing areas, where systems can identify which vehicles are moving, and where, along taxiways at a given time. Such data could theoretically be compressed and made anonymous, thereby enabling the gen- eration of so-called heat maps that provide information about the statistical behavior of the vehicles. The knowledge gained in this manner could be used to make taxiway processes more efficient. Heat maps can identify jams and delays that repeatedly occur when refu- eling and cleaning vehicles get in each other’s way, for example. “It would be inter- esting if we could also use large and diverse data sources in the future to identify trends that were previously not discernible,” says Löffler. He also points out that this type of “in- visibility” often results from the sheer com- plexity of the operations in question. “Imag- ine, for example, the flood of traffic-related data in a city in which hundreds of thousands of people are simultaneously moving in the same direction within a dense area and with Sensors, cameras, and seismic and motion detectors uninterruptedly keep an eye on different modes of transport,” he says. things at the Bibliotheca Albertina library (above). Networking such systems enhances security for complex infrastructures, such as those used at the Vatican and in airports. Big Data Analyses. The key to conducting such big data analyses is to obtain large amounts of comparable historical data from Opening a 3-D Window reliable sources. As Löffler explains, this in- formation can be concentrated in a data pool and then aggregated in order to extrapolate Thanks to a new technology that rapidly, robustly and automatically integrates real-time statistical trends that could help to predict fu- ture developments, as well as to plan preven- ultrasound images with previously-acquired 3-D computed tomography images, doctors can see tive measures. In other words, big data could inside the body as never before, thus performing needle biopsies and ablations with confidence. help to enhance the safety and security of large numbers of people in entire cities or specific districts (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2012, p.96). ing to force open a door, cameras located types of incidents, and the system helps Take the Vatican, for example, where Whoever thought that flesh and blood exactly how deep the biopsy needle should Princeton. “The technology opens the door to near the door can be automatically activated them make the right decisions when a critical 50,000 people come to celebrate Christmas could be transparent? That you could look at go and at precisely what angle to point it? earlier analysis and treatment, heightened and begin recording the scene.” Such causal event actually occurs. Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica every year, and an- a monitor and see through a section of a liv- “Until now, accurate tissue characterization accuracy, reduced risk, and lower costs.” relationships and the associated work flows Smart security systems can even discover other 200,000 crowd the square in front of ing human body in detail and in real time? of nodular lesions under 3 cm was very chal- Originally spawned by a Siemens-spon- can be defined in advance and stored in a unexpected causal relationships. Suppose, the church. The analysis of various data And yet, like mariners steering a peri scope to lenging due to limited certainty that the nee- sored PhD thesis in 2005 and FDA approved building management system. for example, that an airport operator has stip- sources — ranging from traffic control sys- the safest point just above the waves, doctors dle would actually meet its mark,” explains in late 2012, eSieFusion imaging, which is ulated that doors at gates can be opened only tems to train arrival times — would make it looking to determine the exact nature of a le- Research Scientist Ankur Kapoor of Siemens now available on Siemens’ ACUSON S3000™ Networked Data and Optimized Results. if an airplane is actually docked. If the system possible to ease potential bottlenecks well sion in a patient’s liver, for instance, are now Corporate Technology (CT) in Princeton, New ultrasound systems, creates a virtual 3-D win- Siemens security systems that link individual determines that doors are occasionally being before large numbers of people arrive for the able to guide a biopsy needle to its target as Jersey. “Such an approach has significant dow through the body by integrating the in- subsystems to create an overarching platform opened even though no aircraft is present at service. Moreover, meteorological data and if the patient were indeed transparent. therapeutic implications in terms of tumor formation from two completely different take things a step further. Here, information a gate, the system will look for a cause. It information from social networks and news- It all begins with a 3-D computed tomog- progression, metastases and mortality.” But sources: the patient’s imported 3-D CT scan from subsystems is collected in real time in might then discover that the air conditioning casts could also be linked to such events and raphy (CT) scan (or eventually an MR scan) today, thanks to a new technology called “eS- and his or her real-time ultrasound images. order to generate a standardized and com- system is not operating optimally in the areas analyzed in order to identify and even predict that may have been ordered for a range of ieFusion™ imaging” that puts 3-D CT and live Like an automotive navigation system, the prehensive overview of a situation. This setup in question and that employees are uncom- potential hazards early on. Security officers reasons. Let’s say that the scan reveals an ultrasound (US) images on the same screen, CT information provides a map of the area of allows users — for example, an airport oper- fortable. As a result, resolution of the climate at major events could then call in more sup- anomalous body about a centimeter in diam- “even lesions as small as 2.5 cm — depend- interest, where anatomical structures and the ating company — to quickly decide how they control problem would also resolve the secu- port staff or open additional access routes. eter. Even if the lesion’s shape and other ing on the transducer and location of the final destination — the lesion — are illus- should react to a security-critical event. rity anomaly. Such steps hold the potential of reducing characteristics do not indicate any sign of ma- pathology — can be accurately targeted,” trated. The map can even include pre-treat- Here, airport operators define scenarios Intelligent security systems can even be risks and enhancing collective safety. lignancy, a biopsy will generally be ordered. says Mamadou Diallo, Staff Engineer and ment annotations that draw attention to and plans of action in advance for many used to optimize processes. This generates Catharina Bujnoch The question is, how can a radiologist know eSieFusion™ feature Project Lead at CT in areas that should be avoided by the needle.

36 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 37 Integrated Systems | Fusing Ultrasound with CT Integrated Systems | Prosthetic Joints Image-to-Implant technology will allow diagnostic scans to be automatically trans- lated into personalized prosthetic devices. Overlaid on this map are the patient’s real- The system also displays a graphic dot in the time ultrasound images. Siemens’ unique ultrasound image that indicates the needle’s software, which discovers all the points of projected intersection point with its target. As similarity between each CT image and each the needle approaches the target, the dot be- ultrasound image, creates rapid and robust comes smaller and smaller. Once the needle alignment between the two. punctures its target, cells are aspirated and Naturally, a third element must be added the core tissue sample is removed for lab to this already data-rich environment: the analysis — a procedure that should be re- real-time position of the needle tip. To inte- peated multiple times because of the hetero- grate this into the picture, eSieFusion imag- geneous nature of cancerous lesions. ing’s “eSie Guide™ needle tracking” technol- If malignant cells are discovered, chemo - ogy uses an external box that generates a therapy is usually initiated in order to mini- weak magnetic field. With the help of a posi- mize the threat of metastasis. During this fol- tion sensor on the ultrasound transducer (the low-up stage, the lesion’s response to sensor head that touches the patient’s body) treatment can be tracked on an outpatient and a tiny coil inside the tip of the needle, the basis using eSieFusion imaging, thus reduc- box tracks the positions of both as they move ing costs and radiation exposure since addi- within the magnetic field. “The tracker box tional CT scans may be obviated. feeds the information back to the ultrasound If the lesion does not respond to chemo - machine and, with the help of a proprietary therapy, eSieFusion imaging makes the next mathematical model, the coordinates of the treatment option — ablation — more precise ultrasound image and the needle’s position than ever. Here, once the needle has been within it are graphically fused in the eSieFu- positioned inside the target, the sensor at its sion imaging application,” explains Kapoor. tip is replaced with an electrode that applies heat. “As this happens,” says Kapoor, “water Automated Answers in Three Seconds. molecules in cells become gaseous and The key feature in all of this is the ability of hyper-echoic. In the context of the annotated eSieFusion imaging to automatically align ul- outline of the lesion, the doctor can watch Personalized Prosthetics: trasound images with CT images — a signifi- the electrode eliminate the remaining lesion.” cant achievement considering that even when depicting exactly the same part of the Looking Ahead. Although eSieFusion imag- body, these two modalities deliver radically ing was only recently commercialized, early From Bytes to Bones different-looking pictures. To overcome this adopters are delighted with their results. “It challenge, Siemens scientists came up with a Researchers Ankur Kapoor (top) and allows us to significantly speed up our work- The road to a prosthetic knee, hip or shoulder joint is becoming shorter, faster, technology that allows eSieFusion imaging to Mamadou Diallo (center) use eSieFusion flow," says Dr. Dirk-André Clevert, Assistant transform each CT image slice into a pseudo imaging to guide a needle (thin green line) to Professor and Section Chief of the Interdisci- and more personalized. New technology from Siemens makes it possible to integrate ultrasound image. “The ability to do this is a target lesion. A magenta cylinder indicates plinary Ultrasound Center at Munich Univer- measurement data from diagnostic images with manufacturing instructions, thus based on knowledge about the transparency the planned path to the lesion. sity Hospital Grosshadern, Germany, one of potentially opening the door to automated production of custom-made prosthetic devices. and reflectivity of tissues in ultrasound and the first physicians to test it. CT,” explains Diallo. What might the next steps be for this In a second step, which is designed to op- pares all of the values in all of the images to highly promising technology? “Although eS- timize alignment, eSieFusion imaging com- ensure that they are all lining up,” says Diallo. ieFusion imaging was developed with liver le- pares the pseudo ultrasound images with a “It maximizes the similarities from image to sions in mind, it is applicable to a variety of Researchers at Siemens Corporate Tech- than 720,000 people in the U.S. undergo But such scans by themselves are useful sample of real-time ultrasound images of the image as it goes through the volume.” Diallo conditions,” says Diallo. For instance, he ex- nology in Princeton, New Jersey, in collabo- arthroplasty to have an artificial knee joint in- only for visually depicting the demarcation area to be examined. But this process is far and Kapoor point out that this combination plains that, in areas such as the shoulder and ration with Siemens Industry Automation’s stalled. In the UK, the National Health Service between bone and soft tissue. “What we add more complex than “just” comparing two im- of Siemens proprietary technologies results foot, if there is a hairpin crack in a bone or a PLM Software business unit, Siemens Motion estimates that over 70,000 knee replace- to this with our patented software is auto- ages. The CT image, after all, is a 3-D volume in accelerated workflow, which differentiates tendon has been pulled away from a bone, it Control, and major orthopedic implant man- ments are carried out each year. Other con- mated image segmentation that recognizes composed of hundreds of “slices,” each of eSieFusion imaging from every other system could be used to inject a pain killer into the ufacturers, have developed a process called ditions tell a similar story, with steadily grow- image content to delineate bone bound- which is a separate image. The new fusion on the market. “Other systems require the exact spot that is causing the pain. “Image-to-Implant” that will allow computed ing numbers of joint replacement procedures. aries,” says Dr. S. Kevin Zhou, who heads a re- technology therefore “rotates the CT volume doctor to line up landmarks in the CT and US In addition, although eSieFusion imaging tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance Regardless of whether an orthopedic sur- search group that focuses on image analytics image, calculates the position of each spot images,” says Kapoor. “That takes more time. already supports magnetic resonance imag- (MR) scans to be automatically translated geon is replacing a knee, shoulder, hip or at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT US). within a slice, and with each fraction of a de- In contrast, although our system also offers ing (MRI), automatic alignment of images into personalized prosthetic devices for other joint, the procedure calls for the instal- Zhou explains that until now such segmenta- gree of rotation generates a simulated ultra- this manual option, it provides an automated from this modality is on the horizon. Such a knees, hips, shoulders, or other joints. The lation of a prosthetic joint that fits the target tion has been performed manually, requiring sound image. The technology then compares answer in most cases. And it requires only step might further enhance safety thanks to new technology promises to sharply reduce area as closely as possible. To meet this goal, painstaking work as technicians mark points all its points to the latest real-time ultrasound about three seconds for alignment.” the fact that MRI makes it possible to see surgical planning time for the replacement of doctors begin with a 3-D CT or MR scan of the along the edges of the bones in question to image, calculates the similarities with the Once eSieFusion imaging has completed nerves. “The new eSieFusion imaging system diseased joints while improving the accuracy area in question, which is the first step in the achieve precise bone boundary delineation. previous image, and chooses those similari- alignment of the two image sets, the inter- is already the fastest current technology for of associated manufacturing processes. surgical planning needed for installation of a “But with our software,” adds Corporate Tech- ties that are the best ones,” says Kapoor. ventional procedure can begin. The eSie performing biopsies and ablations,” says Take knee replacement procedures, for in- prosthesis. (CT is faster and less expensive nology ultrasound segmentation specialist Not only is this process rapid, it is also ex- Guide feature produces two yellow guide Kapoor; “but it will go much further in the stance. According to Global Data, which spe- than MR, but MR offers more soft tissue detail Michal Sofka, “the entire process has been re- tremely robust. “The system constantly com- lines that indicate the needle’s optimal path. future.” Arthur F. Pease cializes in industry reports, each year, more without any radiation). duced to about one minute.”

38 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 39 Integrated Systems | Prosthetic Joints Integrated Systems | IT Solutions In the U.S., healthcare networks such as Inspira increasingly rely on electronic patient files. “Once the joint is open, the surgeon Siemens’ Integrated Technology: places the patient-matched jig over the bone An end-to-end solution from diagnostic images to personalized medical implants to which the prosthesis will be attached,” says Fang. “The jig is outfitted with guide open- ings that allow the bone to be cut in exactly CT-Scan MRI-Scan Surgeon portal OR Hospital the right places. Everything is simulated and optimized in the virtual world to avoid the possibility of errors on the operating table.” Naturally, as Fang and Zhou see it, the personalization of joint replacement proce- 3-D-volume Ideal standard dures will eventually have to include the pros- construction implant thesis itself. But that’s a business decision 1 that will have to be made by the manufactur- CNC tools ers of orthopedic implants. For the time being, metal implants will continue to be mainly produced in a range of predefined Pre-OP planning Cutting guide CAD/CAM Machine tool customization cutting sizes. “But,” says Fang, “our technology can Segmen - just as easily be used to automatically cus- tation 2 Manufacturing tomize each prosthetic device, just as it is Execution now about to be used to automate produc- System tion of customized surgical jigs.”

From Industrial to Medical Applications. From patient scans to surgical planning, pa- Parameter- 3 ization Personalized tient-matched jig production, and installation implant Manufacturer of Implants of an optimized implant, the road across the Networking diagnostic-therapeutic landscape is becom- ing shorter, faster, and richer in data. And as Engineer-to-Order Process & Data Management Platform the integration of medical imaging technol- ogy and advanced manufacturing strength- U.S. Healthcare ens, an “engineer-to-order” technology more typically associated with industrial produc- In order to implement healthcare reform in the U.S., data Similar to other software applications ready so accurate that it can be seamlessly custom patient-matched jig. Produced with a tion environments than hospitals is helping Zhou has developed (see Pictures of the Fu- transferred to a second application that de- novel technology called additive manufactur- to connect all the dots: Teamcenter. Offered sharing between healthcare organizations, hospitals, ture, Fall 2011, page 57), his bone identifica- signs a custom surgical cutting guide — es- ing — also known as 3-D printing — in which by Siemens PLM Software, Teamcenter pro- and doctors must be significantly improved. Data sharing tion system is based on machine learning. sentially a 3-D jig that can be used by a sur- minuscule grains of plastic are sprayed in vides a unified platform for managing every networks such as Inspira in New Jersey are using IT solutions Trained on thousands of images annotated geon to prepare a bone for a prosthesis. The overlapping layers at high temperature and aspect of a patient’s case through the engi- from Siemens to accomplish this objective. by experts, the software program learns to jig can include, for instance, holes for the pre- pressure to produce exquisitely precise and neer-to-order process. “It’s where the scans identify so-called “landmarks” – characteris- cise positioning and angulation of screws, complex features, personalized jigs can be go and where the segmentation is filed,” says tics that are common to all examples of a tar- thus helping to optimize the installation of a rapidly and inexpensively manufactured (see Fang. “It’s where surgical planning is kept, in- get group. “We start out with patient scans,” prosthesis. Before moving to the jig produc- Pictures of the Future, Spring 2013, page 31) cluding the final version of the patient- says Zhou. “The system learns the model of tion step, however, “the software produces a One of the key steps in this entire process matched jig; where the surgical report is It still smells like fresh paint in the office Healthcare experts agree that this kind of each joint to the point that it understands the surgical plan for review by the orthopedic is the creation of families of 3-D CAD models stored, and where the doctor logs onto the of Chet Kaletkowski, the President and CEO system could save time and money. But the relationship between each image and its surgeon, which includes measurements of that are used as templates for the custom patient’s file. In short, it provides the inter- of the Inspira Healthcare Network, an associ- higher quality of healthcare envisioned by anatomical context. Then, to ensure that it is the bone to be cut in preparation for the pros- plastic jigs produced with additive manufac- face between the digital world and the data ation of hospitals and practices in southern the Act can be achieved only if players in the learning the right things, we test it on novel thesis,” says Siemens Corporate Technology turing, as well as the metal implants pro- required for manufacturing it.” New Jersey that was formed in November healthcare sector — especially doctors and images. What the program does is that it per- Senior Staff Scientist Dr. Tong Fang, an expert duced with 5-axis computer-numerically-con- Now in use by many medical device man- 2012. His move to a new office is part of the hospitals — are more effectively connected. forms automatic 3-D image segmentation. In in manufacturing technologies whose work trolled machine tools. NX, a computer-aided ufacturers, Teamcenter is not only helping to merger that created Inspira, a move designed That’s the opinion of Kaletkowski, who relies other words, it separates the bone from the has made it possible to automate the assem- design, manufacturing and engineering streamline current product lifecycle manage- to create an expanded network of providers on IT solutions from Siemens in his own or- soft tissue three dimensionally and produces bly of hearing aids in the virtual world (see analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) software application ment processes, but is set to facilitate the im- to deliver high-quality and cost-effective care ganization. For example, thanks to Mo- all associated 3-D bone representations, e.g., Pictures of the Future, Fall 2009, page 89). from Siemens PLM Software, is used to gen- pending automation of the entire process for the community. bileMD, a cloud-based healthcare informa- 3-D meshes, down to a granularity of about “When the software becomes commercially erate these models (see Pictures of the Fu- from patient imaging to additive manufactur- “The U.S. Affordable Care Act is very chal- tion exchange service, doctors can receive 0.5 mm.” The results, he points out, “have available, users will be able to verify each ture, Fall 2012, page 55). What’s more, NX ing of patient-matched jigs, as well as the lenging, and many aspects of it are still un- information about their patients within sec- shown that the system very closely matches step the system has planned. But later, as can automatically simulate associated ma- eventual personalization of implants. clear,” says Kaletkowski. However, the Act’s onds. And Soarian Clinicals, a workflow-dri- the quality of its manual counterpart. But they become familiar with it, the program chine tool paths in order to create the best As societies around the world continue to goal is to build up a nationwide healthcare ven healthcare information system from since it is a learning system, we expect it to will be able to run through all of this auto- match between a patient’s anatomy and the be characterized by older and older popula- system in which patients can be quickly iden- Siemens, supports treatment from the very improve over time.” matically,” says Fang. implant. The numerically-controlled program tions, the Image-to-Implant process and its tified, caregiving personnel have access to start throughout the treatment process. After the orthopedist has approved the is then transferred to a milling machine with associated NX and Teamcenter technologies patients’ medical files, and doctors can According to Kaletkowski, the basis of the Automated Generation of Surgical Plans. surgical plan, the data is translated into man- a view to achieving perfect surface quality could turn out to be just what the doctor or- quickly get an overview of each patient’s Soarian Clinicals system is an electronic pa- In fact, the output of the new software is al- ufacturing instructions for production of the while minimizing machining time. dered. Arthur F. Pease health condition. tient file, the Electronic Health Record (EHR),

40 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 41 Integrated Systems | IT Solutions Integrated Systems that is accessible to everyone involved. “Con- able to take care of almost everything on- coordination and reduced healthcare dispar- IT can help providers lower costs by up to five tinuity can be achieved in the treatment line,” he says. Shields is already working ities. There are a few hard months when this percent, according to the study leader Julia process only if all of the information about closely with Inspira and encouraging his pa- takes up a lot of time, says Shields, but then Adler-Milstein. Shields’ daily practice provides In Brief the patient, from the first visit to the doctor tients to ask for copies of their electronic pa- the data exchange becomes increasingly him with plenty of examples. “One of my to complete recovery at home, comes to- tient files every time they go to a doctor. smooth. “I think you can easily achieve qual- coworkers can be with a patient in the exam- gether in a single file,” he says. He admits that of course there are also pa- ity and efficiency with EHRs, and I think ination room while I study the patient’s file Increasingly, individual systems have to be com- PEOPLE: Kaletkowski, who is responsible for over tients who don’t like to have their personal we’re almost there,“ says Shields. “Right now on a computer. That wasn’t possible with the bined into a coherent whole. In the case of energy Aspern: 5,000 employees, knows this is not an easy information electronically stored and shared. we have a bunch of people that are doing old paper documents. This way we can save generation, for example, a few hundred power Dr. Bernd Wachmann, Corporate Technology task. Inspira’s catchment area covers more That’s why the issue of data protection is dis- meaningful use to cut costs and improve ef- a lot of time,” he points out. plants supplied Germany with heat and electricity [email protected] than 1,500 square miles. What’s more, New cussed with every patient. Shields assures ficiency, but we need to put everybody to- in the 1990s. Today the country has around two Dr. Monika Sturm, Corporate Technology Jersey is the most densely populated state in them that the data is securely stored and that gether. And I think that’s where the hospital Solutions for Mobile Applications. Tom million small, medium-size, and large energy pro- [email protected] the U.S. Most of its doctors work independ- it is forwarded to other doctors only with the system comes into play because, since Pacek, Chief Information Officer at Inspira, is ducers. In addition to these plants, hardware, soft- Power grids and their communication: ently and have their own systems for compil- patient’s permission. they’re connected with all providers, they responsible for the healthcare network’s IT ware, buildings, and power grids are also increas- Dr. Kolja Eger, Corporate Technology can be the bridge to bring everybody on the strategy. He is making every effort to further ingly being integrated into a large system. (p. 14) [email protected] same page.“ improve the current status of the information Guido Helbich, Infrastructure and Cities “Inspira and Siemens are increasingly network. Under his supervision, Inspira is being The model city of Aspern near Vienna is a per- [email protected] adapting the system to the doctors’ needs,” extensively re-equipped with new, expanded fect example of systems integration. The city’s Smart grids: he adds. “For example, when a patient is seen modules from Siemens’ Soarian and MobileMD buildings and electricity supply systems are closely Sebastian Nielebock, Corporate Technology in the hospital, as a gastroenterologist I don’t product offerings, which doctors can use by networked to generate synergies. (p. 16) [email protected] need all of the test results generated during means of mobile tablets. “We’re very lucky to Dr. Jochen Schäfer, Corporate Technology the admission or visit. Instead, I can choose have Siemens as a partner,” says Pacek, an in- “A growing number of sensors, microproces- [email protected] the ones that are important for my treatment formation technology strategist. “The Siemens sors, and wireless devices are becoming inte- Wind heating: of the patient, and these results are sent to solutions are helping us not only to understand grated with objects in our surroundings,” says en- Thomas Werner, Infrastructure and Cities me. The program can be tailored to every in- where we can save on costs, but also to imple- trepreneur Assaf Biderman in an interview. To [email protected] dividual doctor. If that weren’t the case, we ment the transition to fully digitized services as enhance safety and security, Siemens has inte- Controlling robots with TIA: would drown in a flood of data.” quickly as possible.” grated various fire and break-in prevention tools Carsten Meier, Industry Automation, A major advantage of this system is that it Together with two other healthcare sys- into a single system. (pp. 20, 35) [email protected] makes it possible to prescribe medications tems in the state, Inspira has helped to create Virtual facility planning: electronically. Doctors’ handwriting is notori- the New Jersey South Health Information Ex- The Future Internet for Smart Energy project Dr. Ulrich Löwen, Corporate Technology ously illegible. But when doctors migrate to change (NJSHINE). Here, Siemens Soarian shows that the integration of individual systems [email protected] electronic prescriptions, this problem is and MobileMD are providing solutions for the requires communication to be improved. The proj- Dr. Jan C. Wehrstedt, Corporate Technology solved. A medication can be selected with a exchange and ceentralized storage of south- ect examines how energy producers and con- [email protected] mouse click and the dose can be entered the ern New Jersey customer data. In the future, sumers can communicate via the Internet. Com- Building security: same way. The prescription is then transmit- the data is to be networked with other similar munication is also the focus of the Inspira Health Peter Löffler, Infrastructure and Cities ted electronically to a pharmacist, who as- health data systems all over the U.S., mean- Systems network. Close links between doctors [email protected] sembles the order. At the same time , the sys- ing that Siemens IT solutions will play a and hospitals are a precondition for the planned eSieFusion imaging: tem medication database alerts the physician major role in the process. healthcare reform in the U.S. (pp. 22, 41) Ankur Kapoor, Corporate Technology against wrong doses and interactions with But by no means every doctor’s office in [email protected] the patient’s other medications. New Jersey uses electronic data sharing sys- The SPES_XT project demonstrates how prod- Mamadou Diallo, Corporate Technology tems. “Many doctors are just a few years from ucts are tested in the virtual world before they are [email protected] Complete Overview. Shields now wants to retirement, and they don’t want to change manufactured in reality. For example, a desalina- Image2Implant: About 70 percent of healthcare providers in the U.S. already use electronic patient data. One of improve his work still further by pushing the system they are used to,” says Shields. tion plant’s operation is completely created in a Dr. S. Kevin Zhou, Corporate Technology them is Inspira in New Jersey (top left). The goal is to be able to call up all the essential data ahead with the integration of various systems Other colleagues of his find it difficult to computer. At the Decentralized Poly-Generation [email protected] with a mouse click and act quickly — wherever and whenever it’s necessary. in a uniform platform. “I hope that hospitals share their information, because it makes Development Center in Erlangen, developers are Sabine Fietz, Industry Drive Technologies and doctors will be connected via a single in- them feel their work is being supervised. creating small smart grids in order to discover the [email protected] terface as early as next year, so that all of us Nonetheless, Shields feels that the future be- networks’ strengths and weaknesses. (pp. 24, 32) ing patient files and working with hospitals. Today, about 70 percent of healthcare can see what’s being done for every individ- longs to healthcare systems that are con- Interviews: When they share information they use lots of providers throughout the United States use ual patient. There’s still too much redundancy nected via computer networks. Integration also plays a role in the use of surplus Assaf Biderman, MIT paper, and much time is wasted as people electronic patient data. But in certain regions, in the healthcare sector. When a patient has Inspira also wants to enable patients to be wind and solar energy. As the RWE Wind Heating Kristian Kloeckl, MIT wait in telephone queues. Inspira’s primary such as southern New Jersey, some doctors to go to several doctors, not every one of more active participants in their own treat- project demonstrates, storage heaters can absorb Carlo Ratti, MIT challenge is therefore to persuade doctors are still behind the curve. The government is those doctors has to order a computer to- ment. A patient portal that Inspira is intro- excess amounts of eco-electricity. (p. 28) http://senseable.mit.edu that a better IT network can help everyone in- promising financial support to doctors willing mography (CT) scan. Today I can see on an ducing in coming months will give patients volved to organize their work more effi- to make the change, and those who don’t will EHR which examinations a patient has al- access to their files, as well as tips as to how eSieFusion integrates information from pre-exist- LINKS: ciently. soon have to reckon with remuneration cuts. ready had,” he says. to recover faster and have a healthy lifestyle. ing 3-D CT images with real-time ultrasound im- Aspern: “Meaningful Use” is the name of the govern- Shields is convinced that a properly imple- “There’s still a lot to do,” says Pacek. “We ages to create detailed interior views of the hu- www.aspern-seestadt.at/en Treasured Data. Dr. David Shields, a gas- ment initiative to accelerate the adoption of mented electronic system can significantly have to carefully convince doctors and pa- man body (pp 37) FINSENY: troenterologist, is setting a good example in healthcare information technology among reduce the costs of the U.S. healthcare sys- tients that the IT revolution is to their advan- www.finseny.eu his practice, which is only a few steps away providers. It is considered to be part of the tem. A study by the University of Michigan in tage. Siemens is an indispensable long-term Image2Implant software creates 3-D templates TIA Portal: from Inspira Medical Center Vineland, New foundation of health reform in the U.S., help- Ann Arbor confirms Shields’ impression: in partner for us in this process.” from joint patterns. The templates serve as the ba- www.industry.siemens.com/topics/global/de/ Jersey. “In the future I want my patients to be ing to achieve goals such as improved care outpatient treatment in particular, healthcare Roman Elsener sis for customized prosthetics. (pp. 39) tia-portal/seiten/default.aspx

42 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 43 Pictures of the Future | Rural Healthcare Pictures of the Future | Rural Healthcare

The floor is covered with pine twigs, and tems, including imaging equipment from Many cases of end stage breast cancer are the air is saturated with the smell of incense. Siemens, such as the latest generation of also diagnosed — something that is unusual Hundreds of candles fill the church of San computer tomographs (CTs). in Mexico’s large cities, where carcinomas of Juan de Chamula with a celebratory glow. En- Relatives of patients who are being the breast are often discovered at stages that tire families are squatting on the floor. Every treated here are squatting in front of the hos- can be effectively treated. That’s because pre- group has stuck candles on the stone floor in pital. Some of them camp out on their color- ventive programs have been routine for many front of it with drops of wax. Murmuring fills ful wool blankets day and night. Inside the women for years. the arched hall. Here sick people are praying building, Dr. Ishbi Arubi Buneder Poblete is for healing of body and soul, healthy ones for preparing a patient for an examination. A Prevention for All. Gradually, more and protection from disease. young woman will soon be wheeled into the more of the five million inhabitants of Chia- Wooden statues resembling Christian cylinder of a CT for the first time in her life. pas are gaining access to preventive health- saints watch over the rituals of the people “We’ve identified liquid in her lungs on the X- care programs. Pijijiapan, a town of 50,000 who live here in the highlands of Chiapas, in rays. However, we don’t know if it is water or inhabitants located near the Pacific coast, is southern Mexico. One statue looks like a cru- blood. A CT examination will help us to make an example. Thousands of bicycle taxis wend cified Jesus but wears a bright yellow skirt. a diagnosis. Previously, we would have had their way through the traffic, past open-air Other figures wear colorful clothes and mir- to puncture the lung, and that’s a potentially kitchens and taco stands that play loud music rors around their necks to distract the Evil risky intervention,” Dr. Buneder explains. to attract customers. Eye. Buneder did her medical training in Mex- The women’s clinic of Pijijiapan, like seven For local inhabitants the statues do not ico City. In her experience, the patients there other clinics throughout Chiapas, uses state- In Mexico, traditional and represent catholic saints, but rather — in live in a different century than those who are of-the-art ultrasound or X-ray-based mam- modern medicine co-exist. their syncretistic system of beliefs — tradi- treated here, she says. “In Mexico City, many mography systems from Siemens. Today, on Some patients want both — tional gods, of which there are many. For in- patients have already searched for their diag- average, it takes indigenous women only a healing ceremonies with stance, there is Yajvalel Banamil, god of noses on the Internet before they go to a doc- few minutes to get to the clinic for a preven- sacrifices of animals, and space; Yajvalel Vinajel, god of the sky; and tor, and they demand specific treatments. By tive checkup. But only a few years ago, most angiographs at highly Chonbolom, god of animals. Most of the peo- contrast, here in Chiapas we sometimes get women from Pijijiapan had to journey to specialized clinics. From Animal Sacrifices to Science

As diseases of affluence such as diabetes spread to emerging economies, healthcare needs and costs are rising sharply. The state of Chiapas in Mexico is not only coping with these challenges, but is bringing better care to even its most remote areas. Reliable medical technology is one part of the solution; another is a changed concept of medicine from animal sacrifices to science.

The Hospital de las Culturas integrates traditional remedies with ple in the church of San Juan de Chamula — modern medicine. Dr. Ortiz Tuxtla, the capital of Chiapas, to get a descendents of a 4000-year-old civilization from Medica Sur has over checkup. Few patients had the time or that included the Mayas — have brought 50 years of experience. money to do so. with them, wrapped in newspaper, special Between 40 and 50 women visit Pijijia- herbs that they stroke their bodies with in pan’s clinic every day. “Many women are still order to cleanse themselves. They have also patients who have never seen a doctor be- not very well informed,” reports Mireya Quen brought eggs and live chickens for ritual sac- fore,” she says. Martínez, who runs the clinic’s mammogra- rifices. Unfortunately, Buneder is often con- phy systems. “They believe that they only According to the natives, many diseases fronted with conditions that have reached an need to come for breast cancer checkups can be prevented or healed only by means of advanced stage. That’s because many indige- after they reach menopause, or they don’t traditional ceremonies. In their view, so- nous patients come to her only after local come regularly.” And it’s not unusual for hus- called modern or “conventional” medicine healers have failed. “I sometimes see swollen, bands to object to their wives having their would be useless for such conditions. How- infected gallbladders that have been treated breasts examined by other men. In remote ever, if sacrifices and rituals fail, some local by healing ceremonies for a long time,” she villages, husbands sometimes accompany people are starting to agree that a trip to the says. “The patients allow themselves to be their wives to gynecological examinations Hospital de las Culturas, which is located a stroked with twigs, meaning that their con- with their machetes in their hands — ready half hour’s drive away in San Cristóbal de las dition just grows worse and worse. In many for anything. Casas, may be necessary. In fact, the hospital cases we ultimately have no other choice The mammography systems used in Pijiji- is equipped with a range of advanced sys- than to operate.” apan are the same kinds of top-quality de-

44 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 45 Pictures of the Future | Rural Healthcare Pictures of the Future | Rural Healthcare vices that can be found in private clinics in afford treatment. But since the introduction the number of fatalities worldwide due to In remote communities in Chiapas, small system,” says Ortiz, who has been a practic- reliable operation would cause havoc with Mexico City. “The images are sharp and offer of Seguro Popular, the percentage of patients noninfectious diseases will increase by 15 healthcare centers have therefore been ing physician for more than 50 years. A few our economic calculations,” says Ortiz. His a high level of resolution, even when en- discontinuing therapy has declined to practi- percent between 2010 and 2020. In Africa equipped with X-ray equipment for the first meters from the clinic, people live in a slum hospital has CTs, MRI equipment, and even larged. This enables us to avoid repeated ex- cally zero. Clinics are being built one by one and Asia, this number may increase by as time ever, and even the smallest settlements — a “ciudad perdida,” or “lost city” in the mid- positron emission tomographs. “There are ap- aminations, reduce the women’s exposure to in order to offer patients the treatment guar- much as 20 percent, while in China, the num- are regularly visited by mobile clinics. Trucks dle of the metropolis. For the inhabitants of proximately 5,000 radiologists in Mexico, and radiation, and simply work more efficiently,” anteed by the system. In March 2012, almost ber of people with diabetes is expected to bring doctors and ultrasound devices into the this urban jungle, access to healthcare can be 600 of them work in Mexico City alone. There says Martínez. all the inhabitants of Chiapas were registered double by 2025, and in Mexico an increase jungle. And in all of these cases, imaging sys- just as difficult as for the inhabitants of the are only about 30 in Chiapas. It’s not enough New patients register for Seguro Popular, in Seguro Popular. The system is financed en- of 30 percent is expected. tems from Siemens are employed. This con- jungle in Chiapas. just to set up great equipment; we also need the state healthcare system, in the clinic’s tirely by taxes. In areas where inhabitants Mexicans are already among the most doctors who know how to use it and then main building. The program was introduced speak hardly any Spanish, advertisements for obese people anywhere. A total of 70 percent make the appropriate diagnoses,” he says. in 2008 in order to provide healthcare to all the program are broadcast on radio and TV of the population is regarded as being over- “You have to improve the system as a whole. Making those who had previously slipped through in local languages such as Tzotzil. Neverthe- weight — an even larger share than in the Profitable Private Patients. It’s difficult to the cracks. Millions of Mexicans had not been less, in spite of insurance programs, there are United States. Mexicans drink more sugary improvements only in isolated areas does no good. That’s attract well-trained doctors to remote regions insured and thus had to pay for all of their ex- still plenty of people in Mexico with cancer soft drinks per capita than any other people why we are also investing in high-tech equipment.” such as Chiapas. Many doctors don’t want to aminations and treatments themselves. who die without receiving treatment or even on earth. And according to government sta- do without the amenities of life in a big city. As a result, a cancer diagnosis represented a painkiller. tistics, nowhere in Mexico do people drink Besides, there are more private patients in a threat not only to patients’ lives but also to more soft drinks per capita than in Chamula certed campaign has been a success. For a the major cities. Mexican doctors report that their families’ economic survival. In some More Chronic Conditions. In Chiapas, a in the highlands of Chiapas — in part be- long time, Chiapas had the highest rate of 20 treatments of privately insured patients cases, uninsured patients had to sell all of large proportion of the population, including cause of local rites that have included carbon- child mortality in Mexico, but between 2002 can earn them as much money as a month of their property and take their children out of the growing middle class, consumes too ated soft drinks for decades. Trends such as and 2012 this figure has been reduced by ap- work in a public hospital. Dr. Victor Javier Flo- proximately 50 percent. res Cruz, a pediatrician, nonetheless decided to work in Chiapas at the Hospital de las Cul- Every Peso Counts. These successes are turas in San Cristóbal — a decision that may partly due to work performed by Dr. James have made all the difference in the world for Gomez, the former Minister of Health in Chi- six-year-old Luz. apas. “It’s not easy to build up a cost-efficient A neighbor had accidentally shot the little healthcare system in a relatively poor and girl in the head with a 9 mm rifle as he was thinly populated region such as Chiapas,” he cleaning it. Dr. Flores remembers the day as says. “There are about 20,000 villages in this though it were yesterday. “The girl was region, and a quarter of them have fewer brought immediately to the intensive care than 100 inhabitants.” ward and received artificial respiration. CT Fernando de Jesús Velasquez Montes, images helped us determine the severity and who is responsible for the planning of new the exact location of the damage to the brain. hospitals and the maintenance of public clin- Nonetheless, we could only watch as her vital ics in Chiapas adds: “We have to improve the signs deteriorated from minute to minute. system as a whole. Making improvements We were sure she would die,” he says. How- only in isolated areas does no good. That’s ever, after 14 days Luz – her name means why we are also investing in high-tech equip- “light” in English – began to breathe on her ment.” His mindset: budgets are limited, so own again. Today she is playing at home with A local clinic in Pijijiapan, every Peso counts. Mexico’s Seguro Popular insurance program her brother and the neighbor’s children. a mid-sized town in Chiapas, offers “In Chiapas we use many imaging paid for Luz‘ treatment. Luz’s mother and grandmother are sitting school simply to pay their doctors’ bills. breast cancer detection programs. these have resulted in considerable chal- processes from Siemens,” says de Jesús Ve- in the inner courtyard of their house in the Often, even that was not enough. A complete Women can now avoid long lenges for the Mexican healthcare system, lasquez Montes. “This is primarily due to their afternoon sun and once again examining all breast cancer treatment can cost more than trips to the capital. which is facing an explosion in treatment high quality. Cheaper devices often have “Mexico invests slightly over six percent of of the images that were made by the clinic’s $25,000. According to the World Health Or- costs for a range of chronic illnesses as more their first breakdowns after a year. If the sup- GDP in healthcare, which reflects a consider- Siemens tomographs. “If the clinic were not ganization (WHO), every year approximately and more people live to see old age. plier doesn’t even have a representative in able increase over the past few years. How- so near and so well-equipped, Luz might be 100 million people all over the world slip much fat and sugar and gets insufficient ex- By contrast, it is relatively inexpensive to Mexico, it can take weeks to get replacement ever, in comparison to other countries this is dead today,” says her mother. Thanks to Se- under the poverty line because they have no ercise. Many people also smoke. Moving prevent, diagnose, and treat many infectious parts. The reliability offered by Siemens still a low percentage,” explains Ortiz during guro Popular, Luz received treatment free of health insurance. In Mexico, a large number hand-in-hand with these trends is a growing diseases such as measles, malaria and diar- means that we can have a sustainably high a tour of radiology and imaging depart- charge. of diseases, as well as treatments such as incidence of cancer and chronic illnesses rhea. Vaccination campaigns, insecticides, flow of patients. Chiapas is not a wealthy re- ments. In Germany, 11 percent of the GDP is She now jumps about in the inner court- chemotherapy and dialysis, are not covered such as diabetes. On the other hand, im- and educational campaigns concerning the gion. And that’s exactly why we can’t afford spent on healthcare; in the U.S. the figure is yard of her home, wearing a pink ribbon in by Seguro Popular. However, the system proved hygiene, education, and vaccination advantages of washing one’s hands don’t to buy cheap devices. One of our sayings is 18 percent. Only about 3.4 million Mexicans her hair. Luz has not yet regained all of her stands ready to help patients who have con- programs have reduced the number of infec- cost very much, nor do many antibiotics. ‘Lo barato sale caro’ — buy cheap, pay out of a total population of over 120 million faculties; she doesn’t talk very much, is ditions whose treatment promises — at a tions. On the other hand, the installation and dearly.” have private health insurance. For many of quickly irritated, and seems withdrawn most moderate cost — large gains in terms of The same trend can be seen in almost all operation of modern imaging equipment re- This is also the opinion of Hernández them, Medica Sur can be a healthcare of the time. A boy from the neighborhood longevity and quality of life. developing countries and emerging quires considerable initial investments. All Ortiz, the Medical Director of the Medica Sur provider of choice. picks up a dry leaf and hands it to Luz The system’s successes are clear. Until not economies: fewer infectious diseases, more the same, comprehensive healthcare requires Hospital in Mexico City. The clinic is widely re- “We offer patients high quality imaging. through the fence. The little girl grabs it, and too long ago, more than 30 percent of chronic ones. Economic progress leads to good diagnostic devices, especially when puted to be one of the country’s top private Our equipment is the best available on the for a short moment a smile lights her usually women discontinued breast cancer therapy changes in people’s habits and a generally noninfectious diseases are on the increase, clinics. “You don’t have to go to Chiapas to market. However, it needs to run reliably, expressionless face. Her journey back into life because at some point they could no longer less healthy lifestyle. The WHO estimates that as they are in Mexico. observe imbalances in Mexico’s healthcare which means a minimum of breakdowns. Un- has begun. Andreas Kleinschmidt

46 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 47 Highlights

53 A World of Risks Extreme weather phenomena are challenging the lifelines of many cities and energy systems. Protect- ing these lifelines and making them crisis-proof is one of the most important tasks of the fu- ture. Solutions range from smart and robust power grids in the U.S. to new energy supply concepts for entire countries, such as Japan. Pages 53, 62, 66, 69

60 How to Keep the Lights on According to the International En- ergy Agency, fossil fuels will re- main important in the future. In order to extract oil from the sea floor, Siemens is developing a power grid that can handle the ex- treme conditions experienced at depths of 3,000 meters. Renew- able energy sources are also gain- ing in importance — and placing special demands on power grids. Pages 60, 64, 69, 71

78 Resisting Time’s Ravages Decades after they were commis- sioned, some Siemens technolo- gies still work as well as ever. One of these is the century-old Comet tram line in the Slovakian region of the High Tatras. Page 78

80 Data’s Appetite for Energy Demand for computing power is increasing, as is computer cen- ters’ demand for electricity. Siemens is responding with failsafe systems. Pages 80, 82

Resilient Infrastructures | Scenario 2050

Forty-five years after Hurri- 2050cane Katrina, 85-year-old Aaron shuffles across the veranda with small paradise extends down to the levee, be- mate change that are especially visible here. Aaron looks back at the past and tells his small, stiff steps. One hand is holding fast to hind which the Mississippi River murmurs. In The sea level around the city has also risen granddaughter Melinda how his home town Protective Island the railing, the other clutches a newspaper. the distance, the high-rises of New Orleans’ steadily. However, nothing can faze Aaron of New Orleans aims to protect itself against Every afternoon he comes here to read the central business district impressively stretch any more. After Katrina swept away his par- extreme storms in the future. An early warn- paper, because here he has the best view of up into the sky. ents’ house, he built a new house for himself ing system, levee sensors, and a sophisticated Forty-five years after Hurricane Katrina, 85-year-old Aaron tells his beloved garden. Bushy dwarf palms cast Aaron notices that the river has risen quite on top of the ruins, and he has held the fort power grid will ensure that the city is more his granddaughter Melinda how his home town of New Orleans shadows on the neatly mowed lawn, and a bit after the storms of the previous week. here ever since. Aaron unrolls his digital secure and that its inhabitants are warned is protecting itself from climate change and future storms — blooming hibiscus bushes, lilies, and sun- New Orleans is being hit by storms more and newspaper and downloads the current issue. in good time. He now feels safe and comfort- and why he wouldn’t live in any other city. flowers create spots of color everywhere. His more often. That’s one of the results of cli- Today he’ll start with the local news. An arti- able as he sits on his veranda overlooking the Mississippi River.

48 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 49 How Ideas Mature | Scenario 2050 Resilient Infrastructures | Trends As Hurricane Sandy demonstrated, disasters can incapacitate vast areas, such as Fukushima (bottom) and New York City. cle about a new municipal information sys- me explain it this way,” Aaron says as he $3 billion in the coming 20 years. By contrast, tem immediately attracts his attention. The swipes the display of his digital newspaper to if investments are made in technologies that city government wants to provide citizens put aside the article about evacuation sys- make the electrical grids smarter and more with even more precise and up-to-date infor- tems. robust, the damage could be reduced by as mation about impending storms in the fu- On the display, which is now blank, he much as $2 billion. New York has already ture. In case of an emergency, it also wants starts to draw a series of circles. “Imagine that taken the first of such measures. Since June to issue customized evacuation plans that are all of these circles are tiny islands,” he tells 2013, a high-voltage direct-current back-to- based on a comprehensive database. “It’s in- Melinda. “These islands generate much of back link from Siemens has connected the teresting to see just how much data they their own power, and they either use it them- New York and New Jersey grids. Its purpose have access to nowadays,” Aaron thinks to selves or store it. We are one of these islands is to ensure that an additional 660 MW of himself. “They probably also know that right too — we generate electricity with our wind electrical power flowing from New Jersey via now I’m sitting on my veranda and reading turbine in the garden and our photovoltaic a high-voltage direct-current cable under the the paper.” panels on the roof. We can either sell the Hudson River will reinforce the Big Apple’s A familiar voice wakes him from his electricity we don’t use or store it in our bat- power supply. reverie. “Grandpa, grandpa,” calls his grand- tery in the shed. That way we’ll still have Meanwhile, grid operators on the U.S. daughter Melinda, who has just gotten out of power even if the big power plants fail or if mainland, as well as Hawaii, count on school and is now racing across the veranda the land lines are damaged.” Siemens technologies to make their electrical to hug her grandfather. Melinda obviously likes the idea of living grids more robust. For instance, Siemens’ “Not so fast, sweetie! I’m not as young as on an island. “So we can make everything smart network management system helps to I used to be,” Aaron says, laughing. Melinda ourselves, without depending on anyone instantaneously identify faults within net- smiles and plops down on a chair next to else?” she asks with shining eyes. “Not quite,” works, isolate them, and safely reroute elec- him. “You’re right. Today Ms. Mitchell told us Aaron says with a smile as he starts to con- tricity, thus avoiding blackouts (p. 58, 62, all about Hurricane Katrina and what things nect the rings with lines. “Imagine that 69). But a blackout is only the fastest route to were like back then. I told her you had expe- there’s a blackout in the supermarket and all chaos. What would happen if, for example, rienced everything yourself. So that means of the frozen food thaws out, or in an old-age Google’s search engine or the online banking you must be very old!” home where the old people depend on im- system were to break down for a day? Such Aaron leans back and his face becomes portant equipment. In that case of course events could push a city’s inhabitants to the serious, as it always does when he thinks we’ll send our electricity to the places where limit. That’s why computer center operators about the catastrophe that occurred 45 years people need it most.” rely on Siemens systems to safeguard their ago. “That really was a long time ago,” he “That sounds pretty smart,” says Melinda. power supplies. And that’s not all: A Google says. Melinda too has suddenly grown seri- Her grandfather laughs. “It’s so smart that computer center in Texas even relies on re- ous, and Aaron senses what she’s going to other cities now want to learn from us. Don’t A World of Risk newable energy sources. Several Siemens ask next. “Grandpa, can something like that forget that the ocean is rising and threaten- wind turbines of the 2.3 MW class supply it happen to us again? ‘Cause we live right next ing other coastal cities like New York, Miami, with power (p. 84). to the river…” and Shanghai. The authorities want to pro- In recent centuries, people have increasingly settled in “Don’t worry about that. A lot has changed tect the people living in such places and pre- parts of the world that are vulnerable to extreme natural Renewable Energy in Japan. Similar since then,” says Aaron, pointing to the Mis- pare them more effectively against the phenomena such as storms, floods, and earthquakes. Whether threats are being faced around the world. sissippi. “For example, look at the levees. storms, which keep getting stronger.” it’s a question of tsunamis in Japan or hurricanes in New York, Long-term statistics compiled by Geo Risks Thirty years ago they were not just com- Melinda is thinking about everything she only with the help of smart and robust infrastructures can Research at Munich Re document the fact pletely rebuilt but also equipped with thou- has heard and learned — about the levees, cities arm themselves against future catastrophes. that, in addition to the U.S., there is another sands of tiny sensors. These sensors con- the islands, and the many people who died region that is especially vulnerable: Asia-Pa- stantly measure the water level in the river. during the storm or fled the city and never cific. Around 40 percent of the natural disas- They also record the water pressure, the hu- came back. “Grandpa…” she says and briefly ters that have occurred since 1980 have hit midity in the levees, the temperature, and hesitates. “Why didn’t you just move away af- this region. One event in particular caused whether the levees are shifting. City officials ter Katrina?” Short-lived mayflies can only dream of environments. According to the United Na- off the lights of the famous skyline. Only a the world to hold its breath: the mega-disas- can call up the data any time they want. In Now it’s Aaron’s turn to hesitate. His gaze old age, but the Antarctic giant sponge Scoly- tions, 1.2 million people died from the effects tiny speck of the metropolis was spared: Co- ter in Japan in March 2011, in which a severe other words, they know just where the weak once again sweeps over the garden and over mastra joubini seems to have laid claim to a of extreme weather between 2000 and op City in the Bronx. When Sandy hit New earthquake and a tsunami claimed some spots are and where repairs must be carried the city’s skyline, which has changed so much kind of immortality. It can live to be 10,000 2012. “According to British economist Lord York, a 40-megawatt (MW) combined cycle 16,000 lives. In addition, they brought the out to ensure that the levee remains safe. in recent years. Dark storm clouds are piling years old. Researchers attribute its longevity Nicholas Stern, the damage caused by the power plant from Siemens continued to sup- Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station to That means we’ll have no bad surprises if a up in the distance, and he can hear a deep, to the fact that it consumes little oxygen and end of this century could reach 20 percent of ply Co-op City’s 60,000 inhabitants with elec- the edge of a nuclear inferno. Today only two storm comes.” faraway rumbling. He thinks of his friends of thus has a very slow metabolism. In effect, the global gross domestic product,” says Prof. tricity and hot water (p. 53, 73). The key ele- nuclear reactors are in operation in Japan, Melinda nods, satisfied. But then she former times — those who moved away, and the sponge grows in slow motion. Then too, Peter Höppe, Head of Geo Risks Research at ment here was a micro-grid — a substantially which used to draw a third of its energy from thinks of another question: “Grandpa, Ms. also those who came back and built up a new it lives in ice-cold temperatures. It is one of Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance independent electrical network. nuclear power plants. Until recently, the Mitchell told us that today there are stand- life, just as he did. He also thinks of his family, the creatures that has learned over centuries company (p. 56). He adds that North America In 2013 Siemens helped to create a sce- country operated 54 such plants. alone power systems all over the city. What his children and grandchildren, who fortu- to adapt to its environment. is particularly at risk: “In the past 30 years, nario for New York’s electrical grid in cooper- Even though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe do they do, exactly?” “Oh, that’s very simple,” nately never have had to experience a catas- Like the giant sponge, human settlements North America experienced almost a fivefold ation with the New York City Planning De- argues that the country’s nuclear power Aaron replies. “Katrina caused blackouts in trophe like that one. “Maybe it’s our nature to are long-lived organisms. However, not only increase in the number of harmful events.” partment and the Arup consulting company. plants should be switched on again, Japan in- many neighborhoods. That’s why they could- be a little foolish. But this is my home, that’s do they represent a growing proportion of One of these events was recently experi- According to this scenario, if no protective tends to significantly expand its renewable n’t pump the water out of the city. But today all there is to it. I don’t want to live anywhere the world’s population, but they are poor enced by New York City. At the end of 2012, measures are taken, the costs resulting from energy sources. According to the Japanese we’ve completely rebuilt our power grid. Let else,” he says. Nicole Elflein learners when it comes to adapting to their Hurricane Sandy caused a blackout that shut natural disasters such as Sandy could rise to Wind Energy Association, the country plans

50 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 51 Resilient Infrastructures | Trends Resilient Infrastructures | New York City New York was briefly knocked out by Sandy. Now, the city is equipping itself against future disasters. to boost its installed wind power output from Siemens researchers are also working on serves on land are waning, and new deposits, today’s level of approximately 2.6 gigawatts an improved real-time evaluation process for for example in the depths of the ocean, must (GW) to 11 GW by 2020. By 2050 Japan’s the sensor data generated by turbines and lo- now be tapped at great effort and expense wind power output is to increase to around comotives. The resulting information helps to (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2011, p. 108). 50 GW. “Some of the best locations for gen- determine mechanical loads, predict break- With this in mind, Siemens experts in Norway erating electricity from wind are in Hokkaido, downs, and identify problems before a struc- are working on new technologies that can in the northern part of the country,” says tural component breaks down (pages 74, 80, cope with extreme conditions. One of them Shoji Kobayashi, Deputy Director of the Plan- and 82). is a reliable power supply that operates flaw- ning Department of the Environment Author- Europe too is rapidly adding renewable lessly even at depths of 3,000 meters below ity of Tokyo’s city government. “Japan is one sources to its energy mix. For example, in its sea level (p. 60). of the most attractive markets for wind en- national energy plan Italy has set itself the According to the IEA, the growing de- ergy in the Asia-Pacific region,” adds Kay We- goal of increasing the proportion of renew- mand for petroleum has resulted primarily ber, CEO of the Asia Pacific Business Unit of ables from five percent today to 17 percent from the growth of road traffic, which gener- Siemens Wind Power. Starting in the summer by 2020. ates 22 percent of global carbon dioxide of 2014, six gearless wind turbines from However, when unreliable energy sources emissions, making it the second-largest Siemens with an output of 3 MW each are to such as the sun and wind are connected to source of such emissions after electricity gen- enter service on the northwest coast of the the power grid, fluctuations in supply are in- eration (see Pictures of the Future, Spring Japanese island of Honshu (p. 66). evitable. That’s why, in the future, energy 2013, p. 92). In view of this, it is essential to storage systems such as Siemens’ Siestorage reduce traffic congestion, develop more effi- A Dragon in the Earth. Power is also being could help to ensure a stable energy supply. cient drive systems, and cut CO2 emissions. tapped from deep within the earth. Accord- A Siestorage system is currently in operation Environmentally oriented traffic manage- ing to the Japanese Department of the Envi- at Enel, Italy’s largest energy supplier. The ment systems from Siemens could help here, ronment, the country could potentially har- system has a capacity of 500 kilowatt-hours as pilot projects in a number of German cities vest 34 GW of power from geothermal and an output of up to 1 MW. “Our system is are already demonstrating.

Securing the City

Superstorm Sandy managed to put the “City that Never Sleeps” in temporary snooze mode last October. In the storm’s wake, however, this city of eight million is taking measures to ensure its five boroughs are capable of facing the challenges posed by climate change.

Resilient systems are becoming ever more important, whether they are in Hawaii (left), in the deep ocean (center) or in geothermally active areas.

Union Square is usually bustling. On a steel poles, and tiles and branches littered the And the cost? Approximately $19 billion in sources; the installed nominal output of ge- the first big lithium-ion storage system in Eu- However, experience has shown that typical day, swarms of subway commuters ground. The only sounds to be heard were damages and lost economic activity. othermal energy in Japan is currently just rope,” says Uwe Fuchs, Sales Manager for Ad- these goals can be reached only if cities in- pass by at a brisk pace. University students the screaming wind and emergency sirens. Sandy was unprecedented. Nevertheless, over 0.5 GW. There’s a problem, however. Ac- vanced Power Systems and Storage at vest in comprehensive solutions. In other make use of the park during a break between “The dark and lifeless streets resembled what in recent years, NYC, comprising the bor- cording to a Japanese myth, a dragon lives Siemens. “Its control electronics constantly words, technologies of this kind must go classes. Street performers of all sorts demon- one would expect the effects of a zombie oughs of Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, deep under Japan. If he is in a bad mood, he measure the grid voltage and frequency. De- hand in hand with the expansion of mass strate their varied talents, while young chil- apocalypse to look like — like in the film Brooklyn, and Staten Island, has been expe- spits fire and shakes the earth. In other pending on the level of demand, Siestorage transit systems, carsharing offers, and the de- dren play chess on the sidewalk. Business- World War Z,” recalls Torske. riencing an increase in extreme weather. words, in regions where volcanoes seethe either stores energy from the grid or releases velopment of low-emission vehicles (p. 76). men and women pause for a breath of fresh Superstorm Sandy took the lives of 41 There was Hurricane Irene in August 2011. and tectonic plates clash, there is frequent it.” (p. 64). This package seems to be essential, in view air or a smoke. Tourists wander past in a New Yorkers. The storm left over 800,000 Tornadoes have been whipping the city more seismic activity. of the fact that some 9.5 billion people will steady stream, absorbing the vibrancy of the New York City residents without power. A frequently since 2007. And, increasingly, These challenging geographic conditions Investing in Holistic Solutions. According inhabit the earth in 2050. Well over 6.5 bil- atmosphere, and perhaps snapping a few four-meter-high storm surge swept 500 mil- summer heat waves are lasting longer (p.56). require specially adapted steam turbines. to the International Energy Agency (IEA), fos- lion of them will be living in urban centers, photos. lion tons of seawater over the edge of the The hottest year recorded in United States Consequently, a Siemens team is working on sil fuels will continue to be a key part of the and many of them, like people today, will be When New York University student Alyssa city’s waterfront, inundating Lower Manhat- history was 2012. And scientists warn that optimized turbines that are equipped with an worldwide energy mix for the foreseeable fu- settled on coastlines and in regions that are Torske and some friends ventured out of their tan. Flooding damaged bridges, tunnels, and average temperatures will continue to in- automatic shutoff system, for example. In ture. Due to their importance for the world plagued by extreme weather events. It will dorm the evening after Superstorm Sandy hit roads, and the subway system was out of crease. According to experts convened by case an earthquake occurs, they can be economy, they were subsidized to the tune then be even more important than it is today the Big Apple, Union Square had changed. service for nearly a week. Businesses were Mayor Bloomberg, sea levels in the region quickly and safely switched into idle mode in of $523 billion in 2011 — 30 percent more to have infrastructures that are as robust and The city was dark. There were no cars. No forced to shut down. The New York Stock Ex- could rise by more than 75 centimeters by order to avoid damage (p. 71). than in 2010. Nevertheless, petroleum re- efficient as possible. Hülya Dagli people, either. Road signs, ripped from their change was closed for two consecutive days. 2050. The number of New Yorkers living in

52 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 53 Resilient Infrastructures | New York City Resilient Infrastructures | New York City

Left: An HVDC back-to-back link will stabilize power grids in New York City and New Jersey. Right: Co-op City’s combined heat and power plant. Siemens is helping to make One World Trade Center (left) and the New York Metro more resistant to system failure. designated flood zones is thus expected to more redundancy, communication, decen- ting from access to diverse, lower-cost en- depend on its own micro-grid to keep the reduce this by $2 billion, as well as generate moved ahead of time if there is a flood alert, more than double to 800,000. In the same tralization, and quicker response times dur- ergy, including renewable energy. power on. $4 billion due to higher efficiency. as was the case during Sandy. time frame, the percentage of the city’s ing an emergency. NYC is working with One World Trade Center (1 WTC), when it In the future, intelligent grids should Another technology from Siemens that power plants in vulnerable regions will soar Siemens on a range of resilience-building is completed in early 2014 will be a shining prove to be just as reliable. Since August NYC Subways: Riding on Technology. A was put into service in 2008 now controls from 53 to 97 percent. In 2050, a storm like projects. example of resilience-building technology. 2011, Siemens has been working with Con robust infrastructure is also necessary when one third of the subway system by tracking Sandy would take a $90 billion bite out of the One major project that has already im- The Center’s electrical power distribution sys- Edison, NYC’s largest utility, on a Smart Grid it comes to getting from place to place. Gwen up to 220 trains simultaneously in real time. Big Apple’s budget, predicts global reinsurer proved the NYC area’s resilience is Siemens’ tem from Siemens, including 1,443 meters of Integration project. Thanks to special integra- Shockey lives in a part of Manhattan that is The greatest advantage of the technology is Swiss Re. high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technol- space-saving Sentron Busway instead of con- tion software, standardized data interfaces, close to Harlem. She needs to get to Mid- the information it provides. As a result, oper- Sandy demonstrated New York’s need to ogy, which can transmit electricity over long ventional power cables and conduit, as well and sophisticated visualization technology, town, where she works as a medical illustra- ators can closely monitor events and respond enhance the resilience of its infrastructures. distances in a low-loss manner. An HVDC as circuit protection, will help to ensure that Con Edison employees can gain an overview tor, every day of the week. To make the com- quickly in an emergency — for example, by In order to achieve this goal Mayor back-to-back link supplied by Siemens has the energy supply for the city’s tallest build- of the grid situation and the capacity of avail- mute, Gwen relies on the subway. When evacuating a train in a tunnel or re-routing Bloomberg released a $20 billion plan to in- been connecting New Jersey’s electrical grid ing is stable and secure. In addition, it will be able demand response resources, such as subway service was suspended as a result of trains away from affected lines. These tech- vest in resilience measures to fortify NYC. The to the Big Apple’s grid since June 2013, pro- possible to immediately switch the power back-up generators. What’s more, the infor- Sandy, Gwen was unable to get to work for a nologies work together to create a commu- report outlines plans for improved building viding an additional 660 MW of power to the supply off in the event of an overvoltage. mation is available in real time. As a result, week. “It made me realize how insanely de- nicative, centrally controlled system that is codes to protect critical infrastructures and city as needed. While there are existing trans- Siemens switching technology has also been the operator can quickly decide whether load pendent I am on the subway,” she said. prepared for hazardous situations. investing in flood protection measures such mission interconnections between the NJ installed in 1 WTC and the train station that relief is necessary. If demand peaks on a hot Gwen is one of some 5.7 million people How can NYC’s subway system be made as floodwalls, levees, and bulkheads, to pro- grid and NYC, the back-to-back link facilitates serves the new World Trade Center has been summer day, for instance, the operator is who rely on NYC’s subway system daily. The even more resilient? Paul Eliea, who manages tect the city’s 520 miles of coastline. “Piece both additional capacity and quick response equipped with low-voltage switchgear and able to send a targeted curtailment request system, which entered service over 100 years Rail IT projects at Siemens Mobility in New by piece, over many years and even decades, functionality. In other words, it can stabilize automation technology that will operate the to a demand-response asset, such as a com- ago, is one of the oldest in the world and York, believes that a centrally-controlled we can build a city that’s capable of preparing both grids and reduce the risk of blackouts. A building’s emergency ventilation system — mercial building. Together with Con Edison, better, withstanding more and overcoming similar project was completed in 2007, when even under critical circumstances. Siemens is currently working on an extension anything,” the Mayor said. Siemens supplied an HVDC transmission link of the solution. A one-day power failure in New York cost an Giant floodwalls will help keep water out to help stabilize Long Island’s power supply. Intelligent Power Grids. Sandy put tremen- According to Mayur Rao, who manages of the city, but building resilience also re- Since then, Long Island has been getting 20 dous strain on NYC’s electrical grid, knocking the Enterprise Integration and Cyber Security estimated $1 billion — money that would be better quires investments in technology to allow for percent of its energy from NJ’s grid, benefit- out power in most of Lower Manhattan for Services group within Siemens, NYC’s grid spent investing in intelligent infrastructures. days, and in some neighborhoods for weeks. would benefit from improved demand-re- In Alyssa’s case, no power meant several days sponse integration and enhanced diversifica- of no lights, no heat, no running water, and tion of electrical generation capacity, which must continually be upgraded. Since 1999 threat detection system could be a key ele- The Hard Facts about New York’s Natural Disasters 20-story treks to her dorm room. Other criti- could mean greater integration of renewable Siemens has played a major role in this ment to a system-wide solution. “As water Damage to the Metro grid of New York, according to an NYC Metro Grid investigation cal facilities were also affected. Failed emer- energy. “Manhattan’s infrastructure can be process. For example, the L line, which runs enters the system in any operationally-signif- gency generators forced major hospitals such expanded only so much. Integrating more between Chelsea (Manhattan) and Canarsie icant quantity, sensors will indicate the prob- 2010: Tornadoes, 200 km/h 2011: Heat wave, tem- Event winds peratures up to 40 °C as New York University’s Langone Medical demand-response-based Smart Grid sources (Brooklyn), now uses train control technol- lem in a control center and provide real time Center and the Bellevue Hospital Center to to meet growing demand and relieve grid ogy from Siemens. This radio-based signaling information that makes it possible to observe 2010: Blizzard — 100 km/h Sandy — 4-meter-high storm evacuate hundreds of patients. overloads is important,” Rao said. system allows trains to communicate with how the situation is developing,” he says. wind gusts, 50 cm snow surge, 130 km/h wind gusts But one community was better prepared: A day without power would cost NYC $1 one another and with the control center. This All of this shows that top-performance Co-op city, a housing development in the billion, according to the RUI Report, which was system makes it possible to increase train fre- and robust technologies are playing an im- Year 2010 2011 2012 Bronx. The community relied on its own 40- drawn up in 2013 by Siemens, the Regional quency. The technology also reduces the portant role in stabilizing NYC’s critical infra- Outages, closure of subway Over $400 million damage to MW combined heat and power plant (CHP), Planning Association, and the Arup consult- need for trackside equipment and uses a fiber structures, from its electrical grid to its transit lines power grid installed by Siemens, to keep things running ing company. The same study calculates that optic network for communication with critical system. And on a smaller scale, its residents during the storm. Thanks to this solution, res- the cost of repairs to the city’s electrical grid wayside equipment. This results in higher re- are also making resiliency investments. “After Damage and power loss: Outages: 139,000 Costs/ idents had electricity, heat, and running wa- from storms like Sandy could total $3 billion silience because the equipment can be the storm I bought a fold-up bicycle,” says 45,000 customers affected customers affected damage ter, while much of the surrounding areas over the next 20 years. Investing the same placed in safer locations. Radio equipment Gwen. “Now I have my little bike so I’ll never

Source: Hazards and Risk Review, NYC Metro Grid Metro NYC and Risk Review, Hazards Source: were without power. Co-op city was able to amount in smart technology, however, would that is located along the track can be re- be stuck again.” Sara Sauer

54 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 55 Resilient Infrastructures | Interview Resilient Infrastructures | Interview

In recent years, the U.S. has increase in severe weather events that can masked by other anthropogenic processes, teractions involved make all of their theo- years. We will also see an increase in thun- experienced superstorms Sandy and only be explained by changes in the atmos- such as the particulate emissions that ries somewhat uncertain. derstorm activity in the summer. On other Katrina, and Germany has seen phere. caused the pollution. continents, climate change will primarily severe flooding once again in 2013. Can fluctuations in solar radiation have have an impact on tropical storms — for ex- Are these “once-in-a-century” events Are weather patterns becoming What has been happening during the a significant effect on temperatures? ample, hurricanes in the U.S. and typhoons now occurring more frequently — or less stable because the atmosphere past ten years? Höppe: Solar radiation is subject to cycles; in Asia. There are clear indications that is the media merely covering them is getting warmer? Höppe: Global temperature is not increas- the shortest last around 11 years. We’re cur- these storms will become more extreme more extensively than before? Höppe: Climate change is defined by the ing as sharply now as it did in the 1980s rently in a phase of maximum solar activity, due to climate change, which will cause Höppe: There can be no doubt that more change in average global temperature. The and 1990s. We’ve experienced a dispropor- which is nevertheless very weak. Solar cy- them to gather more energy from the information about extreme weather phe- damage we see mainly results from the fact tionate number of La Niña events in the cles have very little influence on average higher levels of water vapor in the air. That nomena is available today via the Internet that a warmer climate means warmer past decade. La Niña and its opposite condi- global temperature; they account for less doesn’t mean they will necessarily become and mass media. As a result, we have the oceans. For example, the ice sheet in the tion, El Niño, are phenomena of the south- than 0.1 degrees Celsius. Studies have also more frequent, but it does mean that the feeling that such events are becoming Arctic Ocean melts significantly in the sum- ern Pacific, but they have an impact on shown that even if this low level of solar ac- share of very severe storms as a percentage more frequent. However, it’s also clear that mer. In 2012 this ice cap receded to an ex- nearly every part of the world. These are tivity continues during the next few of all storms will increase.

As CO2 Levels Increase Extreme Weather Events Proliferate Professor Peter Höppe, 59, studied meteorology and human biology and ob- tained a Ph.D. in physics. weather events that do a lot of damage are tremely low level, far below what had been natural fluctuations in which water up- decades, its impact will be marginal. Basi- What is the extent of damage Prof. Höppe currently serves in fact on the rise. According to our global expected. Changes in ocean surface tem- heavals either lead to colder (La Niña) or cally, a low level of solar activity will never predicted for the rest of the century? as Head of the Geo Risks Re- database of natural disasters and the dam- peratures lead to greater evaporation, and warmer (El Niño) ocean surfaces. The La be able to offset global warming. Höppe: The damage will remain manage- search / Corporate Climate age they cause, the number of extreme this water vapor is what revs our global Niña years result in a slight decline in the able in Europe; the insurance system will be weather events has roughly tripled over the “weather machine” up a notch. The whole average global temperature. However, there How many severe floods and storms able to handle it. Experts believe the cost of Center at Munich Re, the last 30 years. Particularly significant is the system now has more energy, because the are increases from one La Niña year to an- similar to Sandy can we expect to see damage caused by summer storms in Ger- world’s largest reinsurance increase in floods. There has also been a vapor releases its evaporation heat when it other. Last year was actually one of the in the future? many will increase by around 30 percent company. He previously slightly smaller increase in storms; since condenses and forms clouds. This energy is warmest La Niña years on record. In other Höppe: That’s difficult to predict. It’s very over the next 30 years — or by one percent held several positions in the 1980, the number of storms has increased the fuel that drives tropical storms, severe words, we’ve had a situation in which natu- clear that a lot has changed in North Amer- per year. The situation will be different in fields of bioclimatology, ap- by around 250 percent. On the other hand, thunderstorms, and heavy rains. ral climate cooling cycles overlap with the ica in the past 30 years. This is the conti- regions where the climate is already unsta- plied meteorology, and oc- there has been no significant increase in anthropogenic increase, and thus conceal it. nent with the biggest increase in extreme ble. For example, there are concerns in In- cupational and environmen- geophysical events, such as earthquakes, There are indications that the When this La Niña cycle ends, we can ex- weather events that cause severe damage. dia that climate change might fundamen- tal medicine at Ludwig volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. increase in global temperature has pect to see global temperatures rise once Damaging weather events have increased tally alter the nature of monsoons. More paused during the last 15 years. again. nearly fivefold in the past 30 years in North specifically, it would be a huge catastrophe Maximilian University in Can all of this be blamed on climate How is that possible? America. That includes all kinds of ex- if monsoons were to become more ex- Munich. Dr. Höppe has also change? Höppe: We’re dealing with a complex sys- In short, the oceans have a major tremes, ranging from snowstorms to forest treme, or not occur at all. The British econo- conducted research at Yale Höppe: We cannot categorically say that tem in which several natural climate cycles impact on the weather we experience? fires, tornados, tropical storms, flooding, mist Lord Nicholas Stern estimates that University in the U.S. and at a certain weather event was caused solely are interacting with a more or less linear in- Höppe: Yes. Some studies show that the and droughts. Tornados are more common global damage caused by extreme weather the University of Natural Re- by climate change. Nevertheless, it’s true crease caused by humans. This means there world’s oceans have absorbed more heat in the U.S. because there are no mountain events could total up to 20 percent of gross sources and Life Sciences in that weather conditions have been continu- are repeated phases in which the anthro- during the past few years than ever before. ranges to keep cold Arctic air and warm sub- world product by the end of the century if Vienna, Austria. He has ally changing over the last 30 years. These pogenic increase is not discernible, or in That means part of the excess energy pro- tropical air masses apart, as is the case in we don’t take ambitious measures to fight served as a member of the changes cannot be explained by pointing which global temperatures actually decline duced by humans has made its way into the Asia and Europe. North America is thus a cli- climate change. At the moment, it doesn’t to a natural climate cycle — or at least not slightly over a period of several years. In oceans. As long as this continues to take mate change lab where you can see the ef- look as though we’ll be taking such meas- Global Warming Advisory to any cycle we know about today. In other some cases this decline is due to other an- place, it offers us an advantage at the mo- fects of change in their most extreme form. ures. People in developing countries are Board of the Bavarian State words, there are strong indications that thropogenic influences. For example, the ment, because it means the atmosphere suffering the most, because the climate is Government since 2007. man-made climate change is playing a decrease in average global temperature in isn’t warming up so quickly, and that slows What should people in Europe and Asia already extreme in many of these nations. role here. Other factors are involved as the 1960s and the early 1970s is usually at- down the processes caused by global warm- be worried about? Even slight changes could therefore well; they include population growth and tributed to the high levels of air pollution ing. However, the heat still remains in the Höppe: After South America, Europe has threaten the survival of entire populations. the movement of more and more people during that period. Smog above Europe and system — it’s just stored in the oceans. recorded the lowest increases in extreme In addition, people in these countries don’t into areas that are susceptible to extreme North America blocked some solar radia- When warmer water from the lower depths weather events. These two continents will have the means to make necessary adjust- weather events. But even if you take these tion, thereby triggering a slight cooling ef- rises to the surface, it will release this heat mainly experience an increase in heat ments. The Munich Climate Insurance Initia- factors into account, you’re still left with an fect. As a result of this, many countries then back into the atmosphere. So you can gain waves and droughts, although there will tive (MCII) that we’ve established is making introduced more stringent environmental some time, but there’s no way to stop the also be more heavy rainfall. This is already insurance solutions part of climate negotia- legislation and air quality improved. In other overall process. Still, there are some ques- apparent. One study has found that “once- words, the increase in temperature was tion marks surrounding all of this. Climate every-50-year” floods will become “once- researchers are aware that the complex in- every-20-year” floods over the next 30

56 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 57 Resilient Infrastructures | Interview Resilient Infrastructures | Facts and Forecasts

tions, and such solutions can help develop- cording to an analysis conducted by ARUP and munication and dialogue-capable networks enable be invested in the renovation of the Bay City’s water ing countries make adjustments. A Growing Siemens in 2013. early and effective reactions. According to a 2012 system, which includes dams, reservoirs, pipelines, A 2012 study carried out by Frost & Sullivan con- Frost & Sullivan study, investigation should focus on pumping stations, and water processing facilities. The What else can affected regions do in Spectrum of Risks cludes that industry and governments will have to the stability of dams and dikes and the monitoring of goal of these steps is to create an integrated system order to be better prepared? continue working together closely in the future in or- water levels in rivers and water reservoirs. Progress in that will remain relatively intact in the event of an Höppe: Even if very ambitious climate pro- der to develop new systems. “A city with inadequate the performance of sensors and decreasing prices will earthquake and will be capable of delivering water to tection measures were established tomor- Urban infrastructures are increasingly facing Cyber attacks are also being increasingly recog- flood protection will find it increasingly difficult in the lead to greater use of more powerful sensors in re- 2.4 million people. row we would not be able to prevent cli- challenges as a result of weather-related disasters, cy- nized as a threat to major cities. For example, in a re- future to find new investors and new business oppor- gions at risk of floods. Houston, Texas reacted to Hurricane Ike with mate change at this point. We can only slow ber attacks, and a broad spectrum of other hazards. cently published study called “Global Corporate IT Se- tunities,” says Steven Webb, Vice President Aerospace, One example of this is the EU-sponsored Urban measures that included a pilot project to enable com- down the process and adapt to the changes According to calculations carried out by Munich Re, a curity Risks,” IT security supplier Kaspersky Lab Defense & Security at Frost & Sullivan. It is therefore Flood project (Pictures of the Future, Fall 2012, p. 96). munication between traffic lights and vehicles in order we expect to see. A lot needs to be done in reinsurance company, natural disasters caused eco- concludes that cyber attacks against major companies crucially important that the relevant authorities and In this project, sensors are being used in Boston, UK, to organize necessary evacuations more smoothly and terms of flood protection measures, for ex- nomic damage totaling $160 billion worldwide in with more than 1,500 employees in Europe result in decision-makers receive the information they require to identify changes in temperature, humidity, and quickly in the future. Here, data from smart phones in ample. We also need to establish heat wave 2012. About 67 percent of this damage occurred in direct costs of €495,000 on average per attack. That in good time. That requires high-quality data analyses movement of the ground and thus to provide informa- vehicles is aggregated in order to receive information warning systems and invest more in build- the United States. The disasters included a major includes the costs of filling security gaps, eliminating in real time and the use of these analyses for simula- tion about possible instability within flood protection in real time about the number and speed of the vehi- ing management and air conditioning sys- drought in the Midwest, several tornadoes, and most disruptions, and installing appropriate preventive tions and forecasts. systems. cles on the streets. During a possible evacuation, driv- tems in places such as hospitals and senior importantly, Hurricane Sandy, which caused $50 bil- measures, which cost €63,000 on average. For small New sensors, analytic processes, and models help San Francisco has had to deal with the conse- ers will receive data via their smartphones so that they citizen homes. You’ll recall that 70,000 peo- lion in damage. According to the respective regional and medium-sized companies, these costs can decision-makers to identify potential floods and assess quences of six massive earthquakes over the past 100 can choose the fastest route to safety (Pictures of the ple died during the massive heat wave in authorities, in 2011 earthquakes resulted in recon- amount to as much as five percent of annual turnover. their possible effects. At the same time, faster com- years. In the period up to 2016, about $4.6 billion will Future, Spring 2011, p. 91). Sylvia Trage Europe in 2003. The U.S. should tighten its building codes in a way that will ensure bet- ter protection in storms. In addition, people The Growing Impact of Climate Change on GDP Growing Incidence of Natural Disasters Expected Increases in Natural Disasters should be discouraged from building 1 houses near the ocean, where special buffer Losses to GDP (e.g. interruptions in production) in % due to climate change Estimated damages due to hazards (in billions of US$) Frequency of occurrence for New York City zones should be established instead. Flooding Drought Heat Wave Storms 200 Hurricane Katrina (nor’easter, If I were to fall asleep and wake up in Today Scenario 180 hurricane) 2030 50 years, what kind of world would I 160 Earthquake in Kobe find in 2063 if global warming contin- 11 140 1 in 1 in 1 Storm 10 19 8 UK 6 120 Historical trend ues at the present rate? (1970–2000) per 2 100 100 2 3 Höppe: If you woke up in Germany, the first 12 100 years years per year years thing you’d want would be an air condi- 3 4 China 80 Florida 2 tioner, because extreme heat waves like the n/a 60 1 in India Expectations more one in July 2003 would have become the 9 Mali 40 for the future unclear 2 15 8 often 20 norm in Europe. The temperature distribu- 5 Guyana 0 years per year tion in July 2003 was a weather event that Tanzania year 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 used to take place around once every 500 Samoa Database, 2013 Disaster The International EM-DAT: Source: 2012 Change 2009, ClimAID, NYSERDA, Panel on Climate NYC Source: years. However, current climate models project that the probability of a summer like The Biggest Natural Disasters of 2012: USA and Asia Hit Hardest the one in 2003 will increase so much by 1 Based on analyses of selected regions in each of the countries (i.e. Mopti, Mali; Georgetown, Guyana; Hull, GB; northern Natural disasters mid-century that we can expect it to occur and northeastern China; Maharashtra, India; central regions of Tanzania; southeastern Florida, USA) and on worst case Selected significant Winter storm Andrea Flash floods values that studies and experts consider to be possible for the year 2030. natural disasters Severe storms Flooding Europe Russia once every two or three years. Things 2009 Development, Shaping Climate-Resilient McKinsey, Source: USA United Kingdom January 5–6 July 6–8 would be worse in southern regions, where Severe storms June 28–July 2 November 21–27 Cold snap USA Eastern Europe Cold snap climate change is already making agricul- April 28–29 Hurricane Sandy January– Afghanistan USA, Caribbean February January–March ture more difficult. If things don’t change struction costs of eight to nine percent of the gross do- However, many cyber attacks can be avoided if com- Hail, severe storms October 24–31 Canada much in these regions as well, the survival mestic product in New Zealand and about €220 billion panies take early preventive measures. Examples of August 12–14 of whole populations could be endangered in Japan. such measures include investing properly in secure Flooding Drought China over the long run, and many people will “These disasters impressively demonstrate the software as well as hardware and training programs USA Hurricane Isaac July 21–24 Summer USA, Caribbean be forced to flee. They will head to places kinds of events we will probably have to deal with for employees. August 24–31 Earthquake Typhoon Haikui Severe storms, Italy China where the quality of life is still relatively more frequently in the future,” explains Prof. Peter “The extensive damage due to weather-related dis- tornadoes Earthquake Earthquake May 20–29 August 8–9 USA, March 2–4 Iran Mexico, March 20 good. That in turn will lead to political ten- Höppe, Head of Geo Risks Research at Munich Re. He asters shows that greater preventive efforts are nec- August 11 Typhoon Bopha sion and security problems in the regions points out that in the future there will, for example, essary,” says Torsten Jeworrek, a member of the Mu- Flooding Philippines they travel to. Food production is also a be more droughts in North America and more torna- nich Re Board of Management. Here, cost-benefit Columbia December 4–5 March–June Total: major issue, as crop cultivation will migrate does in the northern part of the U.S. East Coast. Ac- analysis is an important aid to decision-making. It away from the U.S. and toward Canada, for cording to a recent analysis carried out by University compares the costs of potential damage and losses Geophysical events 905 Flooding (earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption) disasters Pakistan example. Russia could benefit greatly from of Tokyo scientists, Southeast Asia, India, East Africa, with the costs of preventing or minimizing damage. September 3–27 Hydrological event Flooding, flash floods climate change. It might become the and South America may be affected more often by For example, the Thames barrier in London that was (flooding, landslide) Australia Climatological events January–February “breadbasket of the world” due to its huge floods in the future. According to UN calculations, the built in 1953 after a flood cost the present-day equiv- (Extreme temperatures, drought, forest fires) Flooding Flooding, hail Flooding, flash floods land mass, most of which isn’t being used number of people exposed to flood risks in East Asia alent of five billion British pounds. Without this meas- Meteorological events Nigeria South Africa Australia (Storm) July–October October 20–21 February–March for farming today because it’s too cold. alone will grow from 18 million in 2000 to between ure, a new flood would cause damage costing about

Interview by Florian Martini. 45 and 67 million in 2060. 30 billion British pounds — six times as much — ac- Illustration: Spiegel Online, 2013 Rück, Münchener Source:

58 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 59 Resilient Infrastructures | Subsea Technology Self-sufficient oil and gas extraction factories Resilient Infrastructures | Subsea Technology on the ocean floor will start up by 2020. A Siemens grid could provide them with power. test the components for a power network directly on the ocean floor. Lystad believes each door hangs a laptop showing diagrams that will supply energy to future deep sea that in the future this ratio will be reversed. and rows of numbers on its display. One of factories. Beginning in 2020, the Norwegian “The trend is toward previously unexploited the doors is open, revealing a silver cylinder energy company Statoil plans to use such deposits in the deep sea and the Arctic, which in the middle of the cell. Several cables jut self-sufficient oil and gas extraction factories are difficult to reach with conventional tech- out of the ends of a tube that is about two on the ocean floor. nology,” he says. Self-sufficient underwater meters long. “These are our pressure vessels,” Siemens technology will supply the factories would thus make sense in such ar- says Lystad as he knocks on one of the cylin- pumps and compressors with electricity. By eas. “Although conditions on the ocean floor ders. “Each cylinder consist of 150 kilograms then, individual network components will are extreme compared to those on the sur- of solid metal. If we want to test a compo- have to demonstrate that they can withstand face, they are also stable. Temperatures stay nent, we put it in the cylinder. We then fill the the extreme conditions found at depths of at at around 4° C and there are no storms or ice- cylinder with oil and seal it shut. The pressure least 3,000 meters under the sea. This is a bergs,” Lystad explains. “This makes deep-sea is raised to as high as 460 bar.” huge challenge, as researchers have had no facilities much less prone to faults and more According to Lystad, the oil’s purpose is to experience with network components at cost-efficient than conventional systems.” distribute the enormous pressure. “Before the such depths, where they will have to with- Their only connections to the surface would grid component is actually lowered underwa- stand 300 kilograms of pressure per square be a power cable and a pipeline, which could ter, its entire housing is filled with oil,” he centimeter in perpetual darkness. “Trans- formers, frequency converters, and switchgears have to operate flawlessly in At a depth of 3,000 meters, every square such environments. What’s more, they have to do so for 30 years, because it would be dif- centimeter of a component must withstand ficult to service them down there,” says 300 kilograms of pressure. Research in Uncharted Waters Lystad. “Only if electricity flows with absolute reliability will it be possible to relocate today’s production platforms to the ocean floor.” reach land whenever the facilities are not too says. “This allows us to make the system At a unique lab in Trondheim, Norway, Siemens researchers are examining how power network far offshore. A deep-sea-compatible power more compact than conventional air-filled components behave when subjected to extreme water pressures. In 2020, such a system will Operating on the Ocean Floor. Such self- supply could also boost a facility’s production containers. What’s more, we won’t need any begin supplying energy to large oil and natural gas production sites at a depth of 3,000 meters. sufficient deep-sea factories with their own capacity — for example, by ensuring that complex cooling systems, since the oil dissi- power supply systems are not yet available. many more pumps could be in constant op- pates heat.” Lystad walks three steps to the Although there are already a few facilities eration. “The new technology would enable other end of the chamber. “The cell surround- that operate on the ocean floor, they are con- us to exploit around 60 percent of a reservoir. ing the cylinder is open at the top and serves nected to floating platforms and have to be We can’t achieve more than 40 percent with as a safety barrier. If anything goes wrong Jan Erik Lystad says that pressure doesn’t bicycles and continuity is important. How- is imminent, as Lystad’s lab is literally operat- individually supplied with electricity through current subsea technology,” says Lystad. during the pressure tests, the energy will es- bother him much. A glance at the 60-year-old ever, Trondheim’s sedate facade hides a veri- ing under high pressure (Pictures of the Fu- dozens of cables (Pictures of the Future, Fall A soft hum can be heard in the “torture cape through the open top and the pieces Norwegian engineer, who joined Siemens 12 table volcano of bright ideas and innovations, ture, Spring 2013, p. 110). 2011, p. 108). And the raw materials that the chamber.” Cables and connectors are clearly will fly against the inside wall,” he says. years ago, makes you believe him. With his powered by scientists such as Lystad, dozens “We have a kind of torture chamber for facilities pump out of the ground are still arranged on the floor. The researchers have Transistors, connectors, and other compo- jeans, blue checked flannel shirt, and hands- of research institutes, and thousands of stu- technical components,” he says. “We put processed on the surface as well. Subsea been able to use the brand-new Pressure Test nents are “tortured” for up to six months dur- in-pockets stance, Lystad looks as though dents at the city’s technical university. The parts under enormous pressure. The technol- technologies currently work only in shallow Lab for about a year; previously the building ing continuous operation inside the tube. The nothing could faze him. He has spent all his epicenter of this volcano is often the Siemens ogy has to withstand up to 460 bar — that’s waters. Moreover, they are expensive and housed an electric heating system factory. Af- engineers not only check to see if the compo- life in Trondheim, where he went to college research center in Bratsbergveien, just a few how high the pressure is at a depth of 4,600 complex. As a result, the majority of the oil ter donning protective goggles, Lystad walks nents can withstand the high pressures and and raised his children. He perfectly reflects kilometers from downtown Trondheim. In meters.” However, Lystad’s unique torture and natural gas produced offshore today is slowly through the hall. Next to him is a se- remain functional; they also want to deter- the qualities of this picturesque city of 2012, researchers here developed the world’s chamber is not so much a place of agony as still pumped by traditional production plat- ries of 19 reinforced concrete chambers. Each mine if the parts wear out after 20 years of 180,000 inhabitants, where meter maids ride first electric ferry. And now another eruption of pioneering work. In the lab, ten engineers forms. Only a small percentage is extracted of these small cells has a blue metal door. On operation. To conduct such an endurance

A transformer that has passed its shallow water test. Before that, its components were tested in pressure vessels (right). Siemens researchers test deep-sea power network components such as switchgear elements (left) in a pressure test lab in Trondheim, Norway.

60 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 61 Resilient Infrastructures | Power Grids A Siemens solution can reroute electricity for power grid operators like PJM Interconnection (above), ensuring supply for customers (below). test, the engineers equip the cylinder with a with sensors and located in the affected seg- heating loop that keeps the temperature at a ment detect the fluctuation in the line cur- constant 95° C to simulate the aging process. rent. This enables the system to localize the Once the Siemens experts are done “torturing” fault area within 100 milliseconds and the components, they take the parts out of the reroute the electricity in less than half a sec- pressure vessel and clean off the oil, which is ond. In this way, the system can easily miti- then filtered and reused. “This is followed by gate a power outage caused by storms or a mechanical inspection,” says Lystad. “Basi- other external factors. “Most power outages cally, we take the components apart and look are so short that our patients don’t notice for tiny cracks or deformations.” The technol- them,” says Michael Canales, who manages ogy isn’t considered deep-sea compatible un- the hospital’s infrastructure. “Our employees til the inspectors cannot discover any faults can focus on patients, rather than constantly with their trained eyes. However, Lystad checking to see if the equipment is working.” points out that parts are not always up to Cities too need to ensure uninterruped scratch. “It’s a major challenge to find com- power. New York City, for instance, is review- ponents that can withstand such extreme ing its plans for protecting infrastructures conditions, because no manufacturer offers against storms. A description of how this can products that are especially designed for such be accomplished for the greater New York depths. We are continuously entering un- area can be found in the Resilient Urban In- charted territory.” frastructure study, published by Siemens in 2013 in cooperation with the Arup consult- Eternal Darkness. Once all the parts have ing company, and the Regional Plan Associa- passed the tests, they are combined into a Keeping the Lights on tion (RPA), an independent urban research network component and firmly screwed onto organization (p. 53). a platform that is covered with zinc plates to According to the study, New York will protect it from salt water corrosion. Finally In the U.S., Siemens is helping to create more robust power need higher dams and levees to protect criti- the engineers cover the system with a hous- grids that will be able to better cope with hurricanes, heat cal infrastructure systems such as power ing. They have already completed their first waves, and drought. Thanks to unique smart-grid energy plants, transformer substations, and switch- deep-sea transformer and dipped the huge management systems, it is now possible to automatically gear so that the city does not suffer a power container into the sea, even though this reroute power within seconds of a grid failure. outage lasting days when the next hurricane “bath” was only a test conducted in Trond- strikes. The report also recommends the use heim’s harbor. Lystad and his team want to of gas-insulated switchgear units. They take finish assembling a 35-ton switching station up much less space than air-insulated ones, this year. The half-finished giant stands next making it easier to protect them in water-re- to the pressure lab in the hall, looking like a PJM Interconnection is the largest power According to a report published by the This assessment is also shared by PJM In- control centers, the security of the grid is pellent containers. Because they are smaller submarine in dry dock. A frequency con- grid operator in the U.S. The company man- U.S. Department of Energy in July 2013, the terconnection. The company installed an en- heightened, especially in exceptional circum- and lighter, they can also be installed above verter, which ensures that oil pumps or gas ages the transmission of electricity to more U.S. faces not only more storms in the future, ergy management system from Siemens in stances such as a hurricane.” ground. However, it would of course be even compressors are supplied with the right op- than 58 million customers in Pennsylvania, but also more flooding, heat waves, and November 2011 that is designed to provide Whenever there is an interruption in the more effective to remove important facilities erating voltage, is to be completed by the New Jersey, Maryland, the District of Colum- droughts. These developments will have an an overview and control of the electric grid grid, the fault has to be quickly offset by from flood zones altogether in the long run. end of 2014. At that point the assembly will bia and ten other states. But in late October especially severe impact on the U.S. power even when failures occur. It employs dual rerouting electricity or feeding power from al- This is a major concern, since 18 of New weigh around 100 tons. “We will then com- 2012, the company faced a formidable chal- grid, which encompasses more than 9,200 control centers that simultaneously manage ternative energy sources into the network. York’s 61 transformer substations are cur- bine all three components into a single net- lenge: Hurricane Sandy. The storm was head- power plants and almost half a million kilo- the power grid. If one of the centers should However, the location of the disturbance rently located in high-risk areas. In densely work for the final test,” says Lystad. During ing directly toward the north Atlantic meters (300,000 miles) of overhead lines. break down or lose communications in an must be found first, and this can take time. populated Manhattan this may not be an op- the test they will be submerged into the sea’s seaboard, packing winds of more than 150 The consequences are already visible. emergency, the other one can continue to The associated risks are particularly high for tion, but in other boroughs such as the Bronx eternal darkness for the first time. kilometers per hour and threatened to leave Power plants in the arid Southwest often manage operations on its own. This is exactly hospitals, which is why smart grid applica- and Queens it could help to make the grid Lystad scratches his beard in satisfaction. a swath of destruction behind in New York have to cut back electricity production be- how the system functioned when Hurricane tions can be helpful for them as well. more resilient. “It’s fascinating to work in regions most peo- City, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. cause there is not enough cooling water. Sandy struck, so PJM was constantly aware of New York could also stabilize its electricity ple regard as totally inaccessible,” he says. He The stakes were high, since PJM manages Moreover, low levels of water in canals cause conditions in the transmission grid. Every Second Counts. The Riverside Shore network by introducing a smart grid. By pro- is delighted by his young colleagues’ the transmission of electricity from more ships laden with oil or coal to make only slow The innovative grid management system Memorial Hospital is the only medical center viding customers and electricity suppliers progress. “We’re a big happy family and we than 1,300 power plants to regional opera- headway. While rising temperatures reduce is based on an integration platform devel- in the Nassawodox region of eastern Virginia. with detailed information, electric meters work closely with the Norwegian University tors. If this supply were to break down, cus- the power grid’s performance, severe storms oped by Siemens Infrastructure & Cities and Until recently, whenever the region had a might reveal ways in which power consump- of Science and Technology in Trondheim. I tomers of local utilities would literally be left disable drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mex- PJM Interconnection. Various applications, power outage, technicians needed up to an tion could be reduced. This is particularly im- studied there and so did all my engineers.” in the dark. Hurricane Sandy, in fact, caused ico and snap power lines from Florida all the such as energy, market, and distribution net- hour to locate the fault. The regional power portant in times of high demand, such as Continuity and progress also play a big role in enormous damage. The lights went out in way up to Maine. The associated flooding not work management systems can be combined company A&N Electric Cooperative has now heat waves. As part of the CoolNYC pilot proj- Lystad’s life beyond the Siemens research eight million households, five million of them only ruins houses but also destroys trans- on the platform. “The advantage of this archi- installed a Siemens smart distribution feeder ect, some households are already using center in Bratsbergveien. He has a little farm in the area covered by PJM Interconnection. formers and power lines. For these reasons, tecture is that it integrates not only new ap- automation system (SDFA) that allows the smartphones to remotely regulate their air on a small island near Trondheim. He often More than 140 overhead power lines and the U.S. Department of Energy has come to plications but also old ones with less effort,” grid to reroute electricity within a fraction of conditioners. Companies can do the same. goes fishing there with his grandchildren — transformer substations were damaged, and the conclusion that the power grid must be says Ravi Pradhan, VP of Technology Strategy a second after a power outage has occurred. This would not only lead to cost savings but and thinks about his other passion: the dark it took weeks until all electricity connections fortified against the effects of severe at Siemens’ Smart Grid Division in Minneapo- Whenever there is an interruption in the also improve the grid’s long-term resilience. depths of the sea. Florian Martini had been restored. weather. lis. “With the simultaneous operation of two grid, relays from Siemens that are equipped Hubertus Breuer

62 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 63 Resilient Infrastructures | Energy Storage Siemens and energy provider Enel Resilient Infrastructures | Energy Storage are testing lithium-ion storage units to store surplus PV electricity in Italy. Finally, there are the energy storage sys- tribution grid. “Our system has the first ensures that Siestorage converters can react tems that everyone knows: batteries. Lithium- lithium-ion storage device in Europe; it serves flexibly to changes in the grid, especially in ion cells are currently the best batteries for as a powerful energy storage device for the the event of frequency fluctuations, which in- stabilizing distribution grids because they distribution grid,” Fuchs explains. “Its control volve extremely rapid processes that occur combine high storage capacity with high electronics continually measure the network within seconds,” says Fuchs. charge and discharge rates. If load volatility voltage and frequency. Siestorage absorbs or should occur in the grid, such batteries can dispenses energy in line with the situation.” Unique Black Start Capability. When a take in or dispense power within millisec- The system in Italy has a storage capacity of grid’s instability reaches critical levels, energy onds, thus balancing out fluctuations in volt- 500 kW-hours and can store and release suppliers may cut off entire subgrids from the age and frequency. Unlike pumped-storage power in the MW output range. network. Restarting the grid after such a units, batteries only have to make their That’s enough to keep the rural subgrid shutdown is called a black start. During an power available for a few minutes — for ex- stable, even with the fluctuating output of so- acceptance test in Italy in 2012, Siestorage ample, if temporary cloud cover reduces out- lar cells. “We’ve been very satisfied with the was able to restart a rural subgrid with its put at PV facilities connected to a subgrid. tests to date,” said Paola Petroni, Director of connected PV facilities within just millisec- Network Technologies at Enel’s Network and onds after the connection was cut. From that Stable Grids with Battery Systems. Infrastructure division, in the most recent point on, converters in the battery storage Siemens began developing energy storage Siemens Sustainability Report. Enel, Italy’s unit maintained a frequency of 50 Hertz and devices several years ago. Siemens Energy largest energy supplier, has over 32 million ensured stable voltage of 20 kilovolts in iso- Storage (Siestorage) is a modular system that customers and operates and maintains more lated operations. “Siestorage’s black start ca- links high-performance lithium-ion batteries than one million kilometers of power lines. pability is truly a unique featur,” says Fuchs. with power electronics for connection to the “Our Siemens product can handle fluctuations Siestorage will also play a key role in a electricity grid. “The system enables us to sta- in electricity production as well as the alter- project to be launched in the fall of 2014. bilize both low-voltage grids of 400 volts and nating loads caused by several electric vehicle Siemens will team up with steel manufac- Bottled Sunlight distribution grids with ten to 30 kilovolts,” recharging stations,” said Petroni. This ability turer Arcelor Mittal in Eisenhüttenstadt, Ger- says Fuchs. “The batteries and the control is mainly due to specialized converters. A many, and the local energy supplier, VEO, to electronics are slide-in units housed in cabi- great deal of expertise from SIPLINK products build a backup system for power outages. The use of renewable energy requires astute handling of available energy supplies. This is the nets that can easily be integrated into cli- (Siemens Power Link) flowed into these de- Here, a Siestorage device will use an electric only way to keep the grid stable and ensure that power is restored quickly after a blackout. mate-controlled containers.” vices. SIPLINK products have been used for motor to start the gas turbine in the steel Siestorage, a new energy storage system from Siemens, offers a potential solution — as is being One such container was placed in the city around ten years as grid couplings at indus- mill’s own gas power plant in order to make demonstrated in a pilot project Siemens is conducting with energy provider Enel in Italy. of Isernia in the Molise region of Italy in Feb- trial facilities, as well as in conjunction with sure the factory can continue operating with ruary 2012. The area is home to a large num- land-based electrical power outlets that pro- its separate grid if there’s a blackout. “This ber of PV facilities connected to the Enel dis- vide electricity to large ships. “The software scenario is also relevant to the energy transi- tion,” Fuchs explains. “In the future we will need to have many flexible combined-cycle Italy is blessed with plenty of sunshine, demand rises. For decades now, efficient storage devices can take in surplus power plants that can be black-started quickly if the so it’s not surprising that the country’s pho- pumped-storage electrical power stations from wind farms. These devices use electrol- grid fails — and this is exactly what Siestor- tovoltaic (PV) sector is booming. The grid op- have been used for long-term storage needs ysis to produce energy-rich hydrogen gas age can do. In short, it can be used as an al- erated by energy supplier Enel, for instance, (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2009, p. 31). from water. The hydrogen can be temporarily ternative to conventional diesel engines.” includes PV facilities with a power output of “Unfortunately, there aren’t enough suitable stored in underground caverns that are al- Siestorage is being continually refined. over 11,000 megawatts (MW), most of which locations to build them in,” says Uwe Fuchs, ready used to hold natural gas (see Pictures “Our converters and the batteries we’re now are connected to the medium-voltage distri- Sales Manager for Advanced Power Systems of the Future, Spring 2011, p. 26). If demand using enable us to absorb or dispense a max- bution network. and Storage at Siemens. “We therefore need for power rises, the energy-rich hydrogen gas imum output of two MW using a storage de- But there’s a dark side to all this: When the to develop alternatives that can stabilize our can drive turbines that then supply electricity vice with a capacity of one megawatt-hour midday sun is shining, solar cells produce a power grids.” to the grid. Alternatively, the hydrogen can that is housed in a standard 40-foot con- large amount of electricity that is then fed According to Deutsche Bank, the German be converted to methane through a reaction tainer,” Fuchs explains. “The use of much into the grid, where it needs to find con- market for electrical storage devices is ex- with carbon dioxide; after that the methane Energy Storage Systems by Duration and Power higher-performance batteries might also be sumers. However, if clouds appear, power pected to at least double between 2012 and can be fed into the natural gas grid. Alterna- an interesting option for special applications output will drop suddenly. In general, the 2025. An associated investment of roughly tively, the methane can be used as a base ma- — for example, the regeneration of braking Hydrogen (e.g. for more fluctuating energy sources, such as sun 30 billion euros will be required in Germany terial in the chemical industry or as fuel in Days / combustion in gas turbines) energy from container cranes or tire test and wind power, are connected to the grid, alone over the next 20 years. By 2040 at the fuel cell vehicles. weeks rigs.” Such applications involve handling very Pumped- the more difficult it is to ensure grid stability. latest, some 40 terawatt-hours (TWh) of elec- Energy can also be stored as compressed Redox flow batteries storage power large amounts of energy in a short period of CAES* Supply and demand have to be balanced at tricity will have to be stored on a regular ba- air. This approach involves pumping air into Hours plants time. But not all of this energy can be put into all times. If they are not, the resulting fluctu- sis, in some cases over a period of several hollow chambers such as salt domes and Lithium-ion batteries Siestorage yet, due to the system’s short Sodium-sulfur batteries Technologies ations in voltage and frequency can disrupt months. The 40 TWh figure is one thousand then compressing it to a pressure of up to Chemical storage systems recharging cycle. Experts at Siemens are now or even destroy electronic equipment. times higher than the storage capacity of to- 100 bar. The compressed air is later used to Minutes Flywheel storage Electrochemical storage systems working to develop an increasing number of In view of this, it is clear that energy stor- day’s pumped-storage facilities in Germany. drive a gas turbine, In other words, combus- devices Mechanical storage systems combinations that will allow customers to Electrical storage systems age systems will become increasingly impor- By comparison, total German power plant tion still requires a fossil fuel such as natural Supercapacitors maximize their devices’ output and their stor- Seconds * Compressed-air storage systems tant in the future. Storage units take in sur- output in 2012 was approximately 618 TWh. gas, but the combustion air no longer needs SMES** ** Superconducting magnetic energy storage systems age capacity. This will ensure that customers’ plus electricity that is not needed at a given Various technologies for dealing with this to be compressed (see Pictures of the Future, grids remain as stable and efficient as possi- 1 kW 10 kW 100 kW 1 MW 10 MW 100 MW 1,000 MW time and then feed it back into the grid when issue are available. For example, hydrogen Fall 2009, p. 31). ble. Christian Buck

64 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 65 Resilient Infrastructures | Japan’s Tsunami The tsunami devastated significant areas Resilient Infrastructures | Japan’s Tsunami on the east coast of Japan. Odaka administrator Yoshiki Konno lost his home town (right). open up new economic opportunities, such creases energy savings elsewhere. lems on its own,” says Kobayashi. “Japan as those Germany hopes to exploit through Kobayashi’s workplace, the Tokyo Metropoli- must also substantially increase the share of its energy transition (p.6). tan Government Building, is well-known be- renewable energy in its mix — solar and wind yond the city’s limits. The upper floors of this power and geothermal energy. Some of the In Search of the Right Energy Mix. “We 48-story building, which is one of Tokyo’s best locations for generating wind power are need affordable power to keep our industry landmarks, provide a spectacular view. From in Hokkaido in northern Japan.” Wind tur- competitive,” says Masakazu Toyoda, Head of here, the megacity looks like a virtually end- bines currently account for only 0.4 percent the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan less sea of lights each evening — a view that of the electricity produced in Japan; in Ger- (IEEJ). “We won’t be able to achieve that with is unmatched anywhere on earth. With over many the figure is around seven percent. fossil fuels alone, as we have to import al- 35 million inhabitants, Tokyo is the world’s most all of them. And renewables are even most populous metropolitan area. Although Wind and Geothermal Energy. Euros is a more expensive than energy imports.” Toy- this area covers only about 3.5 percent of Japanese company that operates wind power oda nevertheless has a clear concept of what Japan’s surface area, around 28 percent of facilities with an installed capacity of 2,270 Japan’s energy mix could look like by 2030. the country’s population lives here. MW in eight countries. “We are pioneers in Renewables would account for around 20 “If everyone set their air conditioners’ tem- Japan,” says Euros CEO Masami Shimizu. percent of the mix, nuclear power plants perature a little higher and switched on the “This field has its risks, but if it’s done prop- would supply around a quarter, and fossil fu- lights a little less often, lots of energy could be erly, wind power makes a tangible contribu- els would cover the rest. saved,” says Kobayashi, who is convinced that tion to climate protection.” Recently, Euros or- Since the accident in Fukushima, electric- the best electricity is the electricity that doesn’t dered Siemens wind turbines for the Akita ity prices have risen by up to 20 percent for in- have to be generated. The air conditioning Port wind farm on the northwest coast of the dustries in most parts of Japan. To offset the system in Tokyo City Hall is now set at 28 de- island of Honshu. The turbines have rotor shutdown of the nuclear reactors, power grees Celsius and is switched off completely spans of 101 meters and a capacity of 3 MW companies have simply recommissioned old at night. To reduce energy use even further, each. “Today there are too many regulations. fossil-fuel power plants. As a result, reserve many fluorescent tubes have simply been Relaxing them would help to expand wind capacity has dwindled from around ten per- taken out. Light switches now have stickers power generation,” says Shimizu, who points cent to only three percent. A severe earth- showing a samurai warrior waving a fluores- out that if technological feasibility were its quake could cause the entire power grid to cent tube as if it were a sword and shouting only concern, Japan could generate up to collapse. “Save electricity!” in a speech bubble. 280 GW with wind power systems. Odaka Revisited

In March 2011 a tsunami up to 15 meters in height hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The resulting meltdowns caused Japan to shut down all of its nuclear plants. Since then, the Japanese have been asking how they can meet their electricity needs in a way that is cost-effi- cient, environmentally friendly, and safe. One thing is certain: Japan’s energy market will change.

Yoshiki Konno thought he would die when responsible for disaster protection. “On my in the reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi A partial solution could be to set up new, Such electricity-saving measures have en- Japan also has considerable geothermal the water level reached his neck. He had way back, the wave smashed into my car, fill- power plant, around 17 kilometers away. Wa- highly efficient gas-fired power plants. With abled Japan to cut its energy demand dra- potential, which means that it could generate saved dozens of lives that day when he drove ing almost the entire passenger compart- ter had penetrated into reactor buildings, around 40 percent of Japan’s electricity needs matically since the nuclear accident in March a lot more energy from its hot springs in the down to the coastal town of Odaka in ment with water,” he says. “The water causing the emergency power systems and already covered by gas-fired power stations, 2011. Peak load dropped by around 20 GW future. People have bathed in the water from Fukushima prefecture to warn residents reached up to my eyebrows. There was only most of the distribution cabinets to break the country is the world’s largest importer of practically overnight — equivalent to the out- these springs for millennia. Some day this hot about the tsunami that was heading their a small air bubble at the very top that let me down. The crisis continued. natural gas. But in the two years since the nu- put of 14 nuclear power plants. However, water could conceivably also power steam way. Konno drove from house to house, urg- take a breath now and then until the tsunami Like many people in Japan, Konno no clear accident in Fukushima, increased im- simply taking out fluorescent tubes won’t be turbines with a combined output of up to 34 ing people to go to higher ground, because receded.” longer believes that nuclear power is safe. ports of fossil fuels have turned the nation’s enough in the long run. A more promising so- GW. the tsunami would hit in a few minutes. He The tsunami was triggered by a seaquake None of the 54 nuclear power plants that once enviable trade surplus into an unheard- lution is the use of smart building techno- Tidal power is an additional possibility. knew that, in spite of the sirens and the pub- with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale. were operational in March 2011 are currently of trade deficit. logy. For example, a building equipped with Here too Japan has very good locations lic warnings, some people would refuse to The wave left ruin in its wake, stopping just online. Many of the reactors are decades old Shoji Kobayashi, Deputy Director at the energy-efficient technology consumes 30 where this technology could be applied com- leave their homes. But not even Konno before Odaka, which is on higher ground. and are now undergoing thorough safety Bureau of Environment of the Tokyo Metro- percent less energy on average than a con- mercially and without doing harm to the en- thought that the wave would be up to 15 me- Around 16,000 people were killed on March checks. But the country cannot reach a con- politan Government (TMG), is convinced that ventional structure. vironment. Siemens is a pioneer in this tech- ters high. As one of the administrators of the 11, 2011. The quake and the tsunami were sensus on which energy mix will ensure Japan can afford to have a high percentage “Saving energy is the right approach to nology (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2009, nearby town of Odaka, 63-year-old Konno is followed the next day by multiple meltdowns Japan’s competitiveness and perhaps even of renewable energy in its mix if it also in- take, but it can’t solve Japan’s energy prob- p. 25).

66 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 67 Resilient Infrastructures | Japan’s Tsunami Resilient Infrastructures | Smart Grids To reduce the impact of power failures, Hawaiian Electric Company installed Siemens smart technology. However, a significant obstacle to the ex- most of its sales in the cell phone business. shows radiation levels of 10 microsieverts per panded use of renewables in Japan is the dif- But since the government introduced statu- In March 2011 Japan’s hour — a value that is 100 times higher than ficulty of connecting new, environmentally tory feed-in tariffs for solar and wind power Nuclear Power Plants the natural background radiation in Tokyo. friendly power sources to the grid. The major in July 2012, the firm has been involved: “We Odaka, which had around 13,000 inhabi- reason behind this is that there is hardly any want to become a leading supplier of green Were Taken Offline tants, can now only be visited by day. “The competition in Japan’s electricity market. Ten energy in Japan,” says Naoki Nakayama, Energy Fossil fuels Hydroelectric rubble hasn’t been completely cleared away power monopolies have traditionally divided Communications Officer of Softbank. generated Nuclear Renewables yet because the town is in a restricted area. the country’s electricity market between Nakayama admits that it wasn’t easy for TWh 918 It’s rather spooky — much of the area is still them. One of these is TEPCO, which operates the company to take this step. “All of our 5 822 exactly the way it was right after the disaster 74 5 the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Dai- board members were initially opposed to the 800 struck,” says Konno. 82267 ichi. People who live in the TEPCO area can idea of getting involved in the energy busi- The ruins of homes destroyed by the 288 16 ? therefore buy electricity only from TEPCO. ness,” he says. “Son had to convince every- 600 earthquake dot the landscape; abandoned bi- Another major drawback is that the power body of his vision, one at a time.” cycles have been rusting at the train station grid itself is inadequate. A more integrated Softbank intends to create more than 260 for more than two years. Windows are still 400 734 grid would stabilize Japan’s power supply in megawatts of solar and wind power capacity nailed shut, and corrugated iron walls have 551 critical situations; it is also a precondition for in Japan by 2015. After that, he wants to ex- 200 popped out of their frames and are flapping expanding the use of renewable energy pand abroad by setting up power plants in in the wind. Wrecked cars lie where the sources. The technologies needed in order to Mongolia and creating an Asian supergrid 0 tsunami left them in fields outside the town. accomplish this have been available for quite that could one day connect electricity net- FY 2010/11 FY 2012/13 And in the Japanese pop songs pour out of tinny-sound- (Apr.–Mar.) (Apr.–Mar.) future? some time, says Kenichi Fujita, Head of works throughout Asian countries, including ing loudspeakers. Konno made sure that mu- Siemens Energy in Japan. For instance, he Japan. % 0.51.9 0.6 sic would resound in the ghost town so that points out that: “high voltage direct current Although such ideas may seem utopian, 8.0 8.2 people like him wouldn’t feel lonely when lines would allow us to transmit huge businesspeople like Son are now encourag- 31.5 they visit Odaka a few hours at a time. amounts of energy with little loss from the ing their countrymen to dream big. After 20 ? A woman’s voice is heard from the loud- 60.0 89.3 windy regions of northern Japan to metropol- years of deflation and economic stagnation, speaker, singing of her broken heart. The itan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka.” Japan’s economy is reviving and old struc- and Energy Natural Resources for METI: Agency Source: Geiger counter crackles here as well, but the Keeping Paradise

Radiation levels around Fukushima are still from Going Dark elevated, and leaks often make headlines. More Utilizing smart technology from Siemens, Hawaiian Electric energy from renewable sources, such as wind Company customers on the island of Oahu, are gaining reliability energy, could help Japan and benefitting from grid enhancements. This will help the meet its future power company add more renewable resources to its energy portoflio. needs in a more sustainable manner. Saving electricity, is also being encouraged — sometimes with aggressive images (right). Hawaii is one of the most isolated popu- other islands that have no fossil fuel re- lation centers on Earth. Nonetheless, this is- serves, Hawaii imports oil in order to gener- land paradise has been associated with elec- ate electricity. The high transport costs of oil Such power lines are still a long way off, tures are crumbling. “This new optimism has Japan has also begun to commit to dose in this part of Odaka is relatively low, at tric power ever since the invention of the result energy prices that are much higher and many people think it won’t be possible to spread to the energy sector,” says Yotaro cleaner energy since the disaster in 0.23 microsieverts per hour. light bulb. One of the pioneers of electric than those on the U.S. mainland. This is one expand and reorganize Japan’s power net- Akamine from business consulting firm Fukushima. It is investing in efficient fossil “The older people in particular would like power was the Hawaiian monarch King of the main reasons why Hawaii plans to in- works until electricity production is separated KPMG. “Renewable sources of energy ac- fuel power plants, more renewables, and sys- to return,” says Konno. Nuclear power had David Kalakaua. Back in the late 1870s crease the proportion of renewable sources from grid operation. Other parts of the world count for just one percent of Japan’s electric- tematic energy conservation. However, it is provided Konno’s son with a job. In the past, Kalakaua decided to learn more about elec- in its energy mix to 40 percent by 2030. unbundled their energy markets in this way ity mix, but this could rise to 30 percent by still not clear where these paths will ulti- he often heard in the media that Japan tricity. In 1881 he met with Thomas A. Edi- Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries, Maui a long time ago. In practice, unbundling 2030. The key driver is market liberalization, mately lead, and nobody knows what will be needed nuclear power to keep its economy son in New York, and five years later a light Electric Company and Hawaii Electric Light means that companies that generate electric- and the unbundling of power networks.” done with the country’s nuclear power plants competitive. But then nuclear power took bulb powered by a generator flashed on in Company, are on track to meet this goal. As ity cannot also operate power grids, and in- “No matter which path Japan decides to in the years ahead. Even Yoshiki Konno does- away his house and his home town. the royal palace at around 7 p.m. A short of mid-2013, the three utilities were at 18 dependent producers must have the right to take, key steps are already being taken,” says n’t exclude the possibility that nuclear energy “In the long run, we will have to give up time after that famous evening, the entire percent, exceeding the 2015 milestone of 15 feed their electricity into the grid. Shuji Miyasaka, a partner at KPMG in Tokyo. will make a temporary comeback. nuclear power,” he says. “But we will probably palace began using electricity. This historic percent. However, the goal is to produce These steps include coal-fired and gas-fired He sometimes drives back to Odaka and have to let some reactors run for a few years.” event laid the foundation for what would in power that is not only more environmentally Revolutionary Visions Softbank Chairman power plants that are now being planned and walks along its deserted streets, past his The wind wafts through Konno’s gray hair, 1891 become the Hawaiian Electric Com- friendly but also just as reliable. and CEO Masayoshi Son has what is probably built, and gas turbines from Siemens, some house near the damaged reactor. About and from a loudspeaker a woman is singing pany. Mountainous terrain, high salt content in the most revolutionary vision for the Japan- of which are located on the island of Oki- 150,000 people had to leave their homes be- of a lover who is getting on a train. The last From the very beginning, the company the air, and often stormy ocean weather ese electricity market. A self-made billionaire, nawa, where Siemens is also responsible for cause of the nuclear accident. After a short time a train stopped at Odaka station was on had to overcome the challenges related to pose severe challenges to the continuity of Son sees to it that his company generates their maintenance. drive outside the town, his Geiger counter March 11, 2011. Andreas Kleinschmidt Hawaii’s geographic isolation. Like many electric service in the Hawaiian Islands.

68 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 69 Resilient Infrastructures | Smart Grids Resilient Infrastructures | Geothermal Power Iceland offers ideal conditions for generating electricity from geothermal energy. There are no electrical interconnections be- the SICAM unit initiates a predetermined tween islands. For this reason, the Oahu grid sub-tranmission switching scheme to auto- always keeps capacity in reserve in order to matically restore power to the area. be prepared for an emergency. One of The SICAM unit also utilizes information Hawaiian Electric’s recent challenges was the from the Siemens Spectrum Power Energy fact that it had reserve capacity but no Management System installed at Hawaiian means of moving power to the load center Electric to ensure that adequate sub-trans- that needed it without building new trans- mission capacity is available in the neighbor- mission lines. ing service area prior to initiating the switch- The company has therefore developed a ing process. plan for modernizing its power grid. The This capacity check is needed to ensure overall goal is to connect more renewable that an overload to the neighboring service energy to the system and to utilize existing area does not occur, which could result in an infrastructure more efficiently. Siemens is outage in this area as well. In order to make supporting this effort with intelligent grid it possible for SICAM to automatically restore technologies, and Hawaiian Electric is al- power to the service area, SCADA equipment ready using one of the company’s energy was installed in eight distribution substa- management systems. Such systems quickly tions in the primary and neighboring service provide electricity suppliers with an overview areas and one sub-transmission line switch. of the grid and enable them to respond to For Hawaiian Electric Company, this modi- problems rapidly. fied phase-two project is an example of a “self-healing” network. Connecting Corridors. An example of a re- This setup gives the electric company cent grid modernization project in Hawaii is enough time to fix the problem. “SICAM the East Oahu Transmission Project. Most of monitors and controls switching in the event the power generation on Oahu is located in of a disturbance. At the same time, it reports the western part of the island, but the load the condition of the grid to the control cen- centers are in the east, mainly in Honolulu. ter. This gives Hawaiian Electric a more se- Energy from the Earth Power is delivered across rough terrain cure energy delivery system as well as a bet- through two transmission corridors along ter overview of its power grid as a whole,” the north and south of the island. These cor- says Ken Geisler, a Vice President at Siemens’ Geothermal energy can be used to generate power at many locations. However, each location ridors are not interconnected in the eastern Smart Grid Division in the U.S. “The more poses unique challenges related to earthquake risk, corrosive steam, and other factors. Plants service area, which consumes more than transparent the grid is, the more rapidly tailored to site requirements can exploit this clean, reliable source of energy cost effectively. half of Hawaiian Electric’s power. But with- problems can be localized and eliminated,” out such a transmission line connection, the he explains. reliability of service in the eastern area could Electrical equipment in Hawaii has to Up until now, the typical method for mit- be at risk as it is only connected to the north- cope with mountainous terrain, salty air, igating a reliability concern was to have ad- ern transmission corridor. The project aims and powerful storms. ditional capacity in the service area dedi- It’s very hot at the center of the earth. At up sidiary. Since 2012 he has been involved in a The first geothermal power plants were built to solve this problem in two phases. The cated to serve transfered loads. This project to 6,000 °C, the temperatures there are com- new geothermal steam turbine project at in Italy in the early 20th century. Now other phase one project constructed more sub- is a clear example of utilizing smart tech- parable to those on the sun’s surface. The ef- Siemens Energy. Leger has seen many geo- countries such as Germany and Switzerland transmission capacity from the southern cor- area of urban Honolulu. The goal of phase nologies to utilize capacity in the system to fects of this heat can be felt on the earth’s thermal power plants during his career. Not also use this technology. The problem is that ridor to the eastern service area. This pro- two was to automatically restore power to provide reliability across multiple service ar- surface in the form of volcanoes, hot springs, every location is suited to power production. in Central Europe sufficiently hot water can vided a means for load to be shifted between the pocket areas in seconds compared to eas. This innovation not only improves the and geysers. But some of this heat can be But along the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” at the be reached only by drilling extremely deep the eastern and southern corridors to reduce hours.Due to the estimated cost and con- grid’s reliability but also increases the utiliza- tapped for beneficial purposes, such as the boundaries between tectonic plates, for ex- holes and using very complex processes. In the probability of a transmission line over- struction impacts to the community, Hawai- tion and the equipment performance of the generation of electricity. Indeed, geothermal ample, conditions are particularly good. At Switzerland this drilling has already caused load due to a multiple transmission line out- ian Electric modified the second phase of the existing infrastructure. Hawaiian Electric was power plants are already generating more such points, energy from inside the earth can small earthquakes, which in turn have trig- age. Phase one, however, did not address a project to install a smart controller and Su- fortunate enough to receive about one third than 60 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity easily rise to the surface, where it creates vol- gered protests (see Pictures of the Future, reliability concern for pocket areas in the pervisory Control and Data Acquisition ($5.3M) of the $15.4 million it needed for per year. According to the International En- canoes as well as very warm water-bearing Spring 2012, p. 95). eastern service area. In order to restore (SCADA) equipment to restore power to the the project from the federal government as ergy Agency (IEA), geothermal energy still layers in the earth’s crust that can be used for Regardless of where a geothermal power power to these pocket areas, primary trouble pocket areas. The goal was to use the already a result of the American Recovery and Rein- has a lot of unexploited potential. By 2050 power generation. plant is located, it always employs the same personnel would be dispatched to manually available capacity in the neighboring service vestment Act. the output from such power plants could rise However, a power plant site also has to basic principle. A hole is drilled down to a hot, switch sub-transmission lines in the area to areas more efficiently. The Siemens project is just one part of a to 1,400 TWh per year, or up to 3.5 percent fulfill other conditions. “The best places to de- water-bearing layer of the earth, which is of- restore power. This manual process was ex- major plan for equipping the entire electrical of global electricity production. velop geothermal power are of course where ten located more than 1,000 meters under- pected to take approximately 2 to 4 hours Intelligent Solution. The main component supply architecture in Hawaii with smart grid However, before such increases can be high temperatures are close to the surface ground. In this layer, the water is under pres- before service would be restored. To reduce of the modified solution in the second phase technologies. Such intelligent grid manage- achieved, plenty of improvements will be and there is also local demand for electricity,” sure — generally 3.5 to 15 bar. This pressure the service restoration time, Phase two was was a Siemens SICAM control unit. The ment will be particularly important in the fu- needed. And that’s something that Donald says Leger. “That’s why the U.S. West Coast, causes the water to rise through the borehole to add a new 80 Megavolt-ampere trans- SICAM unit is designed to monitor the trans- ture, given that energy from renewable Leger has been preparing for for over 20 Indonesia, the Philippines, Iceland, and to the surface, where it either flows as water former and three new 1.6 mile (2.5 km) un- mission lines feeding the transmission sub- sources, such as the wind and the sun, is not years. For a long time, Leger worked on opti- Kenya offer particularly good conditions.” or appears as steam. At temperatures as high derground sub-transmission lines along a station in the eastern service area. In the always available in sufficient amounts when mizing the design and service of third-party In Europe, Geothermal energy has played as 250 °C, the steam drives a turbine and its main thoroughfare in a densely populated case of a complete transmission line outage, it is needed. Hubertus Breuer steam turbines for TurboCare, a Siemens sub- a role in the electricity mix for a long time. connected generator. After it has cooled, the

70 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 71 Resilient Infrastructures | Geothermal Power Resilient Infrastructures | Water Networks Almost half of the population of Romania still has no access to clean water. The problem is acute in rural areas. water is pumped back into the hot zone un- ten years, depending on the quality of the challenge: earthquakes. Tremors are com- Bichisan Viorel is one of the many water in- derground. Depending on the water’s tem- steam.” mon wherever volcanoes rumble and tec- spectors employed by the Romanian water perature, various methods are used to gener- The geothermal steam turbines from tonic plates collide. That’s why Siemens utility company Aquatim. Every day, these in- ate electricity from geothermal energy. At Siemens are well equipped to deal with such steam turbines are equipped with an auto- spectors examine facilities throughout the low temperatures — about 150 °C — the wa- conditions — even though Siemens only be- matic cut-off system that immediately country and request improvements where ter from underground generally heats a sec- gan developing turbines for this application switches turbines off safely if there is exces- necessary. “Here in Romania’s third-largest ond closed circuit in which an organic liquid in 2011. After all, the company can draw on sive seismic activity. This reduces the risk of city, Timişoara, we are taking samples at no with a boiling point lower than that of water its development work on conventional steam damage, because turbines are more sensitive less than 32 locations,” says Dr. Katalin Bodor, is used. This liquid drives a turbine after being turbines and, above all, the extensive experi- to external shocks when they are in opera- the director of Aquatim headquarters. Viorel’s vaporized. At higher temperatures, dry steam ence its subsidiary TurboCare has accumu- tion. Plant foundations also have to be shock- standard range of equipment includes glass from the depths of the earth can also be lated through maintenance work on geother- resistant. Despite these challenges, geother- bottles. “We put the samples in here,” he channeled directly into a turbine. This in- mal steam turbines built by other companies. mal energy can pay off under the right says, opening one of the bottles. When tak- creases the plant’s overall efficiency and al- “TurboCare’s maintenance work has taught conditions because it combines the advan- ing a sample, Viorel makes sure he doesn’t lows electricity to be produced at lower cost. us how to develop steam turbines for difficult tages of conventional power plants with touch the inside of the bottle cap. “I might “We can use steam as hot as 250° C. The conditions. We now know which materials to those of renewable energy sources. Unlike otherwise falsify the result,” he explains. cooler the steam is, the more liquid water it use to minimize erosion and corrosion,” says wind and solar energy systems, geothermal “These samples are taken in order to check a contains. We have to remove this water first Leger. For example, designers use corrosion- power plants can operate year round and can total of 20 quality attributes in the lab. They so that the turbines’ permissible steam wet- resistant stainless steel for the turbine blades. thus be used to cover base load. allow us to draw some conclusions regarding ness isn’t exceeded,” explains Michael Barth, “We adapt the material and design, depend- In addition, as with renewables, there are the city’s entire water supply network.” who is responsible for developing Siemens’ ing on the chemical composition of the no fuel costs. However, planning such plants

Big Savings in the Pipeline

Nearly ten percent of the world’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. One of the reasons for this is the dilapidated condition of many water supply networks. An all-new online platform from Siemens promises to provide help to counteract this problem in the future.

When it comes to geothermal energy, every site is unique. Steam turbines, turbine stages, and materials must be adapted accordingly.

According to an EU-funded initiative 2014, his team is to install “test stretches” in first steam turbines for use in geothermal steam at the power plant site,” adds Barth. is complex. “Building a coal-fired power plant known as Connect.Euranet, almost half of the Timişoara and Milan water networks that power plants. “We call this process ‘flashing.’ “For example, if the steam is more damaging is comparatively easy because you can regu- Romania’s population has no access to clean are outfitted with sensors that measure water In most cases flashing involves a kind of cen- than usual we increase the chromium con- late its pressure and temperature as needed, drinking water. Rural areas are particularly flow rate, pressure, conductivity, turbidity, trifuge located upstream from the turbine.” tent of the steel in the blades. To deal with no matter where you get the coal from. But hard hit, as only about 10 percent of villages and chlorine content, thus making the net- In addition to water, other substances also extreme conditions, we use steel that has a when you’re planning a geothermal power have a water supply network. But the 11 mil- works “intelligent.” Sensors mounted on the have to be removed from steam. That’s be- 12 percent chromium content. We also use plant, you first have to make a geophysical lion Romanians who are hooked up to the pipes’ inner and outer surfaces use ultra- cause water-laden steam absorbs hydrogen high-grade steel instead of normal steel for examination of the site to ensure there is public water supply network aren’t much bet- sound and magnetic induction to measure sulfide, other gases, salts, and small pebbles the turbine parts that come into contact with enough heat and water,” says Leger. After ter off, since dilapidated water pipes and bad the pressure and flow rate of the water. as it percolates through layers of rock. Sys- the steam.” The various model sizes of the that, developers drill a number of holes to ac- water quality are extremely common. Ac- These measurements allow inspectors to tems upstream from a turbine can remove Siemens turbines cover outputs ranging from cess the steam or hot water. Engineers then cording to Aquatim, Timişoara has a 637-kilo- these facts, the European Union launched a draw conclusions about the condition of the many of these substances, but not all of five to 120 megawatts. The number of stages adapt the turbine to the impurities, tempera- meter water supply network that serves research project known as “ICT Solutions for pipes and find any leaks (see Pictures of the them, which is a major problem for turbines and the length of the blades can be adapted ture, and other steam parameters. After com- around 330,000 people each day. However, Efficient Water Resources Management (ICe- Future, Spring 2012, p. 64). that use steam that comes directly from the to project-specific conditions, depending on pletion, a geothermal power plant is one of up to 41.5 percent of the water (around Water)” in October 2012. The project will run “We also want to install smart meters in ground. the steam’s volume and pressure. Because the most cost-effective means of generating 61,000 liters) leaked out of the pipes in 2012 for three years. The project’s partners, includ- residential buildings along the test stretches,” Substances from underground inflict not everything that comes from deep under- electricity. In fact, such plants can already and disappeared into the ground. ing companies such as Siemens and water says Mogre. “Such meters record a building’s greater damage on turbine blades and other ground is good for the surface environment, compete with conventional power plants. Such problems are not limited to Roma- utilities such as Aquatim and Metropolitana water flow rate and generate information components of geothermal power plants the plant and its equipment must be de- Lazard Ltd., a financial consulting firm, has nia. Italy’s water supply situation is similar. Milanese, are striving to improve water qual- that allows utility companies to more accu- than does the steam in conventional steam signed to handle non-condensable gases. calculated that generating one megawatt- Due to inadequate investment in water sup- ity and supply. They are also focusing on rately plan and ensure the proper supply of turbine power stations. This results in corro- The aim is to pump almost all of the haz- hour (MWh) of geothermal electricity costs ply networks, 30 percent of the country’s ways to make water pumping stations as en- water. The results are expected to help par- sion, erosion, and reduced efficiency. “The ardous substances back into the ground. around $90. In other words, geothermal en- drinking water is lost before it reaches a wa- ergy-efficient as possible and reduce the ticipating companies limit water loss when rate of wear and tear inside a geothermal ergy generally costs less than solar energy. At ter faucet. Other European countries are also number of leaks in the water supply network. they expand their water supply networks” steam turbine depends on the conditions at Shutdown before Earthquakes. In addi- optimal locations, geothermal systems are affected by leaks. France loses 26 percent of The Siemens team on the project is (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2012, p. 99). the power plant’s location,” says Barth. “The tion to tough steam turbine conditions, de- even more cost-effective than many coal- its water this way, Spain and the UK 22 per- headed by Dr. Parag Mogre at Corporate The data from the 124 sensors in Milan and turbine must be overhauled every three to velopers also have to address another major fired power plants. Andreas Wenleder cent, and Germany 6.8 percent. In view of Technology (CT) in Munich. By the fall of the 22 sensors in Timişoara is fed to a SCADA

72 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 73 Resilient Infrastructures | Wireless Sensors Wireless sensors are easy to install and require little maintenance. On locomotives, they measure tensile and impact loads. system that monitors and controls processes, stores the data and, if desired, transfers it to the new online platform — the ICeWater sys- tem. This system makes it possible to create a Smart Water Cockpit — an Internet portal that can be accessed by smartphone and tablet PCs. Data transferred from the SCADA system will be abstracted and made available in standardized form. In principle, measure- ment data could even be delivered in real time — but in order to optimize the volume of information and energy use, measurement data will be posted only on demand.

Forecasting Water Use. An example of the kind of new service the ICeWater system could provide is a “Demand Forecasting Serv- ice,” software that uses sensor data to make forecasts about water use with extreme ac- curacy. The goal of the service is to make it Measuring Tons in Microseconds possible to adjust the water network to meet fluctuating demand. In addition, the soft- ware will send alarm information and sug- gestions about what action to take to the SCADA system, where final decisions are Locomotives are subject to ondly, an even bigger problem is the electro- possible in order to make locomotives as en- the sensors monitored a freight locomotive precision of 100 microseconds so that they made and where control of the various ele- dramatic tensile and impact magnetic interference that emanates from a ergy-efficient and widely usable as possible. operating in normal service, thereby ensur- can also resolve the sensors’ opposing move- ments of the water network (for example, loads. But the sensors measur- variety of sources in the motor compartment. It is therefore vital to precisely monitor the ing that the trial was conducted under realis- ments. Yet their extremely high resolution is pumps) is located. The Smart Water Cockpit ing these stresses are vulnera- Electromagnetically speaking, a locomotive is mechanical loads to which components are tic conditions. not the only special thing about the sensors. could also be set up to notify registered users a “dirty” area that is affected by interference subjected. Only if the static and dynamic “A real packhorse,” says Breuer of the “Another really clever feature is that they all of alarms. For example, water supply person- ble to electromagnetic interfer- from a range of sources such as electric mo- safety of the locomotive is guaranteed can Siemens locomotive, which has an output of have an identical timestamp,” Breuer ex- nel could be notified of an alarm by e-mail, ence from electric motors and tors and converters. In the case of hardwired engineers begin to think about using less ma- 6,400 kilowatts and weighs in at 90 metric plains. This is crucial, because sensor read- and then get the necessary information via converters in a train’s drive sensors, this can lead to false readings and terial. tons. At 140 kilometers per hour, its top ings are comparable only if they are taken at the Internet portal. In this way, problems in system. To solve this, Siemens problems with data transmission. The tradi- “Our goal was to devise a wireless solution speed is relatively low, but this did not com- exactly the same time. To ensure this is the the water network could be identified and has developed wireless sensors tional solution to this problem is to lay as to monitor the performance of a locomotive promise the trial in any way. “Locomotives case, each sensor has its own clock generator dealt with at an early stage. that operate with a precision much of the wiring as possible along the while it is in operation,” says Martin Glänzer, twist and flex even at minimal speeds,” that determines how frequently it synchro- “Users could also test selected parameters of 100 microseconds. outer body of the locomotive. However, this a development engineer for high-frequency Breuer explains. This even occurs when a nizes itself with the other sensors. Even a mil- of the water distribution network on this plat- too can entail problems. For example, the solutions at Corporate Technology (CT), train crosses a bridge at a walking pace or lisecond gap between two readings would form,” says Mogre. “For example, an individ- wiring is constantly exposed to the full im- Siemens’ central research unit, in Munich. slowly passes a switch while entering a sta- compromise the result. ual could call up information on an iPad and What does a baby monitor have in com- pact of the elements — whether heat, cold, This was likewise the objective of the tion. That’s why the researchers were partic- The Akusens project was concluded in No- simulate changes to the water supply in order mon with a set of wireless headphones? The rain or snow — and suffers accordingly. Like- Akusens project, which was launched in June ularly keen to measure the torsion in the ve- vember 2012. Although there are still some to evaluate their effects on energy demand answer is, of course, that both of these de- wise, train cleaning can also lead to defects. 2009. Funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry hicle body. problems that need to be ironed out with re- or leakage rate.” Milan’s water utility com- vices function without a cable. In fact, our Alternatively, if the sensors and wiring are of Education and Research, it involved In doing this, the sensors record not the gard to wireless data transmission, Breuer pany Metropolitana Milanese intends to use lives are full of devices that communicate via mounted on the underside of the locomotive, Siemens and six other corporate partners. “It actual amount of distortion in terms of mil- stated that, “We were surprised by just how this technology to reduce its energy use. Op- radio signals — and generally do so quickly, they are vulnerable to damage from stones was the first time that wireless sensors had limeters but rather the degree of acceleration well the sensors performed.” For example, erators at the city’s control center will be able reliably, and without transmission losses. In in the track bed. been tested in locomotives,” explains Dr. Hu- at a series of measuring points. In all, 20 sen- they continued to function reliably and pre- to use an iPad to determine how much water today’s wireless world, cable clutter is increas- In other words, there is a pressing need bert Mooshofer, a project manager at Sensor sor nodes were installed throughout the loco- cisely even at temperatures as low as –20 de- households actually use. They can determine ingly a thing of the past. for wireless sensors for use in rail vehicles. Technologies, a CT technology field. motive. By comparing the data received from grees Celsius and as high as 85 degrees Cel- which pumps will have to operate when, for However, wireless data communications Modern locomotives consist of an increasing Mooshofer and his team developed the each one, it was possible to profile the vibra- sius. how long, and at what output. “This can save are not in use everywhere. In locomotives, for number of components from a range of sup- wireless sensors — devices the size of a two- tions and loads experienced by the locomo- In the future, the sensors will also be substantial amounts of energy. In fact, it will example, the sensors used to measure tensile pliers — e.g., electric motors, current collec- euro coin that are joined to a hand-sized ra- tive and, in this way, describe the long-term tested in other areas. High-speed trains are be possible to base entire pump schedules on and impact loads while the train is moving tors, and step switches for starting resistors. dio transmitter. Once the sensors had been stresses on individual components. On the ba- one such potential application. “The sensors a location’s actual water consumption,” says are all still wired up to a central processor. To ensure that all of these elements interact successfully tested in the lab, it was time to sis of vibration data, it could be seen how tor- are also of great interest to the automotive Mogre. “And the same applies to wind turbines, cars, smoothly, it is vital to monitor a variety of me- put them through their paces on a rail track. sion affects the vehicle body and the running industry,” says Breuer. Further potential ap- Bichisan Viorel will also have an iPad, but and aircraft. They all use hardwired sensors,” chanical loads. When a locomotive is in mo- Initial trials were run at the Siemens test track gear. To the human eye, however, such move- plications include monitoring vibrations in he will keep his glass bottles. As a registered explains Dr. Werner Breuer, Head of System tion, the running gear and the superstructure in Allach, near Munich. Following three ments remain invisible, since the compo- generators and turbines. But this challenge user of the Smart Water Cockpit, he will re- Design and Computation at the Siemens Rail — i.e. the body — are subject to powerful months of in-house testing, the sensors were nents affected move only a few millimeters. shouldn’t present any problem for devices ceive real-time notification of where he Systems Division. forces. This subjects components to great ready to undergo trials in everyday operation. “The measurements made by the wireless that are sensitive enough to record the accel- should take water samples, and he’ll continue For rail vehicles, this involves a number of stresses, despite their robust design and sub- Selected for the trial was a route between sensors are comparable to those made by eration of a 100 ton locomotive within 100 to use his bottles to take samples to the lab. drawbacks. To begin with, hardwiring all the stantial weight. However, an important de- Rotterdam and Muttenz, a municipality in conventional hardwired sensors,” Mooshofer microseconds and communicate it with an Susanne Gold / Julia Hesse sensors in a locomotive is a tricky job. Sec- sign consideration is to cut weight wherever Switzerland. Over a period of nine months, explains. The sensors have to operate with a identical timestamp. Ulrich Kreutzer

74 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 75 Resilient Infrastructures | Traffic Management Traffic management centers, such as the one Resilient Infrastructures | Traffic Management in Stuttgart, rely on vast amounts of data to generate pollution reduction strategies. cars. This can be accomplished by shortening traffic lights, controls parking guidance sys- Because SmartGuard is accessed via the green traffic light phases on key access roads tems, and provides data to dynamic traffic Internet, a special two-phase security con- into town. “We homogenize pollutant emis- signs. “This enables us to provide motorists cept is needed to prevent unauthorized use. sions, and that reduces the strain on every- with optimal information about obstacles, The traffic monitoring system itself is ac- one,” Ghio explains. These measures have re- detours, and travel times,” Rheinemann ex- cessed via a user name and a password. Ad- sulted in a roughly four-percent reduction of plains. The new technology has helped ditional protection for security-relevant ac- NO2 emissions from the 44 micrograms per Stuttgart prevent several kilometers of traffic tions, such as traffic light switching, is en- cubic meter that were recorded in the fall of jams every day. sured through a mobile PIN system similar to 2012. PM10 emissions also declined during Induction loops embedded in the pave- those used for online banking. the same period. ment provide the traffic management center The new software was developed for the Still, the annual average level of pollutants with information about traffic flows and ve- world market. It uses open interfaces that can in some districts of Potsdam is still four mi- hicle waiting times at intersections. Video be employed internationally. The four pilot crograms higher than maximum. The city cameras are also installed on traffic lights to projects that have operated to date in Ger- therefore needs to develop additional ideas. measure and record the volume and speed of many and Austria will be supplemented by Among the measures being considered are a traffic. Operators can access this data via additional projects in Norway and Poland be- new parking space management system, bet- software systems. They can look at a street ginning in October 2013. ter public transport at major traffic hubs, and map that shows all the traffic lights, and pro- New functions are also being planned. measures to promote bicycle use. “If our ini- gram them in a manner that efficiently man- The most important of these is a strategy tial successes continue up until 2015 and we ages traffic — using switching recommenda- management system that identifies peak can reduce pollutant emissions even further, tions from the system if so desired. traffic in the morning and automatically ad- we will introduce our environmentally fo- However, such a sophisticated traffic justs the traffic management system accord- cused traffic management system through- management system isn’t needed in every ingly. Also planned is the integration of travel out the entire city,” says Potsdam’s Director of town; a single traffic computer is more than time data with the help of automated license Traffic Management, Reik Becker. enough for any community with fewer than plate recognition units installed at measuring Cutting Smog with Data

Urban traffic should be fast and energy efficient. Traffic management systems can help by using a variety of information to generate pollution reduction strategies for specific streets and districts. Such systems control traffic lights, parking guidance systems, and dynamic street signs. Siemens has commercially introduced several such systems.

It’s often the small things in life that make lates per cubic meter of air. The WHO recom- that traffic flows more efficiently and pro- Collecting Traffic Data. This has already 50 traffic lights. That’s why Siemens has de- stations. Data protection will be ensured us happy. However, that’s not true of PM10, a mends a limit of 20 micrograms. Plenty of duces fewer pollutants. happened in other cities. In Stuttgart, for ex- veloped new software that’s scheduled to be through powerful algorithms that make the particulate that’s less than 0.01 millimeters other cities routinely exceed this limit. This is The system collects up-to-the-minute traf- ample, four operators use a Siemens system commercially introduced in October 2013. license plate data anonymous. in diameter and therefore very dangerous. illustrated by the city of Ahwaz, Iran, where fic information (such as number of vehicles to coordinate all traffic on a road and street This software, which is called Smart- It’s already clear today that the new tech- That’s because the smaller a particulate is, the average level of airborne PM10 was 372 and closed streets) from various sensors. It network with a total length of 1,465 kilome- Guard, offers all the basic functions for mon- nology can make traffic flows more efficient the deeper it can penetrate into the body’s micrograms in 2009. Germany’s Federal En- also receives meteorological data regarding ters. “The system also has to take into ac- itoring and managing traffic in small cities not only in major urban areas but also in airways and therefore not be exhaled. It can vironment Agency reports that German cities temperatures and winds, as well as informa- count approximately 14,500 construction and towns. Those authorized to operate the smaller cities. It will be possible to reduce CO2 then damage lung tissue. Ultrafine particles with high traffic volumes also regularly ex- tion about the locations of construction sites. sites and 22,500 accidents each year,” says system can use a private cloud (secured IT en- emissions at certain measuring stations by up can also move through air sacs into the ceed the limits set for particulates. In Pots- The system uses all of this data to calculate a Uwe Rheinemann, a sales manager for vironment) in an internal network to access to 25 percent, predicts Düsterwald, who ex- bloodstream, where they alter blood flow dam, for instance, the city’s Zeppelinstraße pollutant profile of individual streets and Siemens traffic systems. traffic lights, detectors, and parking garages plains that “the idea is to shift traffic jams and properties and increase the risk of cardiovas- measuring station recorded particulate levels street segments in real time. The Sitraffic Concert/Scala digital man- with any HTML5.0-enabled browser on a PC, all their negative effects to less sensitive cular disease. above the official limit on 55 days in 2011. “The system tries to guide traffic away ager is a central component of the Integrated tablet computer, or smartphone. Moreover, spots, such as industrial areas.” A variety of The World Health Organization (WHO) has In view of these alarming trends, in the from places where particulate and NO2 con- Traffic Management Center, which takes in all this can be done from any place on Earth. approaches, such as the expansion of public confirmed this danger; it reports that an esti- spring of 2012 the city of Potsdam and centrations are too high,” says Andrea Ghio, traffic data in the city of Stuttgart. The data Previous setups that employed client solu- transport networks, the further development mated 1.3 million people die each year all Siemens launched a pilot project designed to a product manager for environmentally sen- is collected by the Stuttgart Office of Public tions that ran directly on a user’s computer of low-emission vehicles, and the increased over the world as a result of polluted air in reduce particulate and nitrogen dioxide sitive control systems at Siemens Infrastruc- Affairs, the Stuttgart Civil Engineering De- took up to five minutes to access the systems. use of bicycles, will all need to make a contri- cities. The situation is particularly bad in ma- (NO2) emissions. Siemens installed its Sitraf- tures and Cities. It does this, for example, by partment, public transport operator SSB AG, By contrast, the private cloud provides users bution here. Within this holistic concept, jor urban areas. On one particularly smoggy fic Concert/Scala traffic management system, turning all the traffic lights green on thor- and the Stuttgart Police Department. A with traffic data in just ten seconds. “The goal SmartGuard is a small but important part of day at the beginning of this year, for exam- which collects traffic data and automatically oughfares in threatened areas. Alternatively, Siemens computer processes all the informa- is to offer a Web-based, user-friendly traffic the overall effort to optimize traffic flows. Af- ple, Beijing set a disturbing record by record- generates guidance strategies from its analy- the system can reduce pollutants by shifting tion and intervenes in the Stuttgart traffic management center,” says Product Manager ter all, it’s often the small things in life that ing more than 800 micrograms of particu- ses. These strategies are designed to ensure traffic flows to break up slow-moving lines of system as often as 35 times a day. It switches Michael Düsterwald. make us happy. Ulrich Kreutzer

76 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 77 Resilient Infrastructures | History A 1929 tram in Majorca (top), the 1912 Comet Resilient Infrastructures | History in the High Tatras, an 1896 motor in Tsing tao, and the 1924 Walchensee power plant (right). Bratislava supplied electric motors, each of 1916 and World War II, after which Tsingtao In the Alpine foothills of Bavaria nature which had a power output of 40 kW, and all passed into Chinese hands in 1945. Eventu- has created the perfect conditions for gener- the electric equipment. From the start, the ally, however, it was time for the gleaming ating clean electricity — and storing it. train was renowned for its reliability. How- black Siemens electric motor of 1903 to be- Walchensee, or Lake Walchen, lies 800 me- ever, in the 1980s it was sent into semi-retire- gin its well-deserved retirement. It has been ters above sea level; Kochelsee, or Lake ment and then brought out only occasionally resting in the Tsingtao Museum since 1995. Kochel, is located 200 meters further down. for anniversaries and other special occasions. But it now has a satisfactory successor: Since At the turn of the 19th century, demand for Just before the train’s 100th anniversary, 2010, an automatic process control system electric power increased in Bavaria. In re- a lightning strike damaged the electric motor (BRAUMAT) from Siemens has ensured that sponse, Oskar von Miller, a construction en- and a high-voltage cable. It looked as though Tsingtao beer is still served all over the world. gineer and the founder of the Deutsches Mu- the railroad yard in Poprad would be the seum in Munich, forged ahead with the train’s final destination. However, a group of Supplying Power to an Entire Country. construction of the Walchensee power plant. rescuers turned up to save this local hallmark. No electric motor can function without a The principle behind this plant is simple: A to- It consisted of the railroad veterans’ club of power source. That’s why the need for elec- tal of six pipes were laid between the two Poprad as well as Siemens, the restoration trical power plants increased worldwide natural lakes. The water coming from Lake project’s main sponsor. After repairs had around 1900. In many places this ushered in Walchen rushes downward through the pipes been made, the engine once again ran the era of hydroelectric power plants. One of for 200 meters and onto the eight turbines of smoothly. The tram was put back on track in these places was the Ardnacrusha power the power plant. Connected to the turbine August 2013, and today it can transport plant in Ireland, which entered service in shafts are eight generators that produce elec- about 1,000 passengers a day. The Comet re- 1929. At 86 MW, it delivered 90 percent of tricity. The water subsequently flows further ceived its name in the winter of 1923, when Ireland’s total power output. Today its power down into Lake Kochel. it was equipped with a snowplow. At high output remains the same, but it represents The turbines started rotating in 1924, and speeds, the tram pulled a long tail of snow only two percent of Ireland’s total. they are still turning today. The eight gener- behind it. The name “Comet” was born, and The Siemens-Schuckert company was the ators, two of which were manufactured by it has become firmly established since then. general contractor and supplier of the elec- Siemens-Schuckert, have faithfully served the Resisting Time’s Ravages The triumphal advance of electricity began more than a century ago. Electric railroads and electric motors changed lives, and the first power plants were built in order to satisfy the public’s growing need for electricity. Some of these technologies are still being used today. Five examples tell an impressive story of the strength of technology and the durability of innovation.

In the early 20th century, traveling from powered a dynamo made by the German (a normal track is 1,435 mm wide). Passen- Reliable Brewery. Far from the High Tatras, trical systems for Ardnacrusha. The construc- power plant ever since the start. In the 1960s the harbor city of Palma to the mountainous electrotechnical company Siemens-Schuck- gers enjoy not only the refined interior of the there’s another senior that is held in high es- tion of the power plant, which began in they were merely rewound and relaminated. regions of Majorca was a difficult undertak- ert. Suddenly, the little town began to benefit wood-paneled cars but also the view from teem. One of China’s first breweries began 1925, turned out to be a mammoth under- Today the plant generates about 300 gi- ing. Travelers had to ride in carriages and from visitors and from goods such as fresh the old-fashioned sliding windows. The trains operating in 1903 in the harbor city of Tsing- taking. Ireland’s construction industry was gawatt-hours a year — a relatively small part carts along narrow roads up and down fish transported in a small refrigerated car. travel past olive groves and orange planta- tao. At the Germania brewery, German and not yet highly developed, so almost all of the of Germany’s power supply. It provides about mountains and across the Coll de Sóller pass. Another big step, which eliminated the ir- tions, through a total of 13 tunnels, and British settlers far from their homelands skilled workers and materials came from Ger- 80,000 households with electricity. However, Along the way, they had to rest several times ritating smoke in tunnels, was the electrifica- across several bridges. brewed their favorite drink. From the start, many. This included 30,000 tons of construc- the operators have little leeway in terms of in order to recover from the stresses and tion of the train line in 1929. For this pur- the fermentation process was assisted by the tion machinery and equipment. power generation. They can either let exactly strains of the trip. Nonetheless, this was the pose, the train line’s operator, Ferrocarril de Saving a Landmark. Another treasure has oldest electric machine from Siemens that is Ireland’s humid climate and the site’s poor as much water flow through the pipes as has only way to bring goods from Palma to Sóller. Sóller, bought four bidirectional locomotives, not resisted time’s ravages quite as success- still operational today: an electric motor man- soil stability created additional problems for flowed into Lake Walchen, in which case the Things did not change until 1907, when each one weighing 33 tons and with a power fully. In the High Tatra Mountains of Slovakia, ufactured in Germany in 1896. the builders. The crucial parts of the power water level remains constant, or they can construction began on a rail connection be- output of 265 kW. They too were produced a tram called the Comet transported mail, Almost a century later, Germania Pils has plant went into operation in October 1929, dam up the water overnight and open the tween Palma and Sóller. Regular service be- by Siemens-Schuckert. goods, and tourists to mountain spas starting become Tsingtao beer, and the brewery is to- and from that point on the country received pipe when electricity demand reaches a gan in 1912 and was supplemented 18 About 85 years later, the same trains, in 1912. The trip was grueling. Along the 36- day one of the largest in China. The antique electricity via a 3,400-kilometer-long cable given point. Within a few minutes, the sys- months later with an electric streetcar line to numbered 1 to 4, are still climbing hundreds kilometer route the train gained about 700 Siemens motor resisted the ravages of aging system. Some of the plant’s original compo- tem will then run at full capacity. This option Port de Sóller, five kilometers further on. The of meters above sea level every day along the meters in altitude, sometimes at external for a long time. It did its job faithfully, need- nents are still in operation today. They in- balances out periods of peak demand and is streetcar line had its own power plant in the 27-kilometer route between Palma and temperatures of minus 30° C. The Comet’s ing no repairs whatsoever, until 1995. With- clude excitation dynamos, which have merely thus part of Germany’s energy transition Sóller train station, where a combustion en- Sóller. Railroad experts notice the unusually electric locomotive was built in Budapest in out suffering any damage, it survived the been rewound, slip ring motors, the original strategy. In spite of its age, the power plant gine with an output of 48 kilowatts (kW) narrow tracks, which are only 914 mm wide 1912. A Siemens-Schuckert factory in takeover of the brewery by the Japanese in bearings, and the rectifiers. is still as modern as ever. Nicole Elflein

78 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 79 Resilient Infrastructures | Big Data A Siemens software platform links a variety Resilient Infrastructures | Big Data of databases, thus helping to prevent gas and steam turbines from breaking down. Information technology and the Internet rithms that can discover unexpected patterns sages. These insights can then be used to fur- service. “Energy Services Oil & Gas, as well as are vastly increasing the amount of data that and new interrelationships in what, to hu- ther optimize individual systems. The com- our power plant business are accomplishing has to be stored worldwide. This data in- mans, appears to be virtual chaos. Compa- pany plans to create a computer-assisted ex- this through implementation of specialized cludes not only the information generated on nies can turn such information into new in- pert system that will examine the software platforms,” Roshchin reports. social media such as images, texts, and sights not only to optimize business interrelationships between the faults that oc- Siemens now intends to optimize its preven- videos on platforms such as Facebook, but processes, products, factories, and customer cur in a facility and the components that are tive maintenance services by linking them to also the data that employees store in corpo- relations but also to control complex infra- installed there. “In the future, designers will additional data sources. rate networks and the machine data that is structures and optimize service and mainte- be able to access this data when they are se- “In our part of the project, the main focus produced by sensors, transmitted through nance. The aim is to combine sensor data lecting components for new facilities. The in- is not so much on handling huge amounts of the Internet, and collected in databases. about the condition of machines and equip- formation will tell them how the components data,” explains Lamparter. “The turbine main- According to a study conducted by IT mar- ment with information about error messages have functioned in practice,” explains Lam- tenance service generates only 30 gigabytes ket researchers at Forrester, between 2006 and quality assurance statistics. parter. In this way, facilities could be made of data per day and the data pool has a total and 2012 the global data volume increased Such a combination would allow smart more robust from the very start. of 10 terabytes.” A far greater challenge is tenfold. In 2012 the data volume rose above surveillance systems to detect faults early so posed by the need to integrate different data- 2.5 zettabytes for the first time. That’s an that defective components could be replaced Spotting Patterns in Complexity. Such bases and simultaneously link them with a unimaginably large number with 21 zeros. If and problems could be resolved before a methods and techniques are currently also pool of data that is continuously changing this data were stored on CD-ROMs, the result- breakdown. In gas-fired power plants, for ex- being developed in a European research proj- and expanding. “As a result, we have to con- ing pile would be ten times higher than the ample, motion sensors would measure tur- ect called Optique. In this project, ten part- tinuously update our calculations,” says Lam- distance from the earth to the moon. The bine values regarding wear, and the sensors ners — including companies such as Siemens parter. “This is a demanding task, especially amount of data continues to increase rapidly. would then transmit these values to a com- and the Norwegian oil corporation Statoil, as when you need to obtain the results in real According to a study carried out by market re- puter system. The latter would analyze the well as researchers at European universities time, if possible.” searchers at IDC, data volume is expected to data and trigger an alarm if, for example, a — are developing basic technologies for mak- rise to five zettabytes in Western Europe critical limit, such as the highest permissible ing searches in complex databases more ef- Smart Evaluation Tools. Other methods alone by 2020. One exabyte corresponds to temperature in the combustion chamber, ficient. must be used so that unstructured data, such 1 billion gigabytes and is the equivalent of were exceeded. “The system already works about 20 billion filing cabinets full of text pretty well,” says Dr. Steffen Lamparter, an documents. A zettabyte is a thousand times expert in the Business Analytics and Monitor- The challenge: Various databases have to larger. ing department at Siemens Corporate Tech- One reason for this increase is the fact nology (CT) in Munich. be integrated and interlinked while the pool of that the Internet is becoming more mobile. In the future, researchers would like to data continuously changes and expands combine the data with additional informa- tion and evaluate it in real time. This informa- tion would concern a variety of parameters, The project’s aim is to link different data as error messages in text form, can be com- including the amount of energy produced sources and databases with one another and bined with structured data, such as machine and the changes to electric currents within a to give them a certain amount of intelli- values. Semantic text recognition analyses motor. According to conservative estimates, gence. The plan is to use powerful algorithms and image analysis procedures can, for exam- Early Warning Systems for doing so would reduce the time that techni- to discover unexpected patterns and interre- ple, transform text, audio, video, and image cians need to access relevant data by at least lationships at a speed and a level of quality files into analyzable data, making them us- 25 percent. “Because an average of 80 per- that would have been considered inconceiv- able for decision-making for the first time. Turbines and Tomographs cent of technician processing time is spent on able only a short while ago. Here, however, the challenge is that a wide collecting data, we estimate that over one In the future, a company’s employees will range of data sources and formats must be Although advanced infrastructures such as energy and transportation systems are making life million Euros could be saved each year just in ideally be able to use simply formulated ques- logically linked to one another in such a way the servicing of turbines,” says Lamparter. tions to search for information in large data that conclusions can be drawn regarding the more comfortable, whenever they break down the consequences can be severe. To prevent Such real-time analyses are already being pools that consist of hundreds of interlinked causes of faults and breakdowns. interruptions, Siemens is working with partners to evaluate sensor data that helps detect conducted for Siemens’ latest H-Class gas tur- and differently-structured databases. The an- “To make the analyses more effective, technical problems early on. The objective is to create robust and failsafe systems. bines. Siemens commissioning engineers can swers employees receive will help them to even the individual databases are to be call up the data from a newly delivered tur- make decisions. Bringing this about is a major equipped with smart evaluation tools,” says bine at any time and without delay and eval- challenge, due to the distributed nature of Lamparter’s colleague, Thomas Hubauer, as uate it regardless of their location. Each gas the information and the lack of a uniform he explains another of the research project’s turbine is equipped with 1,500 sensors that data model. aims. As a result, the calculation of key sta- Huge amounts of information are being gen- precisely measure key operating values, such Whereas Statoil is primarily interested in tistical figures, for example, might no longer erated by smartphone programs in particular. as temperature, pressure, gas composition, improving database use for the exploration require all the data to be read into the data Around 2.5 exabytes of data are transmitted generated output, and much more, down to of new oilfields, Dr. Mikhail Roshchin, who pool. Instead, only the sample space relevant through the mobile Internet every day and the second. represents Siemens’ application case in the to the inquiry in question would be needed. stored on platforms. Whether it’s gas turbines, combined cycle Optique project, hopes to optimize data use This sample space could provide the average To date, this vast amount of data has turbines or other systems, the experience for the preventive maintenance of power value and the standard deviation, among largely remained unexploited. However, this Siemens has gained with the many facilities plant turbines. His objective is to make future other things. is set to change, thanks to “big data” tech- it services for its customers allows it to obtain power networks more resistant to break- At the moment, however, experts still nologies that can analyze large unstructured additional insights by conducting smart downs. Siemens is already offering its cus- need the help of their IT colleagues in order data volumes. They do this by means of algo- searches in the operating data and error mes- tomers a preventive turbine maintenance to access information from different data-

80 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 81 Resilient Infrastructures | Interview Resilient Infrastructures | Interview bases. That’s because the existing informa- How do you analyze data? for protecting our money. In the real world, Uszkoreit: Although we depersonalize and What do you mean by that? tion must first be selected and loaded into Uszkoreit: By posing a wide variety of we have formal legal concepts for regulat- anonymize the data, it’s also true that the Uszkoreit: Customers can band together in special data spaces before searches can be questions. They can be very precise, such as ing the handling of goods and money. This data will nevertheless allow you to draw con- forums, for example, and put dealers under made. This requires special knowledge that those we ask when we’re analyzing trends is something we still lack in the virtual clusions regarding specific individuals if it is a lot more pressure than in the past by boy- would overtax the capabilities of someone for consumer research. They can also be world. However, failing to exploit the poten- very diverse and reflects people’s lifestyles, cotting certain products or production who is not well-versed in IT. However, this is less precise, for example when the data tial that data offers us would almost be as environments, and physical conditions. For processes, for example. Consumers can also set to change as well, because “only the ex- fluctuates. Take the increase in drug pre- though physicists were to stop conducting example, geneticists can recognize every form purchasing cooperatives, sign peti- perts themselves know what will really ben- scriptions. Here we want to know what research because it might lead to the cre- individual on the basis of his or her gene tions, and initiate referendums. The outrage efit them,” says Hubauer. As a result, data- causes the increase. When you deal with ation of a dangerous weapon — even sequence. But how should one handle such disseminated on the Internet is an unpleas- base searches will have to become as simple vast amounts of data, you sometimes get though they would then forgo the possibil- information in view of the great medical ant demonstration of how influence can be as those made with Internet search engines answers to questions you didn’t even ask. ity of discovering a solution for humanity’s benefits it provides? Another example is exerted here. A major transformation is cur- such as Google. energy problems, for example. the use of surveillance cameras in subway rently under way in society. Digital democ- The Optique research project is still in its Where do you think the evaluation stations. Although these cameras film you, racy is becoming more feasible and will early stages. It began in November 2012 and of data will generate the biggest What do you think the concrete they do it to improve public safety. Or imag- eventually be introduced. will run until the end of 2016. Siemens has economic or social benefits? benefits will be? ine you live in a house that’s famous for its high hopes for the project. “We expect the findings to be transferable to other big data applications so that they can be utilized for them as well,” says Gerhard Kress from Cor- porate Technology, where he is responsible for coordinating big data projects running at What’s Needed: A Legal Framework for the Virtual World Siemens. Using an approach similar to that of their Prof. Hans Uszkoreit, 63, colleagues at Siemens’ Energy Sector, special- teaches computational lin- ists at Healthcare have developed an expert guistics at Saarland Univer- system for calculating the likelihood that a sity. He is also Scientific Di- key component such as an X-ray tube in a rector and Head of the Uszkoreit: The main benefit is that we Uszkoreit: In the case of a jet turbine, for architecture and you forbid Google Street- If you take a look into the future — computer tomograph might become defec- Language Technology Lab make not only structured data but also all example, you can prevent a disaster from view to display the building on the Internet. say to 2050 — what do you think the tive. “X-ray tubes play a crucial role in deter- at the German Research types of unstructured data, such as texts, happening by evaluating sensor data so What right do you have to dictate that the world of big data will look like? mining system availability and image quality. images, and voice recordings, usable. In that you can detect problems early on be- building can only be viewed by a rich Aus- Uszkoreit: The virtual world will become TubeGuard can reliably predict a breakdown Center for Artificial Intelli- addition, we can find correlations within fore the turbine fails. You can do the same tralian who can afford to fly over here in or- more and more like the real one. We’ll live early on,” says Kress. gence in Saarbrücken. He the data. For example, we can compare with bridges, as they don’t collapse by der to take a look at your house, for example, in it and with it. An example would be 3-D In view of this, tomographs are being develops technologies for weather station data with harvest informa- chance either. Such analyses are also bene- but not by his less wealthy neighbor who data rooms that we can actually enter. But, equipped with sensors that monitor key pa- the machine processing of tion or traffic statistics, or nutritional facts ficial in medicine; they enable doctors to de- would like to simply look at it on the Web? these systems will need security features rameters such as the current in the tube, an- human language and has with medical data. Society benefits from tect diseases and their causes much earlier like those in the real world. For example, ode rotation, and the temperature of the oil. co-founded several startup this knowledge of complex processes and than would otherwise be the case. Does that mean that informal self- not everyone is authorized to open a bank This monitoring software continuously trans- companies. Together with interrelationships, no matter whether it’s in determination has to be reconsidered safe, and documents are kept locked away. mits operating data to a Siemens service cen- his research team, he has the healthcare sector or related to the econ- Could the predictions be as far-reach- in today’s age of the Internet, social This is done to protect individuals as well as ter in real time. “This data enables our col- omy. The objective is to find patterns and to ing as those in the movie Minority media, and big data? society at large. However, because the real leagues to use complex algorithms to created a process for find- create correct digital depictions of the real Report, where crimes are prevented Uszkoreit: Yes. The question is where and the virtual worlds will coincide, nobody calculate the likelihood of a breakdown ing complex interrelation- world. To enable computers to understand before they are even be committed? my rights to my data begin and where will be able to own the view of a house or within the next few days,” says Kress. This en- ships, facts, and incidents in language, you also need large amounts of Uszkoreit: It would certainly be possible to they end. To return to the previous example, an X-ray image — neither in the real world ables service employees to make an appoint- large texts. The system au- data and in-depth knowledge of the world. detect patterns that could, for example, tell is the view of a house a right that automati- nor in the virtual one. But the biggest chal- ment with radiologists in good time so that tomatically learns rules us where and when crimes might occur, as cally comes with the property? Or, to give lenge we will face with big data is that of the defective component can be replaced from the Web. It often does What risks do you see? well as under what conditions. However, another example, do I own the image time. A limited amount of forgetting has to without disrupting operations. so on the basis of millions Uszkoreit: There’s a potential risk when- you can’t analyze individual cases. It would made of my broken leg? I neither took the be possible in the future, but we don’t want “The system already works well,” says of examples, which it filters ever knowledge about individuals, groups be a mistake to think you could make accu- X-ray picture nor did I pay for it. But such a walled-up library either. And how will data Kress. In the future, huge amounts of data or processes can be misused. For example, rate predictions regarding such an ex- images might help to heal other people’s remain continuously usable? Imagine that and the combination of different databases using knowledge obtained it could involve someone who uses medical tremely complex system as a human being. legs. Is it morally justifiable to prevent the we had the equivalent of all of the data that could make it possible to develop new busi- from Wikipedia and many information to blackmail patients or has de- A tiny cause can lead to major changes in image from being used to treat other peo- is produced today for the past 4,000 years. ness concepts for procedures such as process other sources. In recogni- tailed knowledge of a bank building’s archi- behavior. I think that human behavior is ple? I believe we have to rethink the whole That’s what things will be like 4,000 years analysis. “We could find correlations in the tion of his work, Uszkoreit tecture and gives it to gangsters. subject to nonlinear processes, and thus matter. Does all data have to be owned by from now. Historical research would be big data pools and recognize interrelation- received a Google Faculty also to chaos theory’s butterfly effect, in someone? The legal regulations concerning done very differently from the way it is to- ships that would help improve processes and Research Award in 2012 What do you recommend? which the flapping of a butterfly’s wings the Internet are indeed uncharted territory. day. But without further technological ad- procedures in doctors’ offices. This in turn and a Google Focused Re- Uszkoreit: You can compare this situation can eventually trigger a storm far away. When should we focus on informal self- vances this flood of data might inundate us. would help to stabilize healthcare costs,” says search Award in 2013. with the financial system. Although there is determination and when on the common Interview by Susanne Gold Kress about a possible application for the sys- always a certain risk that money will lose its In many cases, data becomes especially good? The courts still have to clarify a lot tem. However, a considerable amount of re- value, we haven’t banned it and returned to valuable when it can be assigned to of issues here. However, we as individuals search will be needed before that goal can be bartering. Instead, we have created systems specific individuals. What do you think also have much more power nowadays achieved. Hans Schürmann about this development? than in the past.

82 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 83 Resilient Infrastructures | Computer Centers Computer centers can dramatically Resilient Infrastructures reduce their power demand. Bottom: Google’s computer center in Finland. Zero point two grams — that’s how much waste heat from computers and ensures that carbon dioxide is emitted each time a Google they are always fanned by a cool breeze. search is perfomed. CO2, a greenhouse gas, In Brief is produced because most of the electricity 99.999 Percent Availability. The crucial that runs the computers, air conditioners, criterion is that all systems must interact as re- and lamps in computer centers is generated quired. Data Center Clarity LC is a Siemens Extreme weather events, such as hurricane PEOPLE: in power plants. Although 0.2 grams isn’t software package that, for the first time, co- Sandy in New York and the tsunami in Japan, Protecting NYC: much, the three billion searches made daily ordinates building systems with IT infrastruc- threaten the infrastructures of many big cities. Mayur Rao, Siemens Smart Grid add up quickly. In 2011 Google alone con- tures, thus linking them with server opera- Siemens technologies, ranging from smart grids [email protected] sumed 2.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electric- tion. For example, if utilization of the to demand management and subway control sys- Paul Eliea, Siemens Mobility ity. All the world’s computer centers com- computers’ microprocessor capacity drops, tems, help make city infrastructures resilient and [email protected] bined consume about two percent of global the software reduces the output of the cool- robust . (pp. 50, 53, 62, 66, 69) Deep sea research: electricity, and that number is growing. ing system because less electricity is needed Jan Erik Lystad, Siemens Energy According to the Boston Consulting and less heat is produced. The system contin- “We can no longer prevent climate change, [email protected] Group, the server capacity of Internet com- uously monitors the temperature and the even if very ambitious climate protection meas- Smart grids USA: panies such as Google and Amazon, and of flow of cooling air. “Siemens is a reliable part- ures were put into effect tomorrow. We can only Ravi Pradhan, Infrastructure and Cities banks and major industrial firms will grow ner for complex projects,” says Patrick Eshuys, slow it down. We’ll have to adapt ourselves to the [email protected] sixfold by 2020. Data storage volume will in- Managing Director of the computer centers coming changes,” says Prof. Peter Höppe, Head of Energy storage: crease 70-fold. This growth is causing com- of Dutch cloud computing provider KPN. the Geo Risk Research Department / Corporate Cli- Uwe Fuchs, Infrastructure and Cities puter centers to use more energy; by 2020 Siemens also sets standards when it comes mate Center at Munich Re. (p. 56) [email protected] they may produce more CO2 emissions than to failsafe operation. According to the Ger- Geothermal energy: all the airplanes now in service. man Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Today, 95 percent of oil and gas extraction takes Donald Leger, Siemens Energy Association (ZVEI), power failures account for place at the earth’s surface, only five percent [email protected] half of all the data lost at computer centers. takes place on the sea floor. In the future, this sit- Smart water supply networks: That’s why Siemens provides power supplies uation will be reversed. Siemens in Norway is de- Dr. Parag Mogre, Corporate Technology with so much redundancy that the servers veloping new technologies that will help exploit [email protected] are available 99.999 percent of the time. natural resources deep below the sea. For exam- Wireless sensors for trains: A relatively recent trend is the provision of ple, researchers are working on a power network Dr. Werner Breuer, Infrastructure and Cities Smart Diet for Energy Eaters a plug-and-play power supply. “Computer for undersea extraction facilities that will still func- [email protected] centers must be able to respond quickly to tion flawlessly at depths of 3,000 meters. (p. 60) Dr. Hubert Mooshofer, Corporate Technology changes in demand, for example in cloud [email protected] As demand for computing power increases, so does computer centers’ demand for computing,” says John Kovach, Head of Renewable energy sources are making a grow- Traffic management: electricity. Siemens is helping to counteract this trend with smart building management Siemens’ Global Data Center Business. To ing contribution to the energy mix — but this Andrea Ghio, Infrastructure and Cities and flexible power supplies. The company’s focus is on failsafe operation at all times. make computer centers sufficiently flexible poses challenges to electrical grids due to the fluc- [email protected] and able to increase capacity quickly, opera- tuating nature of this type of power supply. One Siemens history: tors are increasingly using containerized elec- solution to this problem is to create energy stor- Florian Kiuntke, Siemens Historical Institute tricity supply systems. The containers are age systems such as those that were developed by [email protected] simply set up on the company’s premises Siemens and tested in cooperation with the Italian Virtual data treasures: The International Energy Agency esti- dinated in Erlangen, Germany. Coworkers cooling energy than one in the Sahara. Many whenever demand for energy rises. In addi- power company Enel. (p. 64) Dr. Steffen Lamparter, Corporate Technology mates that the energy needs of information from Siemens Building Technologies supple- operators are therefore building new com- tion to offering such containers itself, [email protected] and communication technology and con- ment this expertise with their building man- puter centers at high latitudes; some facilities Siemens also equips the containers of third- In order to ensure the problem-free interaction Failsafe computer centers: sumer electronics will more than double to agement skills. are underground. There is even a trend to- party suppliers. The containers are full of low- of rail components, mechanical stresses are deter- Laurent Tognazzi, Infrastructure and Cities 1,700 TWh between 2011 and 2030. That’s Only if many measures act in concert can ward completely automated computer cen- voltage switchgear and transformers and can mined with the help of hardwired sensors, which [email protected] almost three times Germany’s total electricity power usage effectiveness (PUE) be im- ters that are remotely controlled. This means be easily hooked up to a computer center’s are placed at a number of locations. Because this demand. Computer center operators are proved. PUE is the term used by the IT indus- that the servers operate in rooms without power supply system without requiring ex- requires a lot of complicated wiring, researchers at External: aware of this problem and are looking for try to describe the ratio between the amount any light or personnel, and energy-wasting tensive installation work. Siemens Corporate Technology have developed Interview Prof. Peter Höppe: ways to reduce it. Saving energy is a top pri- of energy supplied and the amount used by office buildings are no longer needed. Even That IT and climate protection aren’t mu- wireless sensors. The result is improved data eval- www.michre.com ority for IT managers, but preventing break- server computers. A ratio of 1 would be ideal. if the facilities are staffed, the building sys- tually exclusive is demonstrated by Google’s uation that is precise to within 100 microseconds. Interview Prof. Hans Uszkoreit: downs is even more important. After all, if an At 1.1, some of Google’s computer centers tems operate as economically as possible. computer center in Houston, Texas, whose (p. 74) www.hans.uszkoreit.net online shop such as Amazon were inaccessi- come very close to this value. However, the This is where Siemens contributes its experi- electricity needs are partially met by several ble for several hours, financial losses would average value in the sector is above 1.8, and ence with building equipment that is certified 2.3-megawatt wind turbines from Siemens. According to Forrester, an IT market research LINKS: be huge. The challenge is therefore to make many computer centers simply waste energy. in accordance with the Green Building Coun- Although Siemens ideally meets computer company, the global data volume increased ten- Urban Resilience: energy supply and transmission in computer “In some cases, half of the electricity con- cil’s LEED standard. More than 20 of the com- centers’ needs with its consolidated expertise fold between 2006 and 2012. Siemens re- www.siemens.com/urban-resilience centers as efficient and reliable as possible. sumed is used for air conditioning,” says Lau- pany’s own properties have already received in a variety of infrastructure sectors, many searchers at Corporate Technology are exploring EM-DAT — The International Emergency Siemens is playing a pioneering role in rent Tognazzi, a customer service represen- this certification. customers still have a traditional mindset in ways to use the information. Their goal is to en- Disaster Database: this area. It offers equipment for supplying tative who is responsible for low and Smart software isn’t always needed to which IT management, building manage- able the infrastructures of various systems to iden- www.emdat.be computer centers with electricity, and can medium-voltage supply systems at Siemens. save energy; simple physics can sometimes ment, and power supply are viewed sepa- tify and report impending failures from within be- C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: even plan a center’s entire technical infra- The first step in saving energy is to select do the trick. For example, Siemens can keep rately, says Kovach. “That’s why we have to fore they occur. This would eliminate the need for www.c40.org structure. Its global team of experts for low the right location for a computer center. Ob- computers cool by installing a huge fan in a more effectively explain Siemens’ holistic ap- lengthy analysis and help to prevent costly down- Geo Risk Research Department, Munich Re: and medium-voltage supply systems is coor- viously, a center in the Arctic will require less suspended ceiling. The fan circulates the proach,” he adds. Bernd Müller time. (pp. 82, 84) www.munichre.com/geo

84 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 85 Pictures of the Future | Mandela School Pictures of the Future | Mandela School of Science & Technology

Ayabonga Msila is an eleven-year-old Two years after the start of the planning boy from Mvezo. Like the majority of his com- process, the Mandela School of Science & munity, he is a member of the Xhosa, an eth- Technology has become one of South Africa’s nic group living in southeast South Africa. most ambitious corporate social responsibil- Ayabonga means “they are grateful.” From ity projects. At a cost of 100 million rand Monday to Friday, he leaves home at 7 a.m. (around €7.6 million), Siemens started build- An hour later, he arrives at school. There is no ing the school in collaboration with the public transport, so he and his friends walk. Mvezo Development Trust and the commu- The worst days are rainy days. Then, nity of Mvezo together with South Africa’s Ayabonga and his friends are soaked to the Department of Education. As part of its in- skin before they even get to school. vestment and commitment to the success of Mvezo lies on the banks of the Mbashe the school, Siemens will contribute toward its A Fresh Wind along River in the Eastern Cape province of South operational and maintenance costs for three South Africa’s Coast Africa. Consisting of six small villages with a years after the opening. The first high school total of 2,400 souls, Mvezo is a remote rural in the village will make a positive difference area where most local people do not have to the lives of the children in Mvezo and the Siemens has entered the South African renew- regular access to water or electricity. What surrounding area, as well as the community able energy market. In 2012 the company was makes Mvezo famous is the fact that this is as a whole. awarded one of the largest onshore projects in Nelson Mandela’s place of birth. Mandela be- The project embodies Nelson Mandela’s the country: the construction of a 138-megawatt came a worldwide symbol of resistance, free- belief that “education is the most powerful (MW) wind farm in Jeffreys Bay, around 550 kilo- dom, and peace during the country’s weapon you can use to change the world.” meters southwest of Mvezo on the windy south- apartheid era and is considered one of the Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of the ern coast of South Africa. The project is part of greatest heroes of the 20th century. In 1993, former president, Head of the Royal House of the Independent Power Producers (IPP) Procure- Mandela, and Chief of the Mvezo Traditional ment Program of South Africa’s Energy Ministry, Council, is thrilled about the project. which aims to promote socio-economic and envi- “Siemens’ contribution to the new Mandela ronmentally sustainable growth and to stimulate School of Science & Technology is the most the renewable energy industry in South Africa. significant investment in education that this This year, the country’s utility company, Eskom, Starting in 2014, children in area has ever seen,” he says. “This is the type also entrusted Siemens with the construction of South Africa’s Eastern Cape of initiative that can change the lives of this the 100-MW Sere wind farm in the Western Cape province will be able to attend community forever.” province along the west coast. For the Jeffreys the area’s first local secondary The Mandela School of Science & Technol- Bay wind farm, Siemens will supply 60 2.3-MW school. The Mandela School of ogy will open in January 2014 in time for the wind turbines to its customer Mainstream Re- Science & Technology will new academic year in South Africa. It will newable Power. The turbines will provide energy accept over 700 children. start with Grades 8 to 10 and will be at full for around 114,000 households. In addition, capacity by 2016 with pupils in Grades 8 to Siemens will be responsible for maintenance op- 12. This will give more than 700 pupils in and erations on the turbines for a period of ten years. around Mvezo an opportunity to continue The turbines will start to generate electricity by their education and prepare for university the end of 2014. For the Sere wind farm, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and studies. The school will include 25 class- Siemens will supply 46 2.3-MW wind turbines on South Africa’s School of Thought one year later he became the first black pres- rooms, sports fields, a vegetable garden, an a turnkey basis. The facility is expected to enter ident of South Africa. administration building, and a school hall. It service during the first half of 2014.These on- In 2010, in order to help celebrate the will also provide accommodation for twelve shore contracts for Siemens are important for Siemens is financing and building a school in Nelson Mandela’s birthplace, the rural area of 150-year anniversary of Siemens’ business teachers on the school premises. South Africa’s expansion of its energy mix. About activities in South Africa, former CEO Peter Recruiting capable and passionate teach- 95 percent of the country’s energy now comes Mvezo. The first secondary school in this area, the Mandela School of Science & Technology is Löscher met with Nelson Mandela in Johan- ers is crucial for the success of the school be- from coal-fired power plants. The government one of South Africa’s most ambitious corporate social responsibility projects to date. Based on nesburg. As a result of that meeting, Siemens cause they are rare in the Eastern Cape. An- plans to increase the country’s electricity genera- the motto that “Education is Freedom,” the school will include computer and engineering labs. committed itself to helping fulfill Nelson other important part of the Mandela School tion from renewable energy sources to 50 per- Mandela’s dream of building a high school in of Science & Technology is its state-of-the-art cent by 2030 and decrease the share played by the village of his birth, because the company resource center. It is named after Werner von coal accordingly. Renewable sources are mainly wanted to give something back to society. Siemens and houses two computer labs, an biomass, wind, solar, and small-scale hydro. The children of Mvezo currently do not have engineering design lab, and a library. Fully South Africa offers enormous wind resources in access to secondary education. As a conse- embracing the school’s motto “Education is its coastal areas, which is why Siemens opened quence, if they wish to continue their educa- Freedom,” the rooms are equipped with in- its Centre of Competence for Wind Power for tion, they have to leave home and study else- novative technologies and plenty of research Africa and the Middle East in South Africa in where. According to the South African materials. For the first time in their lives, the 2011. The company is thus demonstrating that it Department of Education for 2010, only children of Mvezo will have an opportunity to sees good opportunities in Africa for the wind every second primary school graduate in the work with computers. power business and supports South Africa’s mis- Eastern Cape province attends secondary But it is not only the area’s children who sion to create jobs in “green” industries. school, which starts with Grade 8. will benefit from the school. The construction

86 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 87 Pictures of the Future | Leipzig Zoo A power distribution system from Siemens ensures that ocelots and other creatures feel at home. of the school is also providing jobs for adult Siemens’ Infrastructures and Cities Sector. In members of the community. For this pur- addition, the use of bars instead of cables pose, the Skills Development Program in saves a lot of material, and is thus in line with Mvezo is partnering with the South African- the zoo’s environmentally friendly design German Chamber of Commerce and the Con- concept. struction Education and Training Authority. A central coupling box links the parallel For the duration of the project, 150 male and conductor bars to one another. If one of the female community members will be em- bar circuits fails, the control center can send ployed on site. They have received valuable a command signal to the box, telling it to building skills training in areas such as brick- continue serving only one electric circuit. “It laying, plastering, carpentry, and plumbing. works like a big light switch and ensures that The newfound knowledge of these commu- there is no short circuit,” explains Barth. nity members will help the area long after the school has been completed. Tropical Conditions. The power supply Siemens is building the school as a model must be stable so that the air conditioning, of sustainability. Some of the electricity will ventilation, and lighting systems can function come from wind and solar power on site. The properly in the twilit hall. Gondwanaland also school will use energy-efficient lighting, au- contains additional smart building control tomation systems, rainwater capture, and systems that keep the temperature at 25 de- water filtration technologies. Pupils will be grees Celsius and the humidity at a tropical able to experience the science and technol- 65 percent. Among other things, the water ogy that underpins these sustainable solu- for the tropical rainfall is collected from the tions. “We are setting an example of environ- Technologies precipitation that falls on the huge film-cov- mental responsibility,” Siegmar Proebstl, CEO ered roof. The large amounts of water that of Siemens in Africa, proudly states. “Siemens are collected here are filtered and stored in a wishes to actively participate in the develop- for the Tropics 600,000-liter cistern. In the night, the over- ment of South Africa. Building a first-class head sprinkler system sprays this water onto school in a rural area where none existed be- the indoor jungle. fore is an enormously important and reward- Special technology is needed to recreate the sensitive biotope There is also a large artificial tree trunk in ing project.” of a rain forest in the middle of Germany. Thanks to solutions the middle of the hall that contains an intake Some of the school’s graduates might be- from Siemens, the Leipzig Zoo has managed to do just that. system for sucking in the hot air that collects come the future engineers who build the in the building’s dome during the day. The wind farms and other sustainable solutions heat that concentrates near the ceiling is thus that the world so urgently needs. It was very important for Siemens that the school’s cur- riculum focus on science and technology. An ocelot wanders through a tropical rain gorgeous jungle landscape, where visitors ergy supply system is not only impacted by A reliable supply of electricity is crucial to the “Engineering is one of the scarce skills in forest, winding its way between royal palms can make all kinds of discoveries. The animals tropical humidity, high temperatures, and South Africa and around the world. It’s a skill and mahogany branches. High above the cat, are free to roam around here pretty much as other major strains, but also has to remain up survival of the tropical greenhouse. Without electric- that should be cultivated in children from an squirrel monkeys jump from branch to they like. Frogs and birds are not restricted in and running under all circumstances. ity, the jungle would quickly turn into a desert. early age. The Mandela School of Science & branch. Sloths hang in the treetops, from any way, and the primates from the squirrel That’s why the Gondwanaland develop- Technology will support the pupils’ interest in where they look down placidly at the lively monkey island can cavort between the visi- ment team decided to install the Totally Inte- future technologies,” said Proebstl. For this scene. The air is hot and humid. But just a tors. “If you don’t watch out, the monkeys will grated Power (TIP) concept from Siemens, for whatever reason, the others will keep the extracted and stored in the 100-cubic-meter reason, Siemens and the South African De- few meters away, the climate is radically dif- even steal your glasses if they’re in the which ensures an efficient electricity supply power supply going in order to ensure the water tank of a sophisticated heat exchange partment of Education have identified four ferent. The temperature is much colder and mood,” says Rasem Baban, who heads the system that is tailored precisely to the zoo’s well-being and safety of the threatened ani- system. In a reverse process, this heat is re- sets of specialized subject streams. All of the the fauna and flora are anything but tropical. zoo’s department of buildings, maintenance, needs. The reliable supply of electricity is cru- mal and plant species in this small Leipzig leased during the night to the heating sys- pupils, boys and girls alike, will be able to fo- After making their way through this lush and construction. Baban was involved in the cial to the survival of the tropical greenhouse. ecosystem,” says Baban. That’s why the sys- tem. Such heat regulation ensures that the cus on engineering, science, technology or South American tropical forest, visitors even- creation of Gondwanaland from the very “Without electricity, the jungle would quickly tem has two transformers that work in paral- climate is properly balanced throughout the agriculture in their last three years of school- tually find themselves between Leipzig’s start, being primarily responsible for the pro- turn into a desert,” explains Baban. “The lel to convert medium voltage into low volt- tropical greenhouse. The heat is also used to ing. main train station and Auwald, a riparian for- ject’s architectural characteristics. power distribution system is the zoo’s blood- age. A dual busbar trunking system links the support the heating system during the In 2014, Ayabonga will be one of the first est in the middle of Saxony. Since 2011, this “The idea of building a discovery zoo stream, except that it transports electricity in- transformers to the low-voltage main distri- evenings and on days with little sunlight. children from his community to attend the has been the site of Europe’s largest tropical arose in 1999,” he says. “Various experts, in- stead of blood. A person would collapse if the bution switchboard, which channels the elec- Millions of people have visited Leipzig’s Mandela School. He is very proud and ex- greenhouse. cluding biologists, zoo keepers, curators, ar- aorta or the secondary blood vessels got tricity into the artificial jungle’s “aorta” and tropical paradise in the two years since it cited. The school’s technological focus fits his Named “Gondwanaland,” this three-cor- chitects, and engineers, worked together clogged so that the blood could no longer be secondary “arteries.” This is done through a opened. Ever since the building’s shell was interests perfectly. His favorite subjects are nered structure rises around 35 meters into with the zoo’s director, Professor Junhold, to properly distributed. The situation is similar conductor bar system that runs in parallel built, the power distribution system has flaw- math, natural sciences, and technology. the air at the Leipzig Zoo. Measuring 16,500 develop a concept for a zoo of the future.” with the power distribution system in our lines. lessly ensured the safety of the visitors as well “When I grow up, I want to become a sur- square meters (bigger than two soccer The center is equipped with sophisticated jungle.” The advantage of conductor bars over ca- as of the plants and animals. That’s why the geon. I want to stay in my home town and fields), the building is home to 40 exotic an- building control systems and electricity distri- Almost all of the power distribution com- bles is that “the redundant installation and squirrel monkeys that look down saucily from become the first doctor in Mvezo, because I imal species — from the sloth to the pygmy bution technology from Siemens to ensure ponents are redundant, which means they switching ensures that the power supply can their lianas have every reason to feel at home care about other people,” he explains. “That hippopotamus. Around 500 tropical plant that the plants and animals feel at home in are duplicated in order to safeguard the reli- be kept going even if part of the system in their artificial but technologically well- is my dream.” Ines Giovannini species from all over the world grow in the the artificial environment. The center’s en- able supply of electricity. “If one device fails breaks down,” says Steffen Barth from planned world. Nicole Susenburger

88 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 89 Highlights How Ideas Mature | Scenario 2035

95 From Ideas to Innovations A good idea is just the beginning. Deep Vision But in order to become a success, it needs a good network, an understanding of future trends New York 2035: Henry Poiret’s customers commission him and, last but not least, a lot of to create virtual images of the future. In his holograph lab he patience. is enabling an energy company to experience its plans for a factory thousands of meters under the ocean’s surface. 102 Envisioning the Future What technologies will we need in the future? The scenarios of the Some 2,500 years ago, people made pil- armchair while Bobby skips to the coffee ma- world of tomorrow that are cre- grimages to Delphi in ancient Greece, where chine, her yellow suit rustling at every step. ated by Siemens Corporate Tech- they sacrificed goats and in return received “Milk and sugar?” she asks with a sweet smile. nology have turned out to be very prophecies of every kind. Today, people flock Barlow knows that the industry regards accurate. Distributed power gener- to Henry Poiret’s lab in lower Manhattan — Poiret and his agency as eccentric, but that ation, individually configurable and sacrifice part of their bank accounts. Like has not prevented his company from com- products, and digital engineering their predecessors, they receive a vision of missioning him. That’s because hardly any- were predicted a decade ago. what will happen or could happen — a one else can match the images of the future A look at the past. glimpse of the future. There is one major dif- that Poiret — formerly a scientist — creates ference, however: Poiret’s oracle in the Big in his holograph laboratory. Such images en- 106 El Dorado for Startups Apple delivers much more precise forecasts, able companies to estimate how successful Implementing innovative ideas in and they are also easier to understand. their products or projects could be, what fu- one’s own company — that’s the “Bobby, give Mr. Barlow something to ture technologies they should invest in, and dream of many college graduates. drink, I have to take a quick shower,” Poiret what effects their operations will most prob- Siemens technology scouts are says to his secretary as he rushes past her ably have on the environment. Poiret’s virtual looking for exciting innovations with a towel around his shoulders. “This creations are so realistic that some customers that can be refined in cooperation won’t take long, I just have to rinse off the are rumored to have left the lab in a fairly with the company. salt.” Peter Barlow sinks into a soft leather nervous state.

111 Research on Top of the World At their base camp on Mount Everest, researchers are gaining new knowledge about altitude sickness. They are investigating the reasons why some people can manage reduced amounts of oxygen better than others. Their findings have implications for patients in intensive care units.

In his holographic labora- 2035 tory, Henry Poiret simulates projects long before they are realized. A large energy company has commissioned him to create the world’s largest under- water factory, which is to autonomously extract and process raw materials on the floor of the Pacific Ocean — at a depth of 5,000 meters. In a virtual trip, he joins a company representative and his own digi- tal assistant to see whether the factory he has designed will perform as promised.

90 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 91 How Ideas Mature | Scenario 2035 How Ideas Mature | Trends Sharing ideas is a prerequisite for innovation at specialized conferences, on the Internet, and with research partners and startups. Barlow’s company is a major energy sup- splash. Barlow closes his eyes and takes a plier. It is planning to build the world’s largest step forward. underwater factory, which is being designed “Go ahead and open your eyes, and please to extract oil and gas from the seabed and don’t hold your breath. You’re already quite process it as soon thereafter as possible. Ever red,” says Poiret, who is floating in front of since a Norwegian company installed the first Barlow in the water, smiling and gently puff- autonomous extraction systems on the bot- ing on his pipe. “This is of course not a real tom of the North Sea 15 years ago, deep-sea ocean. If it were, you’d already be soaked to technology has been continuously refined. the skin and squeezed out of shape. We’re Huge drilling platforms on the sea’s surface sinking very fast.” In the gathering twilight, have given way to undersea systems over Barlow notices a huge shadow that is slowly time because they are too vulnerable, too in- circling them. “Not to worry, that’s only Wat- flexible, and too unreliable. son’s white shark,” Poiret remarks. “It’s actu- The new factory is expected to extract the ally part of an entirely different scenario, previously unexploited reserves of raw mate- which deals with an underwater hotel in rials in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. There, South Africa.” Reinventing Innovation oil, gas, and billions of tons of coveted metals Suddenly, Barlow once again feels the are slumbering in a veritable treasure chest. ground under his feet. It’s pitch-dark. “We’ve Poiret is now being asked to show what such arrived,” says the scientist. “Watson, turn the Innovation processes are changing radically. Scientific networks on the Internet, a deep-sea factory would look like, how it light on.” An eerie blue light penetrates the an active start-up scene that is always online, and the growing innovative power of would work, and what effects it would have depths and reveals to them truck-sized bright emerging economies are forcing companies to face up to new challenges. In response, on its environment. Accordingly, the com- yellow units that stretch over a distance of Siemens is becoming increasingly interested in collaborations with external partners. pany has provided him with a huge amount several kilometers on the ocean floor. “That’s of data and construction plans, which Poiret a nice color, isn’t it? I was inspired by Bobby’s has combined with additional information outfit,” Poiret says as he pores over a small about geology and biology, as well as other transparent tablet. “Here you can see the en- bits and bytes. According to the deal, Barlow ergy system that supplies the factory with will be getting a first impression of the results power. Incidentally, this electricity is also pro- today. duced down here by means of small tidal- Poiret appears, freshly showered, and flow power plants. Previously one had to shakes Barlow’s hand. “Pardon the delay, but transmit electricity over long distances using I was just in the holo lab to check the set- sea cables. Ah, there you are, Watson!” tings,” he says. Barlow wrinkles his forehead The virtual Watson is sprawling comfort- as he looks through the panorama window ably on top of a transformer. “Good morning, at the autumnal Hudson River. Has this mad- sir, I’ve checked the pipeline and simulated a man just taken a dip in the ocean, he won- small seaquake for it. Everything seems to be ders. “Bobby, rev up the quantum computer, watertight, just as we predicted. The deep- we’re going down now,” says Poiret. The sec- sea factory installations weren’t damaged ei- retary gently pushes Barlow into an elevator ther. However, the subsequent tsunami hit “Trip to Pforzheim completed — we’ve also an important motivation for Werner von itiveness. The Centre for European Economic aeronautics, organically based industrial seg- at the other end of the room. “My assistant, the oil tanker on the coast at the end of the safely arrived at Grandma’s.” This telegram Siemens from the very start. In a letter to his Research has calculated that in 2013 major ments, fuel cells, hydrogen technology, and Watson, is already waiting for us,” Poiret says. pipeline,” he says. Watson looks up toward sent from Pforzheim, Germany, to Mannheim brother Carl, he wrote: “From the time I was German companies will spend approximately electronics. “Industry knows how important “He’s an avatar, a hologram, just like the the ocean’s surface. “It was seriously dam- in 1888 launched the automobile and a suc- a youth, I have envisioned founding a global €140 billion worldwide on innovation. The it is not to neglect innovations. We are still whole laboratory.” aged, sir. I’m afraid it’s going to sink soon.” cess story that would change the world. business similar to that of the Fuggers, which exact effect of this expenditure on the sale of lagging behind some of the big economies,” The elevator door opens, and Barlow steps Poiret turns toward Barlow. “We’ve discov- Bertha Benz and her sons had climbed into would give power and prestige not only to me new products cannot yet be precisely calcu- said EU Commissioner for Research, Máire Ge- back in a state of panic. An endless stretch of ered that this region will be more geologically the three-wheeled Patent Motorcar Number but also to my descendants.” In 1847 he in- lated. The last such analysis, which was car- oghegan-Quinn during a kick-off presenta- water opens up before them; it reaches to the active than was previously assumed. Maybe 3 of Carl Benz, her husband, in order to show vented the pointer telegraph, and in 1866 he ried out in 2011, showed that new products tion for the public-private partnership pro- horizon and its surface is flecked with white you should rethink your plans for the factory the world that the future belonged to the demonstrated the principle of electrodynam- accounted for 14.2 percent of total sales, a gram in 2013. The U.S. and Japan, formerly lines of foam. The elevator starts to rock in a site. Those were our initial analyses.” horseless carriage. She believed so implicitly ics, which kicked off the triumphal march of slightly lower figure than the previous year’s. undisputed leaders in terms of R&D invest- gentle swell, and the air suddenly tastes salty. Poiret taps a combination of keys on his in her husband’s invention that she had asked electricity. But even before that he had devel- However, following the financial crisis, indus- ment, have also lost many points in the ranks Waves slap lazily against the outer walls of tablet. The scenery around them slowly dis- to have her dowry paid out early so that she oped a number of smaller technologies, such try began increasing its R&D expenditures of innovative economies (p. 96). Switzerland, the elevator, which seems to be floating in solves into thin air, leaving behind only a dry could help finance his research. On the way as a process for galvanic gilding and silver- again only in 2011, so there will probably be for instance, shows how important innova- the middle of the ocean. “It’s a beautiful view, white room. Barlow looks around him in a to Pforzheim she bought some fuel, a light plating that he sold to a company in England. positive effects. tions are for national economies. For years it isn’t it?” Poiret asks with a smile as he lights daze. Then his face grows tense and his skin gasoline, at a pharmacy. One reason for this He urgently needed the proceeds from the Meanwhile, competitors are coming to has topped the list of the most innovative his pipe. “Welcome to the Pacific. We are now starts to itch under his shirt. “That’s just the story’s enduring popularity is that it movingly sale in order to care for his orphaned younger the fore. Emerging economies such as China countries. It also has one of the world’s low- floating directly above your factory — 5,000 salty foam we experienced when we dived illustrates the fact that a bright idea is only siblings. Today, Siemens employs 370,000 and India are increasingly investing in re- est unemployment rates and occupies ninth meters above it, to be exact.” He makes a into the ocean,” says Poiret, slapping him on the beginning of the long process that trans- men and women all over the world, and in- search and development. In order not to be place in the list of the richest countries. sweeping gesture toward the inky blue water. the shoulder. “It’s just a little gag, Barlow. forms an idea into a successful innovation. novation is still one of the most important left behind, the EU is working with compa- Nonetheless, these are exciting times be- “Let’s take a look at the factory complex. Bobby will be happy to show you the way to Inventors are driven by ambition, the joy of drivers of the company’s growth. nies including Siemens in a number of pub- cause the very way innovation works is Please follow me — but don’t try to dive in.” the shower.” creativity, and the hope of material gain. Earn- Companies invest a great deal of money lic-private partnerships to drive research in fu- changing radically. For decades, scientists Poiret disappears into the water with a loud Florian Martini ing money by means of his inventions was in new products that will boost their compet- ture-oriented areas such as innovative drugs, used to share their ideas primarily at special-

92 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 93 How Ideas Mature | Trends How Ideas Mature | Innovation Strategies Prof. Marquardt (top) and Prof. Weinhold backed modular current converters. Left: The HVDC PLUS facility in San Francisco. ized conferences and in professional publica- ups but also stay abreast of new technology Siemens have come about thanks to such ex- tions. Industrial researchers formed an im- trends. Above all, the scouts must have cellent links between researchers (p. 95). portant part of these networks. When a topic above-average social skills, because the that had been developed at universities or in lifeblood of this sector is the fast and efficient A Look at the Future. It would be much too research institutes seemed interesting, a co- sharing of ideas (p. 106). According to many risky to rely only on intuition to predict which operative research project was set up. These experts, the entrepreneurial scene will con- products will be in demand in ten or 15 years. old networks still exist today, but the Internet tinue to develop steadily in Germany in par- That’s why Siemens developed a method that has dramatically accelerated the sharing of ticular. It’s true that London is very clearly the — like this magazine — is called “Pictures of ideas. For example, Berlin-based startup en- financial center for European startups. How- the Future.” This approach is always used trepreneur Ijad Madisch has established a so- ever, “business angel” Alex Farcet is con- when it’s necessary to develop clear ideas cial network for scientists called Researchgate vinced that there are many people in Ger- about future developments. Siemens futurol- that already has three million members. many who would gladly invest their money ogists conduct interviews with experts; from Madisch’s aim is to improve and accelerate in startups but don’t know how to do it and these interviews, which often number sev- the sharing of ideas among researchers. don’t have any connection with the young eral hundred, they crystallize conclusions The entrepreneurial landscape is also in a entrepreneurs’ networks. He believes that about technology trends and market devel- state of flux. “Garage companies” have ex- creating such links is one of the tasks of his opments. The accuracy of the resulting future isted for some 30 or 40 years, but now the startup boot camps (p. 108). scenarios is exemplified by a “Picture of the number of startups is exploding. Today tal- According to Farcet, startups are delight- Future” of the energy market that was cre- ented young people, especially students at fully uncomplicated. To start a company you ated in 2002/2003. It predicted that small de- elite U.S. universities, are trying to realize don’t need any qualification certificates or ti- centralized energy generation units would experience a boom, that renewable energy sources would probably become competitive From Ideas to Innovations even without subsidies, and that power plants would have to be operated more flex- ibly (p. 102). All of these themes are more A top-class global research network, farsighted strategies, a willingness to take risks, relevant today than ever before. and perseverance all help to bring innovations to life at Siemens. The power of visionaries and the sharing of knowledge also characterized the begin- nings of Siemens’ history. Werner von Siemens met mechanical engineer Prof. Jo- hann Georg Halske at a lecture given in Berlin An internationally operating company This was the case with modular multilevel interested. Michael Weinhold and other ex- at what was later to become the German such as Siemens must constantly monitor in- converters — an important recent develop- perts there at the time were examining the Physical Society. The two men appreciated novations from around the globe. “Our world ment at Siemens. These high-performance future requirements of the rapidly changing each other so much that they decided to join is full of innovative ideas, and we need to converters, which transform one type of cur- electricity market. “Back in 2000, we realized together to promote electrification and com- find out about as many of them as possible,” rent into another, previously had to be cus- that we would need this technology in just a munication technology in a company called says Prof. Michael Weinhold, Head of Tech- tomized for nearly every type of high-pow- few years,” Weinhold explains. At the time, Technology scouts need to be in touch with industry Telegraphen Bau-Anstalt von Siemens & nology and Innovation at Siemens’ Energy ered application — for example, in ship experts knew that more and more electricity Halske. Only a few years after the establish- Sector. The company keeps up with innova- engines and industrial motors. would be generated from distributed energy trends. They also need excellent social skills, because ment of the company in a small workshop in tions through research partnerships with uni- “I had the idea of developing a strictly sources in the future. They also knew that all the sector’s lifeblood is the fast sharing of ideas. Berlin, Siemens & Halske started operating in- versities, institutes, and other firms. Siemens modular concept that would make it possible of this power would have to be handled by ternationally, participating in the construc- also has its own specialized units that focus to configure high-performance converters us- converters if it was going to be efficiently tion of a telegraph network in Russia and the on cooperation with startups, including the ing any number of identical submodules transmitted and provide end consumers with their ideas in their own companies much tles. The only thing you need is to create Indo-European telegraph line. proverbial garage operations. based on a standardized design. Such sub- a reliable supply (see p. 102). more frequently than used to be the case. something that customers want. Of course Werner von Siemens believed that one In addition, a finely structured knowledge modules could be assembled in different By the turn of the century Marquardt had They are often opting for such a path rather that also applies to Siemens, but naturally the reason for his success was the fact that his and information management system ex- ways depending on their requirements,” says built a prototype. “Even the best experts than setting their hopes on a career in a ma- processes are more complicated in a com- factories manufactured products that were tends throughout the many units and depart- Prof. Rainer Marquardt, an engineer who would have trouble evaluating such a radical jor company. And no international company pany that operates in 190 countries. What’s based on in-house inventions. This made it ments within and across the four Siemens worked at Siemens Energy for 16 years be- innovation solely on the basis of a theoretical can afford to ignore this creative external po- more, developments such as a new gas tur- possible to stay ahead of the competition, Sectors. Many research projects are so exten- fore joining the Universität der Bundeswehr concept — they have to see how it works in tential. Siemens recognized this fact years bine or new software systems for industrial even though it was not yet possible to receive sive that they can only be carried out by a ma- near Munich in 2000, where he is still a pro- practice,” Marquardt explains. By this time he ago and successfully sent its own technology automation take years to develop and cost a patent protection in all of Germany’s individ- jor industrial group such as Siemens. “You fessor for Electric Drive Engineering. “In terms had also registered patents and published his scouts to look for promising startups with lot of money — more than a startup could ual states. Not until 1877 did the Reichstag need to be patient and have a lot of special- of the technology and industrial processes in- idea in five international journals, but he had which it could profitably work in Berkeley, ever scrape together. The kind of R&D that is pass a uniform German patent law — a law ized knowledge in several disciplines if you volved,” he adds, “this was a very ambitious not gotten much of a response. He wasn’t California, and in Shanghai, China. performed at Corporate Technology (CT) and whose urgent necessity Werner von Siemens want to develop gas turbine technologies or goal, especially with regard to high-perfor- surprised, though. “At least one hundred In recent years a lively entrepreneurial in the Siemens Sectors, along with external had previously declared in public. Ultimately, industrial automation software,” says Dr. Nor- mance equipment. That’s because it was ap- ideas are published in my field every year, but scene has also been developing in Europe. partners, is therefore indispensable for this company founder combined all the es- bert Lütke-Entrup, Head of Technology and parent that much more effective electronic most of them are not suitable for industrial Siemens has reacted to this development by Siemens’ success. Before good ideas can be- sentials of an innovative entrepreneur: a Innovation Management at Siemens Corpo- controls and much greater efficiency would applications, and a lot of good ideas are lost.” establishing its own Technology-to-Business come successful products, it is necessary to spirit of invention, a network, entrepreneurial rate Technology. be required in the future.” This time, however, things proceeded differ- Center at Corporate Technology in Munich, establish outstanding networks within the and strategic thinking, and, last but not least, Networking is the key here, since even the Marquardt initially presented his idea to ently. Weinhold presented the idea at the Germany. Its team of four Technology Scouts company and with universities and other re- a nose for successful innovations. most brilliant idea won’t get anywhere if it’s former colleagues at Siemens’ Industry Sector monthly meeting of the Siemens Energy must not only keep a close eye on new start- search institutes. Many new developments at Katrin Nikolaus not supported by the right people higher up. — but the Energy Sector also soon became Managing Board, which gave him the green

94 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 95 How Ideas Mature | Facts and Forecasts light to move ahead with the rapid develop- ment of the concept. “A project of this scale Leading through Innovation for power electronics requires a lot of people and capital,” says Weinhold. Siemens also had to develop a whole new environment for the Innovations are generally regarded as indicators its percentage of the total has decreased more than and innovative capacity of a country. “Older employees graphic change, aging workforces, and industrial inno- den, Finland, Belgium, and Ireland. Diversity is obvi- converters, including electronic control units. of an economy’s growth and competitiveness — and that of all other countries combined. The report as- are not necessarily less innovative than their younger vations. Companies in many countries are now discov- ously the foundation of creativity. Internationality, an The risk involved paid off, as Siemens became thus of a country’s prosperity. To date, Europe and the cribes this drop to the fact that industrial R&D in the colleagues, and vice versa,” is the conclusion reached ering the potential of teams in which people of various interdisciplinary approach, and a multitude of perspec- the first company to offer the technology. United States have drawn the most attention because U.S. has been strongly affected by the recession and by a study conducted by the University of Rostock, Ger- ages work together. In the diversity index, Switzerland tives are other key components of holistic innovation These days, modular multilevel converters of their capacity for innovation. But they are now en- that many researchers have lost their jobs. The EU, many, in 2012 to determine the links between demo- is once more at the top, followed by Australia, Swe- processes — all over the world. Gitta Rohling are standard around the globe. Siemens re- countering stiff competition in the marketplace of which is the leading region in this study, also experi- mains the market leader and continually ideas. According to a recent study conducted by enced a decrease. launches updated versions of the technology Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, the emerging The world’s research activities are extremely con- Top Countries by Top Countries in Terms of Number of — for example, HVDC-PLUS technology, economies are the drivers of innovation in many fields. centrated in only a few regions: Europe, the U.S., and whose turn-off power semiconductors en- For example, China and India are investing increasing China account for almost 70 percent of all research Patent Applications Researchers and R&D Investments able rapid regulation and highly dynamic op- amounts in research and development (R&D), whereas personnel. Today, one fifth of all researchers work in and where they File Number of researchers eration. A compact HVDC-PLUS facility is now the percentages of worldwide R&D investment made China. In terms of the publication of scientific articles, 1,5 mn Japan 287,580 178,183 efficiently transforming direct current into al- by the United States, Europe, and Japan is decreasing. Europe is the leading region and the U.S. is the leading China European USA ternating current at the end of an 88-kilome- The global R&D landscape is experiencing a basic country. However, China has significantly increased its China 415,829 18,544 Union 1,0 mn ter undersea cable link between Pittsburg, structural transformation. “Companies from emerging proportion of scientific articles in recent years. More USA 247,750 162,741 California, and San Francisco. Another such economies are no longer the extended workbench of than ten percent of all such publications today come South Korea 138,034 48,601 Germany 46,986 / 90,590 facility is now being built for the first high- the industrialized states. Instead, they are investing from China. 0,5 mn Japan voltage direct-current transmission line be- more and more in research projects and developing A report published by the World Intellectual Prop- India 8,841 / 6,091 Russia R&D expenditures tween Spain and France. their own competitive products,” explains Dr. Roland erty Organization (WIPO) in 2012 shows that — in (US$ in bn) Falb, a partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. comparison to the world economy — accumulated Patent applications in Patent applications in other 0 own country 14 top patent offices 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 Sources: Number of researchers: figures for 2007 from UNESCO Science UNESCO 2007 from for figures Number of researchers: Sources: R&D Magazine Report 2012: Battelle, 2010; R&D expenditures Picturing the Future. The ability to predict However, there is still one European country — global know-how in terms of intellectual property is 2012 Property Indicators Intellectual World Source: what the market may demand in five or ten Switzerland — that is leading the way when it comes growing rapidly. The indicators here are patents, trade- years is one of the main factors influencing to innovation. According to the Innovation Indicator marks, and functional and design samples. In 2011 Top Countries by % of Researchers Top Countries in Terms of whether new ideas meet with success. “Our 2012, that has been the case for years. The Innovation the number of patent applications passed the two-mil- Worldwide total Worldwide total experts use the Pictures of the Future method Indicator, a comparison of the innovation performance lion threshold for the first time. China’s share was the and Publications 733,305 986,099 Comparative R&D Expenditures 3,5 +1,1 4,6 to develop scenarios that point us in the right of 28 countries with the help of 38 individual indica- largest, at almost 25 percent. That’s a new develop- Worldwide total Worldwide total R&D expenditures at Percentage of global R&D 5.811 mn 7.210 mn purchasing power expenditures direction,” says Lütke-Entrup. For example, as tors, is compiled by the Deutsche Telekom Foundation ment, because for the past century either Germany, parity (in US$ bn) 30,9 -3,2 27,7 a result of a scenario for power distribution and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Japan or the U.S. had occupied the top position. Now 15,0 +0,7 15,7 ROW 35 developed eight years ago (see p. 102), “we Switzerland is followed by Singapore and Sweden in China is in the lead, with its 526,412 patent applica- USA USA Europe* 30 had to start thinking about how we could second and third place respectively, and after that by tions (in 2010 and 2011, China posted the highest 23,1 -3,1 20,0 415 China 436 store large amounts of electricity,” Lütke-En- the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and the U.S. rate of increase, at 34.6 percent). China is followed by 25 Japan Europe* trup explains. Experts quickly agreed that What’s the secret behind Swiss inventiveness? The the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Europe. Japan is leading India -3,0 29,5 45,5% 42,5 311 338 20 large-scale energy storage could be achieved country’s massive investments in education and re- the way with regard to patents that are registered not 32,2 -2,7 South Korea only if electricity were converted into a chem- search, as well as its strong and innovation-oriented in the registrant’s own country but in the countries 149 15 China 199 ical energy carrier such as hydrogen. economy, play major roles in its success. In addition, with the top 15 patent offices. 19,7 Japan 13,9 +5,8 5,2% +5,4 10,6 10 At around the same time, researchers at Switzerland gets top marks for all five subindicators: Developing modern technologies is an extremely Rest of world 38 148 45 -2,4 158 11,1 -1,3 9,8 10,0% 7,6 Siemens CT were working on fuel cells for use economy, science, education, government, and society complex process that often requires cooperation 2,3 -0,1 2,2 2,6 +1,1 3,7 5 in fuel cell power plants. This project did not — and that points to an innovation system that is well- across national borders. Between 2006 and 2011 such 2,4 +0,7 3,1 2,3 +1,0 3,3 India 33 41 % of % of % of scientific % of scientific 0 get very far, but the technology the scientists coordinated and functions effectively overall. This in- cooperation increased for all countries — except researchers researchers publications publications R&D expenditures as % 0 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 2002 2007 2002 2008 of GDP refined proved to be very suitable for electrol- terplay of all the relevant factors and actors is a further China. Switzerland participated in the largest number in % 2010 2012 Source: Battelle, R&D Magazine (2012 Global R&D Funding Forecast) (2012 Global R&D Funding R&D Magazine Battelle, Source: ysis. Here, a proton exchange membrane in element of its success. Swiss scientists conduct the of cooperative projects: 79.3 percent of Swiss patent Science Report 2010 UNESCO Source:: * EU + Russia + Eastern Europe * EU + Russia + Eastern Europe an electrolyzer separates the electrodes on fundamental research on which new technologies are applications in 2011 involved at least one developer which hydrogen and oxygen form. “Experts based. The educational system provides people with from abroad. By comparison, less than ten percent of The Ten Most Innovative Countries Methodology of the Innovation Indicator at CT built the first prototypes, and today the knowledge and skills they need to deal with these Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and South Korean patents Overall index Subindex Subindex Subindex Subindex Subindex Siemens’ Industry Sector is responsible for technologies and to come up with innovations. The involved developers from abroad. Rank Innovation Economy Science Education Government Society The Innovation Indicator ex- 1 Switzerland 77 Switzerland 73 Switzerland 95 Taiwan 81 Singapore 100 Netherlands 98 amines 38 subindicators that the further development and marketing of government, in turn, can stimulate innovation through An important theme for many countries, including are divided into five subsys- 2 Singapore 63 USA 61 Denmark 87 Singapore 77 Finland 79 Sweden 87 tems: economy, science, edu- electrolyzers,” says Lütke-Entrup. It’s a classic expenditures, regulations, and promotional programs. Germany, is the variety of people who are involved in cation, government, and soci- example of how CT helps the Sectors develop And finally, society’s attitude toward new technologies the innovation process. For this reason, the Innovation 3 Sweden 60 Taiwan 60 Netherlands 76 Switzerland 73 Taiwan 63 Canada 84 ety. Every subsystem contributes to a country’s new business opportunities. is an important general condition for the success of Indicator 2012 also takes a look at the topic of diversity 4 Netherlands 59 Germany 55 Ireland 74 Australia 64 USA 63 Germany 77 overall innovation perform- ance. The most innovative “It usually takes a long time for an idea to the economy’s efforts to bring forth innovations. and its significance for the innovation process. In view 5 Belgium 58 Belgium55 Finland 74 Belgium 61 Switzerland 62 Switzerland 73 countries are those that reach the highest possible rankings mature,” says Lütke-Entrup. Almost every sci- In the past decade, emerging economies such as of demographic change and the new challenges posed 6 Germany 56 Sweden 60 Sweden 71 Finland 60 France 62 Norway 72 across all subsystems; this entist has a flash of brilliance at least once in those of China and India have also significantly in- by globalized innovation processes, it is imperative to 7 USA 56 Singapore 54 Singapore 69 Canada 58 Netherlands 60 Austria 72 means that they have well-co- ordinated innovation systems. his or her career — and if perseverance and creased their R&D budgets and improved their scien- more strongly involve women, immigrants, and older 8 Denmark 54 Japan 52 Belgium 65 Ireland 57 Canada 60 Australia 67 In 2012 Germany had an indi- cator value of 56, which put it the right connections are added to the mix, tific performance. According to the UNESCO Science employees in science and business. 9 Finland 54 Norway 52 Norway 64 South Korea 54 Sweden 58 UK 67 in sixth place, down two places from its rank in the pre- a revolutionary innovation has a good chance Report 2010, the U.S. still leads the worldwide rank- Nonetheless, it is still unclear whether the aging 10 Norway 53 South Korea 50 Austria 63 USA 53 Belgium 56 Finland 55 vious report.

of succeeding. Katrin Nikolaus ings of research accomplishments, but in recent years workforce is a blessing or a curse for the productivity Indicator Innovation Source:

96 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 97 How Ideas Mature | Patents For each invention, Siemens patent attorneys How Ideas Mature | Patents decide whether, and in which countries, to file a patent application. beyond the current state of the art. It should € 500. These are followed by steadily-rising times called “minor patents” with a smaller not have been published, and it must have annual fees. Furthermore, since patent regis- claim to inventiveness. But some minor commercial utility. This applies to materials tration at DPMA provides protection only in patents are granted solely in China, because and machines, operating procedures, busi- Germany, additional registration costs for other patent offices consider the inventive el- ness methods, software, and algorithms. As other commercially-relevant countries are re- ement too slight. soon as a developer reports an invention, quired. Considered over the maximum 20- Chinese companies use this circumstance patent attorneys search the databases of the year life-span of a patent, total charges can for a clever trick: They can try to take know- world’s patent offices to determine whether add up to 100,000 Euros. In the case of how that isn’t protected by a patent and “re- anyone else on our interconnected planet has Fleisher’s gas sensor, the German Patent and label” it by registering an already published already had the same idea. Ultimately, a com- Trademark Office has been protecting his invention themselves at the SIPO, the Chi- mittee decides whether the potential product idea since March 21, 2013, but other coun- nese patent office. The rights are then owned is worth the expense and effort of applying tries are still examining the application — by the Chinese company. for a patent. and that process can take between two and In China, technology companies like Fleischer’s carbon monoxide sensor is an five years. Siemens therefore pursue a different strat- example. “Things had to go very quickly Applying for a patent doesn’t always make egy. “We try to protect even small technical there,” recalls Ahlers. The sensor has the sense, because applying means disclosing. changes in high volumes, even if they don’t patent number DE102009015121A1, regis- Experts carefully decide how to achieve the seem particularly clever,” says Hilmar Konrad, tered at the German Patent and Trademark best protection; sometimes Siemens simply a Siemens patent attorney in the Building Office (DPMA) on March 31, 2009 — only keeps a new software or a certain production Technologies division, the field in which Fleis- three days after the invention was reported process under wraps as a trade secret. And cher’s carbon monoxide sensor could be ap- internally. “Competitors would be thrilled to shouldn’t the company be especially careful plied. “We don’t want to risk being sued by have this technology. This is a key patent,” with applications in countries such as China, Chinese imitators who have applied for intel-

The Business of Defending Ideas

Many of the assets owned by Siemens consist not of real estate, buildings or machines, but of intellectual property. Protecting this property is one of the primary responsibilities of 430 experts at Corporate Technology.

From left: Patent attorneys Wolfgang Zeiler and Thomas Roth, In terms of external appearances, the of- second, behind Samsung, in the European from competitors and from all others who are says Ahlers. The sensor measures the CO con- sensor expert Max Fleischer, and Erich Schmid, lectual property rights to the imitated tech- fices of Beat Weibel and his team don’t look ranking in 2012, ceding the status it held in trying to copy them. tent of the air inside buildings and is an im- inventor of a process for increasing power nology.” Key patents, such as the one cover- very different from those of the finance de- 2011 as the European champion in inven- One of the legal experts on Siemens’ IP portant innovation in building control sys- production in combined cycle power plants. ing Fleischer’s sensor, are not only viewed as partment. The work done in them is similar tion. Overall, the Siemens Group now holds team is Simon Ahlers. A patent attorney who tems. It can be used for fire detection or for protection for innovations. When properly too, because his team also deals with com- approximately 60,200 patents. used to do research on sensors, Ahlers is not measuring air quality, for example. Fleischer managed they can be used against competi- pany assets. But Weibel’s experts are not con- Compared to ten years ago, the Group re- only familiar with the legal aspects of his wanted to present his idea at a trade show where there’s a likelihood of product piracy tors, and make it possible to legally challenge cerned with financial assets, holdings in com- ceives twice as many reports of inventions, field, but its technical details as well. Each in- for sensor suppliers, and thus make it public, and improper use of intellectual property? potential imitators. Furthermore, with the panies, real estate, buildings or machines. on average, from each of the approximately ventor at Siemens is supported by a patent just a few months after he reported the in- “Not necessarily,” says Dr. Oliver Pfaffen- help of licensing agreements with other com- Instead, their business is intellectual property 29,500 employees in Research and Develop- attorney who has experience in the same vention, so Ahlers had to act fast. zeller, a patent attorney and expert on Chi- panies, they can become the equivalent of a (IP). Weibel manages a staff of 350 at the ment — in large part because of the excellent field. This is the only way that patent experts nese law at Siemens. As it turns out, intellec- currency. “In China there are now consulting largest German corporate department for in- level of cooperation between patent attor- can achieve broad and meaningful patent Cost-benefit Analysis. A patent application tual property rights have become much more centers that provide support for transactions tellectual property rights. Capitalizing on neys and inventors. protection. They analyze the technological isn’t always submitted this quickly, and some- stringent in China in recent years, which has with intellectual property,” says Pfaffenzeller. technical innovations isn’t a trivial matter. One of Siemens’ inventors is Professor state of the art and the patent situation of times it isn’t submitted at all. The latter might adopted Germany’s strict patent system as its At the European Patent Office, China Protecting them is expensive, and companies Maximilian Fleischer. He is considered to be competitors and organize “invention on de- be the case for an invention that should be model. “This is particularly true with regard ranks fourth in terms of the number of appli- need a sound patent strategy. one of the world’s top sensor experts and is mand” workshops in which participants look kept secret, or for which a patent would not to the granting of patents,” says Pfaffenzeller. cations filed, behind the U.S., Japan, and Ger- In fiscal year 2012, Siemens employees the co-inventor of 120 patent families and specifically for patentable developments in be worth the costs. Significant factors in this “In infringement law, they’ve based their ap- many. Chinese companies are becoming reported 8,900 inventions within the com- 759 individual patents. His sensors “sniff out” current subjects of interest. Weibel calls this calculation include how old the patent is and proach to some extent on that of the U.S.” more and more innovative themselves (p. pany itself, and Weibel’s team submitted ap- exhaust gases from turbines, detect odors in “turning the attention of inventors to areas the number of countries in which it was reg- One important difference is the Chinese prac- 96). In the increasingly intense competition proximately 4,600 initial patent applications. human breath, and monitor the air quality in where the wheels haven’t yet been invented.” istered. From the moment a patent is filed to tice concerning industrial design. In some for technological leadership, it is thus becom- This represents about 41 inventions and 21 buildings. Fleischer’s inventions are used in a But what is a good idea? What kinds of the date on which it is granted there are in- countries, including Germany, there are two ing more important for German companies initial patent applications per day, assuming great variety of fields: healthcare, building things can actually be patented? “The idea ternal costs, as wells as filing, checking, and different types of rights regarding technical to protect their innovations in China so that 220 working days in the year. According to control systems, power plants, and smart has to have a certain flair,” says Ahlers. And annual fees. At the German Patent & Trade- intellectual property: patent rights and rights they can defend their IP and avoid falling be- the European Patent Office, Siemens came in grids. These valuable ideas must be protected it has to be new. In other words, it has to go mark Office (DPMA) initial charges are about for industrial designs. The latter are some- hind in global research. Silke Weber

98 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 99 How Ideas Mature | Creating Ideas TechnoWeb (map p. 101) and other Siemens How Ideas Mature | Creating Ideas platforms help share ideas. Dr. Bernhard Lang’s dike sensors (opposite) won an award. In a bid to obtain an €11 million contract duced Siemens TechnoSearch, the company petitions. “Our Open Co-Ideation competition Dr. Bernhard Lang, whose dike monitoring for the medical diagnostic equipment of a has the two key elements it needs to exploit generates many new ideas because the vari- product is one of the world’s most modern pharmaceutical company, Siemens employee its latent potential. ous bits of knowledge that company partici- early warning systems for floods. At Livedijk, Alistair Gammie visited the pharmaceutical To find the right contacts for urgent re- pants possess are not only linked but also dis- near Eemshaven, Netherlands, the device’s manufacturer’s production plant in Brazil af- quests, the system needs smart algorithms cussed and enhanced,” says Christoph Krois, sensors measure the temperature and water ter weeks of negotiations. During his tour of that are based on semantic techniques. “Al- who has been responsible for innovation pressure in the ground. The resulting data is the plant, Gammie came across workers who gorithms not only look for a question’s exact management at Siemens Corporate Technol- evaluated by adaptive software, which dis- were checking the print quality of bar codes. words and tags but also similar expressions,” ogy for a year now. The Open Co-Ideation plays the dike’s weak points and provides “Around one million bar codes are printed explains Heiss. “For example, if network par- competition invites researchers from differ- early warning of a possible break. every month and visually checked by our em- ticipants have the tag ‘Automobile’ in their ent departments to share their knowledge. When the competition was held, Lang al- ployees,” explained the plant’s director. profiles, the semantic technology knows that The competition has been held seven times ready had the concept prepared and only had “However, they still miss some printing er- rors.” Such errors can cause expensive logistics problems because they might lead to the in- Focus Areas of the Current Service Contest correct delivery of pharmaceutical products. Benefits for the customer Benefits for Siemens Even though such problems aren’t really Gammie’s domain, he could not stop thinking about them. On Friday evening he sent an ur- gent request to the TechnoWeb network — Energy Product Process sales increase Optimized Siemens’ online ideas platform. Even though efficiency Performance Cost Risk avoidance it was a weekend, colleagues from all over reduction and security optimization performance

Distribution of Siemens TechnoWeb members

to date, and has met with an enthusiastic re- to submit it for consideration. After winning Knowledge-Sharing Culture sponse from the Siemens community. the competition, he was released from his The current competition (“Data-driven duties at his department and given an extra Services@Siemens”) was launched in the budget so that he and his project team could Knowledge increases when it is shared. That’s why Siemens has invested in a platform that summer of 2013. Within six weeks, the com- turn the idea into a reality. contains the company’s consolidated expertise. It has also launched an internal search engine. petition’s more than 1,200 active participants TechnoWeb and the Open Co-Ideation These steps have set the stage for an open and cooperative knowledge-sharing environment. had generated almost 190 ideas, which were competition exemplify new approaches for evaluated almost 1,000 times. “A competi- the generation of ideas, and they are causing tion can quickly generate far more high-qual- Siemens’ corporate culture to change. “It’s no ity ideas than a small research team could longer a case of my knowledge, your knowl- possibly come up with in the same period,” edge, or my precious secrets, because knowl- the world sent Gammie 23 replies in no time Heiss from Siemens Corporate Technology work in networks or on specific topics. We says Krois. “Today you no longer have three edge is the only thing that increases if you at all. (CT). The TechnoWeb online platform, which use these trails to handle urgent requests, al- researchers meeting in a small room to de- share it,” says Krois. After holding his diagnostics presentation was founded in 1999, can be used by all though we make sure that everything is done velop groundbreaking innovations on their It’s fascinating to exploit the huge amount on Monday morning, Gammie described four Siemens employees worldwide to share ideas in conformity with data protection regula- own.” of potential harbored by all of the company’s concepts for automating the inspection of and research trends. “Many of the topics that tions,” explains Heiss. Users who give their Back at the company’s online platform, departments. Many of the people who take bar code print quality. Gammie’s listeners are hotly debated here will eventually be- approval leave such a trail by pursuing a tech- participants can either submit their own part in TechnoWeb or an idea competition are were impressed and asked him how he had come future trends,” says Heiss, who comes nology topic, commenting on a post, or as- ideas for the search field or support, com- looking for new challenges that go beyond managed to solve this problem so quickly de- from Austria. To work on a new topic, em- signing a tag to a request. If the trail matches ment on, evaluate, and expand on the ideas their own topic areas. Moreover, they all spite having no expertise in this field. He ployees create a “network” in which ideas are the inquirer’s problem, the system will notify of their colleagues. The competition in- know that you never stop learning, says replied that within a few hours he had mobi- gradually developed. “If nobody follows up a the user who submitted the request. “Experi- creases each participant’s knowledge and Heiss, who points out, “While it may be lized the combined expertise of 33,000 suggestion, it means that the topic is rather ence has shown that most inquirers receive puts his or her skills to the test. After six to cheating to ask others for the solution to a Siemens employees who actively participate uninteresting,” says Heiss. “However, if it at- several replies. Over 90 percent of the in- eight weeks, a panel of experts judges the question in school, asking the right questions in the company’s global TechnoWeb. tracts many participants, this demonstrates quiries receive replies, with the first one often ideas that have been submitted. Competition and obtaining the knowledge one lacks is ac- that the topic is of future relevance.” arriving within 30 minutes,” says Heiss. ‘automobile’ and ‘vehicle’ have almost the sponsors promote the best ideas and their tually a strength!” Sharing Ideas. Siemens experts are no Employees can submit urgent requests to TechnoWeb has evolved into a far-reach- same meaning.” However, this technique creators receive awards. However, far more The right questions, quick replies, and un- longer restricted by national boundaries, as the TechnoWeb in order to quickly find solu- ing platform that contains Siemens’ consoli- only works if the system knows all of the as- interesting for employees and developers conventional methods of sharing knowledge online idea databases and competitions link tions for hot topics. In these requests, the dated expertise. “For a long time now, we sociated technical terms. “The system is al- than an award is the fact that their ideas are also helped Gammie to gain a competitive the research and development community user describes the problem, provides an esti- have wanted to develop a kind of ‘knowledge ways learning new things, and as a result its turned into good products and services for in- edge. After all, a sales representative who is worldwide. They enable employees to discuss mate of its value to the business, and adds Google’ for Siemens,” explains Heiss. “It will collection of linked terms is steadily growing,” clusion in the Siemens portfolio. able to come up with a solution by tapping problems, identify the best ideas, and bring tags to link it to specific topics. The system consist of a search engine that creates lists explains Heiss. The competition held in June 2010 is a the expertise of his entire company is exactly their concepts to market maturity. “Siemens then automatically selects the answers that that allow users to quickly find recent trends good example. The best contribution in the the sort of contact to whom you can happily already had social media long before anyone might match the request. “Users leave a dig- and experts within the Siemens network.” Winning Ideas. Researchers have also de- Sustainable Portfolio Ideas category was sub- award an €11 million contract. had heard of Facebook,” explains Michael ital trail on the TechnoWeb whenever they Thanks to TechnoWeb and the newly-intro- velop innovations with the help of idea com- mitted by Corporate Technology researcher Nicole Susenburger

100 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 101 How Ideas Mature | Pictures of the Future Energy technology scenarios developed Future trends predicted: The Picture of the by Siemens in 2002/2003 have turned out Future of manufacturing that was painted in to be very accurate in many cases. 2002/03 portrayed much that is a reality today.

Wind farms on the open sea Operating machinery via tablet

Logistics with RFID chips

Low-loss power transmission Additive manufacturing

Smart power grids Security monitoring Virtual product planning Combined cycle power plant

Digital engineering

When Stuckenschneider is asked about Nonetheless, the PoF process can’t be dustry Sectors have turned out to be accu- Predicting the Next Big Thing the secret behind PoF’s success, he always rushed. Experts at Siemens CT need at least rate. For example: answers, “Its close cooperation with the com- six months to deal with a theme. They often Coal-fired power plants must be cleaner pany’s business units.” Other futurologists conduct over 100 interviews, compile the re- Power plants must operate more flexibly Pictures of the Future is the name of this magazine — and also of a method of investigating pore over books and interview external ex- sults, and discuss them in several rounds with Gas turbines remain an important part of future trends and their effects on Siemens’ business operations. Ten years after the method perts in order to reach conclusions that are everyone concerned. “It takes time to reach a the energy mix was first applied, it is apparent that the conclusions it led to back then were fairly realistic. likely to elicit a consensus. By contrast, consensus,” says Wottawah. His team creates Renewable energy sources are becoming Siemens’ business units are always involved about three PoFs a year. “For us, it never gets competitive even without subsidies in formulating PoF predictions from the word boring,” he adds. Distributed, decentralized electricity pro- go. “We take our customers in the Siemens The method also owes its success to a bril- ducers are being combined into virtual Sectors along with us on a trip to the future,” liant idea: PoF was meant to not only be a power plants In ancient Greece, people wishing to know and technologies into the future. Another of the company’s business units could con- says Dr. Falk Wottawah, who heads the PoF trademark but also literally live up to its Products and factories are being planned about the future went to Delphi. In the Tem- popular method is the scenario, which as- tribute to Siemens’ corporate development. team at CT. “And the clear target scenario that name. From the very start, graphic artists digitally ple of Apollo, the Pythian priestess would de- sumes future technological, social, and polit- For this purpose, the team invented a develops within the framework of the PoF translated PoFs into real pictures. The birth of Digital engineering is the key technology liver her oracles, most of which could be in- ical developments and then develops future method that is among the best in their pro- process is our North Star.” This is essential if the method was accompanied by the maga- for global cooperation and faster market terpreted in various ways — for example, scenarios and recommendations about the fession: Pictures of the Future (PoF). the results are to be accepted and the recom- zine of the same name, which today is pub- entry concerning the outcomes of battles or Oedi- technologies that must be developed today “PoF is a well-known brand today,” says Dr. mendations are to be implemented. lished worldwide in nine languages and with Products are being individually configured pus’ murder of his father. These insights were in order to make such scenarios a reality. This Heinrich Stuckenschneider from CT in Mu- a total print run of about 100,000 copies. and provided with specifications not produced by divine inspiration but most method is a “retropolation” from the future. nich, who has been a key developer of the Tomorrow’s World in Detail. For this rea- As a method of forecasting the future, a Research and development, as well as probably by the ethylene gas that seeped up The results become even more precise if method. “PoF,” the abbreviation used by son, PoFs are created at Siemens only if they PoF shows what the world will look like in ten training, are increasingly taking place in through a crack in the earth under the altar these two methods are combined. Siemens employees, has acquired many ad- are commissioned by a Division or a Sector. years or more. Consequently, 2013 is a good virtual worlds. and induced the Pythia’s clairvoyant trance. And it was exactly this combination of mirers and imitators. Companies such as In 2002/2003, the first PoFs were developed time to test the conclusions that were These theses and many others have Today, people who want to predict the fu- ideas that was developed by a team at Samsung and Hyundai send their forecast ex- for the Siemens working areas at the request reached in 2002/2003 and presented in Pic- turned out to be accurate, some sooner than ture don’t need an oracle. Researchers’ tool- Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) at the perts to Munich to acquire PoF know-how. of the Managing Board. After that, word of tures of the Future. “The scenarios created others, and some in a slightly altered form. boxes are filled with methods for picking out turn of the millennium. Their goal was to put Other companies and organizations from all their success spread quickly, and in the fol- back then were good,” says Stuckenschneider The estimates arrived at in the Industry sce- trends from surveys of experts or customers. technology trends into a business context — over the world have approached Siemens in lowing years PoFs were developed for build- with a mixture of pride and modesty. And in- nario “Engineering 2010+” have been partic- One common process is road mapping, the that is, to find out how researchers and de- order to create joint PoFs with their col- ing technology, industrial automation, en- deed, many of the PoF theses that were for- ularly accurate. They are based on very fore- extrapolation of existing business operations velopers at CT and the research departments leagues. ergy transmission, and the lighting business. mulated ten years ago for the Energy and In- seeable technical trends that give the

102 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 103 How Ideas Mature | Pictures of the Future How Ideas Mature | Electric Mobility calculations a stable framework. Here, the ergy sources — all have come to pass, in as those affecting the German Renewable I throw caution to the wind for a moment two most important trends are Moore’s Law, some cases sooner than expected. However, Energy Sources Act, have a considerable in- From concept to and floor the accelerator pedal. The motor which says that the processing speed and Weinhold has changed his mind regarding fluence on the success or failure of a technol- finished car, Siemens kicks in powerfully and extremely smoothly, storage density of microchips increase at a the thesis that electric car batteries would ogy. Here it is obvious that, in addition to the developed an electric propelling the vehicle to 70 km/h in less than constant rapid rate, and the increasing digi- serve as buffers for the smart electric grid. technical feasibility and economic usefulness version of the Volvo six seconds. The speedometer quickly climbs tization of many areas. “Today I no longer hold that belief,” he ad- of a technology, social trends and political de- C30 in just a few to 90 km/h. After that, caution returns. You’re mits. That’s because of new alternatives such cisions also play a major role. However, these months. not allowed to drive any faster than this here Questions about Market Forces. Quite a as stationary electric storage units, load man- latter influences are difficult to predict. on the country roads outside Gothenburg in few PoF conclusions have had concrete ef- agement, and thermal storage units for heat- western Sweeden. Besides, I’ve come here fects on the company’s business operations. ing and cooling buildings. Another PoF find- The Goal: Bringing People Together. At not to set a new speed record, but to test an One of them was the prediction that renew- ing — that results vary significantly from many Siemens business units, the PoF ap- electric car — the new Volvo C30 Electric, the able energies would experience a boom. This region to region — turned out to be very ac- proach now often influences technological first vehicle built by a major automaker caused Siemens to buy the Danish company curate, although no one could have predicted and business decisions that have strategic whose complete drive system technology Bonus Energy in 2004 and to very success- the details. Indeed, one need only compare significance. It also promotes contacts with comes from Siemens. fully expand its wind energy business in the Europe’s commitment to renewables with customers and partners, if only because of Just like the vehicle, the engineers who following years. In 2006 it became clear that the U.S. boom in gas fracking to see this. the illustrative pictures for the scenarios, developed the C30 Electric have also demon- the energy sector would experience many The 2006 energy supply PoF also illus- which can give rise to interesting discussions. strated their ability to get off to a quick start. more key changes. The concept of the smart trates the fact that once a picture of the fu- This approach has also inspired compa- The partnership between Volvo and Siemens, grid was a hot topic, and Italy introduced ture has been created, it is not sacrosanct. nies such as Royal Dutch Shell, one of the pi- which was sealed in August 2011, was only smart electric meters on a large scale. There is a clear orientation toward certain oneers of the scenario approach to strategic a few months old when the first prototype hit “We realized there would be tremendous goals, but the scenario has to be adjusted as business planning. Shell contacted Siemens the road. Normally, development of control changes in the electricity market,” recalls circumstances change. This is necessary, for because it had heard only good things about software alone takes at least a year, since all Prof. Michael Weinhold, chief technologist at example, when society sets new priorities, as the PoF method and expected to gain useful possible driving situations must be taken into Siemens’ Energy Sector. In 2006 the manage- it did after September 11, 2001 (with pro- input for its own approach. The observation account. Things moved so quickly with the ment of the Power Transmission and Distri- found effects on trends in security) and after that “at Shell we move molecules and at C30 Electric because Siemens used a tried bution Division decided to commission a PoF Fukushima (with profound effects on nuclear Siemens you move electrons” led to a guest and tested control system concept. “The core of its own at CT. Corporate Technology then energy). In another example, statements PoF in which both partners investigated of this concept is an algorithm we’ve been conducted more than 100 interviews with about industries that are very dependent on trends in future clean energy delivery. continually developing for years,” says Malte- scientists, companies, and regulators all over IT must be readjusted often. Trends such as According to Wolfgang Hass, an innova- Michael Ewald, who is managing the project the world; some of them lasted up to two big data, social networks, and mobile apps tion manager at Siemens Building Technolo- at Siemens Inside e-Car. The algorithm is also hours. “We asked open questions, had no are revolutionizing many areas of daily life as gies, the greatest achievement of the PoF Test Drive in Sweden used to control industrial units, mine vehi- preconceived theses, and began by simply lis- well as the energy, traffic, and industrial in- process is probably its ability to bring people cles, and hybrid bus drive systems. tening,” says Weinhold, who conducted some frastructures. together. He reports that the PoF his team Most of the car’s hardware, which consists of the interviews himself. In the area of energy, Weinhold is con- conducted together with their colleagues For new ideas to be successful, customers have to be able to of an electric motor and an inverter, also in- This approach yielded a very consistent vinced that a new PoF that focuses less on from CT five years ago enabled them to easily afford them. With its concept for the new C30 Electric, Siemens cludes proven Siemens components. Here, a PoF. Decentralized energy generation, cus- technologies and more on market mecha- enter into discussions with many customers, is entering the field of electric vehicle mass production. permanently excited motor is used — a type tomers’ growing awareness of sustainability, nisms will have to be created at some point. for example some from Saudi Arabia and of motor that works with permanent mag- and the strong expansion of renewable en- That’s because legislative amendments, such Dubai. “It’s amazing the kinds of things they nets. It has a continuous output of 89 kilo- talked about with us after they had seen the watts, which can be temporarily stepped up PoF pictures,” he recalls. For example, they to 110 kilowatts. Its maximum torque is 250 talked about the organizational and logistical newton meters. Compared to the first-gener- Vision to Action: How the PoF Process Works difficulties presented by the construction of ation C30 Electric drive, whose technology the world’s tallest building, the 830-meter was not supplied by Siemens, output has in- Pictures of the Future (PoF) is based on a method developed in 2000 by former Siemens managers Burj Khalifa, and the need to label construc- creased by 20 percent and torque by 10 per- Michael Mirow and Carsten Linz. This is the first method that combines the extrapolation of current busi- tion elements with RFID chips before they are cent, even as the drive system’s outer dimen- ness operations with a retropolation of comprehensive future scenarios. The future scenarios are based on delivered to a construction site. “In this way sions have remained the same. stable frameworks — megatrends such as demographic change, urbanization, globalization, and climate we learned things that were much more ex- Still, it wasn’t as if the car’s developers change — as well as a database of approximately 1,000 identified individual trends from the areas of soci- citing than the actual PoF theses,” Hass says. could simply pull parts off a shelf and install ety, politics, business, and the environment. On the basis of these trends and their interactions, the re- In 2010 Siemens Industry discovered a them. Instead, they had to adapt compo- searchers produce a convincing picture of the possible development of the current business environment surprising fact through a PoF. One of the nents to ensure they would comply with the of the area under investigation. Experts from Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) and their colleagues PoF’s findings was that recycling would be- automotive industry’s stringent quality stan- from the business units use this picture to create a “most likely scenario” and to precisely formulate hy- come more important for Siemens. Accord- dards. In addition, the drive system is housed potheses that are then discussed with external experts. The resulting PoF enables them to identify the ing to Robert Lock, head of the Advanced De- in the front of the vehicle — precisely the most important technological levers and the scenario’s effects on Siemens’ core business operations. That, velopment team at Siemens Industry, this led area where kinetic energy is converted into in turn, indicates the tasks that must be accomplished today, such as which new technologies need be de- the experts to try to find out which compa- deformations in a crash. Although compara- veloped or which markets should be emphasized. The CT team has developed this method into a general nies were the key players for recycling. They tively few units were produced, Volvo con- framework that includes instructions about the PoF process itself. In addition, the “Vision to Action” con- arrived at an astonishing result. The global ducted its crash tests as meticulously as it cept is expected to further accelerate the practical implementation of future recommendations. This was market leader in the recycling industry was would have done with a high-volume model. first put into practice for a PoF that focused on the logistics of replacement parts. none other than Siemens. “We hadn’t real- The country road is empty, so it’s time for ized that,” Lock admits. Bernd Müller the next test. I floor the accelerator and re-

104 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 105 How Ideas Mature | Electric Mobility How Ideas Mature | Technology to Business Munich is one of Europe’s leading centers of innovation. Siemens’ newest Technology to Business Center is in the thick of it. Volvo’s drive systems will be standardized to show up. Prescher is looking for such peo- across all models. As a result, the company ple, since some of them may have come up will use three and four-cylinder diesel and with ideas that could be of interest to gasoline engines in only a few output classes Siemens. He and three colleagues are inter- in the future. It will adopt a similar approach nal Siemens technology scouts who work for with its electric models, which will also be the Technology to Business Center (TTB) in equipped with standardized systems for use Munich, which opened last year. The scouts in different output classes. The range of ve- establish contact with startups that are in- hicles will not be limited to battery-electric volved with technologies, products, or serv- cars. Volvo is currently focusing on plug-in ices related to Siemens, or that Siemens hybrids equipped with a combustion engine might deal with in the future. The scouts’ job and an electric drive system with a battery therefore involves frequent attendance at that is rechargeable from an electrical outlet. networking events, congresses, and confer- ences for entrepreneurs. Tried and Tested Technology. The Volvo Siemens established its first TTB in Berke- Instead of a fill up, recharge at a rate of 22 kW C30 Electric wasn’t originally planned as an ley, California, back in 1999. A second one electric vehicle or designed specifically to ac- opened in Shanghai in 2005. Both of them commodate an electric drive system. The have established numerous partnerships lease, over and over again. Then I accelerate body was built at the Volvo plant in Ghent, with startups. “But there has also been a with my right foot and brake with my left at Belgium, and was then shipped to Gothen- startup scene here in Germany and all over the same time. Finally, I repeatedly tap the burg, where the electric drive system was in- Europe for around ten years, and it is still accelerator at a speed of 30 km/h. All of stalled. This system includes a lithium-ion growing rapidly,” Prescher explains. “We need these moves are completely illogical; only a battery with a nominal capacity of 24 kilo- to learn all we can about it.” This explains driver who’s distracted or panicky would watt-hours, which translates into a range of why Siemens has established a third TTB in make them. But nothing happens — not at least 120 kilometers in practice. Munich. Dr. Stuart Goose, who worked for even a jerk, and that’s a good sign. It’s almost “Using tried and tested automotive tech- eight years at TTB Berkeley, is providing the as if the C30 Electric is saying to me, “Go nology is the right strategy when you’re deal- new center with assistance. “Most startups ahead, I won’t lose my cool!” ing with low unit volumes,” says Konnberg, are still in Silicon Valley,” says Goose, adding But the Volvo’s stoic calm is not a given. who points out that only 100 new C30 Elec- that the scene in Europe is not as advanced It’s a true art to design a drive control system tric models will be built initially. Half of these as its California counterpart that produces no surprising results, even will be tested in Sweden and Norway. Still, there are many reasons to believe when it’s operated in a completely haphazard Siemens will make the other half available for that the startup boom will become more dy- manner. “In the worst case, a flawed design use at various facilities. All of the cars will be namic in Germany. For one thing, there are could destabilize the entire control system,” equipped with a data-recording device that many government subsidy programs. “It’s Ewald explains. Engineers from Volvo, who will collect information on driving profiles. now quite easy to get financing from the gov- programmed the vehicle control system, “This will provide us with important knowl- ernment,” says Goose. Even more important worked with the Siemens development team edge for the further development of the ve- are the many universities and research insti- to find a variety of solutions. One of these hicles,” says Ewald, who will use three of the tutes that continually produce talented, was to “level out” input signals. This ensures cars himself for testing purposes. The data highly educated graduates. The team in Mu- that the development and reduction of they provide will be utilized to refine compo- nich has studied the innovation landscape in torque is always smooth, even during rapid nents and software. Among other things, An El Dorado for Startups Europe and identified the most promising load changes. plans call for the inverter, which still consists startup centers for the TTB. These include Volvo manager Johan Konnberg, who is of typical industrial electronic components In Germany, as in Silicon Valley, recent college graduates Munich, Berlin, Paris, Scandinavia, and the responsible for electric drive development, and systems, to be modified for mass vehicle London-Oxbridge “golden triangle.” emphasizes how well the components of the production applications. are increasingly transforming their ideas into new Siemens’ interest in startups is part of a onboard electronics system work together. I park the C30 Electric on the outskirts of companies. Siemens’ Technology to Business Center strategy that is designed to enable it to work He also praises the fact that everyone in- Gothenburg, in front of a hotel and right next in Munich is constantly on the lookout for interesting effectively with new companies, because tal- volved in the project learned from one an- to a Siemens charging station. Konnberg technologies that need a little help to get off the ground. ented individuals don’t necessarily want to other. “As a relatively small premium manu- plugs it in. “The battery will be fully implement their ideas within a major indus- facturer, we need strong supplier partners,“ recharged by the time we get back from trial group. “Even undergraduates at Stanford he says, adding that he considers the C30 lunch,” he promises. An onboard charging are focused on establishing startups,” Goose Electric just the first project in a far-reaching device developed by Volvo enables the C30 explains. “This trend has also been apparent partnership. Indeed, Volvo plans to convert to make full use of its 22-kilowatt charging It’s Monday evening on the outskirts of evenings, at a networking event called “e- Monday crowd have come not just to social- for years at German universities,” Prescher its entire product portfolio over the next few power — the maximum an alternating cur- Munich, and the offices and labs at Siemens Monday” for budding entrepreneurs. It’s the ize but also to talk about new developments adds. “Entrepreneurship has long since be- years. The goal is a uniform platform that will rent charging unit is capable of delivering. Corporate Technology (CT) are slowly empty- third Monday of the month, so the meeting in the electric mobility sector. come more than just a buzzword; it is now a include a Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). “Just ten minutes of recharging results in an ing out. Employees are heading toward the will take place at the Hofbräukeller, a popular The evening is probably the biggest Ger- career option that is taken seriously.” Thanks to SPA, the automaker will be able to additional range of 20 kilometers,” Konnberg subway or to their cars or bicycles. Dr. Martin pub in the trendy Haidhausen district of Mu- man networking event for electric mobility. TTB scouts visit hundreds of startups in offer various vehicle body types — from com- says, beaming with pride. However, even in Prescher says good night to his colleagues — nich. But rather than guzzling beer, most of Anyone with a good idea for a new technol- search of technologies that can help Siemens pacts to SUVs — at competitive prices, even Sweden, people don’t eat their lunch that but his working day is not yet over. He’s about the one-hundred participants are drinking ogy that might solve one of the many prob- develop innovative products. “You can’t nec- in small unit volumes. fast. Johannes Winterhagen to spend the evening, like many other mineral water. After all, Prescher and the e- lems associated with electric mobility is likely essarily tell at first glance whether the tech-

106 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 107 How Ideas Mature | Technology to Business Technology to Business How Ideas Mature | Interview

with Siemens engineers explaining to the Greenway, a startup based in Hanover, What is the idea behind don, is still the European capital of ‘Venture startup’s developers how they should refine Germany, has developed service software in Startupbootcamp? Capital’ and the government is very focused their technology in order to enable it to meet the form of an app that calculates the fastest Farcet: Startupbootcamp is a startup accel- on incentivizing more private investment – the requirements of the Siemens rail automa- route for a road user by determining the po- erator. As opposed to an incubator that pro- through, for example, special plans, such as tion system’s portfolio. “Our goal is to config- sition and speed of all vehicles equipped with tects startups, we’re like the rocket booster the ‘Enterprise Investment Scheme,’ which ure an externally developed technology in a the app. It does this via GPS. An algorithm on the space shuttle; we give an intense gives a 50 percent tax break on venture in- way that will give Siemens not only the best then determines which routes are at risk of short burst of energy and launch startups vestments. Some European countries are solution but also one that is like no other in becoming congested; after that the app rec- into orbit. Around 400 startups apply to very far from that. the world,” says Goose. As a welcome side ef- ommends alternate routes. As Greenway each program and we select the best ten. fect, startups that partner with Siemens im- founding partners point out, this feature also They relocate to the program city and re- What qualifications does an entrepre- mediately become much better known after helps to prevent traffic jams, provided that ceive 15,000 euros in micro-funding, six neur need in order to be successful? they begin working with the company. ten percent of the cars on the road are using months of free office space and connection Farcet: That’s the beauty of entrepreneur- In order to find the right business part- the app. A company called Carriva in Berlin ners, the TTB team first has to know what has digitized traditional ride-sharing services. Siemens’ divisions and units are looking for More specifically, it has refined ride-search at a given time. “We learn a lot through per- criteria in a way that enables drivers and pas- sonal contacts inside the company,” Prescher sengers to be precisely matched, even for explains. In an effort to bring an even greater short trips or daily commutes. Smokers, for Finding Where the Fear Curve number of potential partners together, TTB example, can find drivers who smoke, and also staged a DemoDay for Siemens’ Mobility travel times can be precisely aligned. It’s still and the Experience Curve Meet and Logistics (IC MOL) Division. This event not clear how, or even if, such new ideas can brought 40 Siemens development engineers be incorporated into Siemens projects. How- Alex Farcet (46) worked nologies that are being developed by entre- together with representatives from some 25 ever, it's important for Siemens experts to for a startup in San Fran- preneurs fit in well with Siemens’ business startups. TTB selected the companies and know that these companies exist, and what cisco before joining the cor- activities,” Goose explains. That’s why the vis- matched them in advance with different de- they’re working on. As Goose explains, “You porate world and traveling to over 100 mentors — most of whom are ship — no diploma or qualifications are its often resemble quick brainstorming ses- velopment departments at IC MOL. For ex- don’t always have to reinvent the wheel.” the globe for DHL for 12 serial entrepreneurs. required. ‘All’ you have to do is build some- sions in which projects are discussed and cer- ample, Augmensys, an Austrian startup, met Sometimes there’s potential for coopera- years. Since 2007 he has thing customers want to use. That being tain catch phrases are dropped. In some with a team at IC MOL that focuses on service tion even when a startup’s technology gone back to the startup Why should an entrepreneur pick said, there is certainly a skill set to entrepre- cases, a remark might “click” for a scout, who innovations. Augmensys specializes in linking doesn’t appear at first glance to be closely re- Startupbootcamp? neurship. When we select teams to join will then realize which Siemens unit might be data with a user’s actual location. The com- lated to Siemens’ business activities. The scene. Farcet is now the co- Farcet: We’re building the biggest network Startupbootcamp we of course look at the able to utilize the technology in question. pany’s innovation makes it possible to display Vigour.io company is a good example of that. founder and Managing Di- in six cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Copen- originality of the idea or product and its The scouts are currently searching on be- a building’s emergency exits, maintenance Vigour.io has created an online platform for rector of Startupbootcamp, hagen, Dublin, Eindhoven and Haifa. We market potential. But at this early stage we half of the Siemens Rail Automation Business instructions, or circuit diagrams on a user’s further refining apps, and experts from Mo- a European startup accel- plan to be in Africa, Latin America, and Asia know it’s mostly about the quality of the Unit for a company that can develop a rail mobile terminal. This technology, which is bility and Logistics are very interested in this erator founded in 2009 in a couple of years. In 2013 alone we’re team. Being an entrepreneur is such an up- monitoring system. “The company has to known as augmented reality, “enriches” the innovation. The new technology enables mo- with programs in Ams- producing 70 new startups. hill battle that we focus on a lot of soft skills have the hardware, such as sensors and wire- real environment with computer data — an bile terminals to share data without being terdam, Berlin, Copen- such as persistence, receptiveness to coach- less communication systems, and the soft- innovation that might interest Siemens Ser- connected to one another. Instead, all of the hagen, Eindhoven, Dublin Is the culture of entrepreneurship dif- ing , communication and sales ability, and ware for processing and evaluating the sig- vicetools, for example. applications are configured in the cloud at ferent in Europe compared to the U.S.? raw as well as emotional intelligence. Next nals,” Prescher explains. The goal is to create lightning speed in a way that ensures that and Haifa. He is also a Farcet: Generalizations are always risky, you’ll ask me how we spot those… we just a new system that can be used by rail opera- they can be run seamlessly on any terminal. partner at Rainmaking, a but I would say that in Europe there is still know it when we see it. tors to immediately detect and localize obsta- The possibilities here include an infotainment “company factory” with ten some stigmatization of entrepreneurs, espe- cles and other problems on tracks. The obsta- system that asks passengers entering a train on-going startups and oper- cially those who have failed before. In the Are there any differences between cles might include people or fallen trees. The if they want to link up with the system. Once ations. He recently co- U.S., if you rise from the ashes you’re an entrepreneurs who focus on internet system also must be able to determine passengers confirm they want to participate, founded Angelsbootcamp, even bigger hero than if you were success- business ideas and those who prefer whether components such as cables and they begin receiving multimedia content or whose objective is to mo- ful the first time around. In Europe there is to deal with hardcore technology metal parts are missing, because such items information such as offers to peruse the tivate and educate new still a conservatism pushing young talents fields? are often stolen from rail lines. train’s dining car menu or rent an electric car toward traditional careers. Farcet: The entrance barrier to internet “We looked at many potential partners, at the station where they are getting off. angel investors in Europe. startups is lower, especially with develop- but it was very difficult to verify their claims,” “Of course all the startups we’ve ap- Farcet holds an MBA degree Can you see regional differences ments such as socially-enabled viral market- says Prescher. TTB Munich therefore staged a proached have worked very hard to get Mo- with a major in Operations within parts of Europe? ing, cloud storage and distributed tools, kind of casting call at a Siemens rail test track bility interested in them,” says Prescher. Many Research & International Farcet: Regarding Europe, when we talk which have dramatically lowered the cost of near the Dutch border. The companies invited even brought along prototypes of their devel- Business from Tulane Uni- about internet and software entrepreneurs, developing, launching and distributing soft- to the event set up their equipment while opments to the first meeting. Siemens’ versity in New Orleans. there are more commonalities than differ- ware solutions and services. Today it’s quite Goose and Prescher created potential scenar- Healthcare and Building Technologies Sectors ences — they even get their news from the feasible for a couple of co-founders with no ios for their systems. For example, they also plan to stage DemoDays. After all, what same blogs. Finally, there are 300,000 ac- technical skills to build a highly successful walked on the tracks, placed tree trunks on could be better for a young and ambitious tive angel investors in Europe but according internet-based product. Still, when we se- them, and even loosened some bolts. “After firm than to team up with a major global to one estimate we have over three million lect teams, we expect at least one of the co- we were done, we knew which company had player — one with a lot of stamina? A com- individuals with the financial means to be founders to have technical skills, as we want the technology Siemens needed,” Prescher pany like Siemens, for example. active private venture investors. That’s a big them to be able to at least start building the explains. A cooperation phase then began, Katrin Nikolaus upside to go after. The UK, particularly Lon- product internally.

108 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 109 How Ideas Mature | Interview How Ideas Mature | High Altitude Laboratory

Has Germany produced any outstand- where your experience curve and your What is your vision for the world of Nothing but ice and rock as far as the eye ing startup ideas in fields such as envi- fear curve are at the optimal meeting point, startups in Europe by 2030? Researchers are devel- can see. A huge glacier soars above the ronmental technologies and factories and the art is to find it. What I mean by Farcet: More distributed, more global oping insights into altitude rugged landscape. At night, temperatures of the future? experience curve is that many successful teams. Less barriers, more internet enabled sickness using Mt. Everest drop as low as 30 degrees Celsius below zero. Farcet: I just attended the annual confer- entrepreneurs start by solving a problem technology. You will see startups with a as a living laboratory. The air is so thin that humans cannot survive ence of Target Partners, a German Venture they have observed in the market. By fear British marketing team, a South African de- for extended periods. It doesn’t sound like an Capital firm. They were celebrating the re- curve I mean that the older we get the velopment team, and a German CEO, agreeable location to pitch a tent; yet this is cent exit of Joulex, which was acquired by more is at stake. We tend to have a family whose main market is China. They will be the perfect location for research that might Cisco Systems Inc. for $107 million. Joulex to support, maybe a mortgage to pay. In crowd-funded by hundreds of thousands of one day revolutionize the treatment of pa- enables companies to manage the energy general I would err on the side of start as individual investors from dozens of coun- tients in intensive care. use of all their networked devices — from young as possible. I love this quote by tries. In the summer of 2013, a British-Ameri- printers to data centers. The fact is most William Shatner — aka Captain Kirk: ‘The I am a French citizen, was born in Spain, can research team set up their tents here at people have never heard of Joulex but it’s a idea behind saying yes is it's easier to say went to boarding school in England, mar- Mount Everest’s south base camp, 5,300 me- great German story. The founders started in no — especially as you get older. It's easier ried a Danish woman, have worked in East- ters above sea level. They came 60 years after Germany but built a global team with head- to say no, I will not entertain that idea. ern Europe and live in Berlin — it doesn’t man’s first ascent to the top of the world’s quarters and sales in the U.S. Most of the No, I will not take a fresh look at something. get much more European than that. I hope highest mountain, to learn more about how engineers, however, were — and still are — No, I will not meet that new person. It's we finally are able to rally our institutions oxygen deficiency, also known as hypoxia, af- based in Germany. They are now a key com- easier to stay at home. It's easier to insulate. around the Euro so that we have a truly in- fects humans. This knowledge could help to ponent of the Cisco network strategy. It's more difficult and more dangerous to tegrated, more competitive and open mar- increase the survival rate of patients in inten- say yes to opportunity. But saying yes to ket. That means one patent application, one sive care. Do you have any advice for young opportunity is saying yes to life.’ company incorporation, one work contract, The project’s name, Xtreme Everest 2, entrepreneurs? one set of taxes, etc. says it all. Eleven doctors and researchers Farcet: There’s a sweet spot in your life Interview by Hülya Dagli from University College London, the Univer- sity of Southampton, and Duke University (North Carolina) spent 83 days at this inhos- How Ideas Mature | Interview pitable location, 49 of them at the base camp. The scientists were accompanied by around 200 volunteers willing to make the ar- duous climb to serve as test subjects. The Siemens and Startups: Many Mutual Benefits doctors conducted thousands of tests on themselves and the other participants, taking more than 4,000 blood samples in the How is the expanding startup scene startups in Europe and the U.S. Our Technol- process. influencing major companies such as ogy to Business Centers in Berkeley and The scientists’ findings could save the lives Siemens? Shanghai have been successfully networking of many people suffering from heart or lung Scheuble: Small innovative companies in local innovation clusters for more than ten Cutting-edge Research disease. In 2011 Germany recorded more offer large corporations a look into the fu- years now. We also began applying this con- than two million cases that required intensive ture. Such firms are sources of innovation, cept in Europe nearly a year ago in order to care. In the UK, one fifth of the population early indicators of new markets, and some- establish contact with the active and attrac- at the Top of the World will spend time in intensive care at some times even the rivals of tomorrow. Many of tive startup scene on the continent. point during their lives. Two fifths of these them also are able to test technical innova- During the summer of 2013, Mount Everest’s base camp patients will die, in many cases as a result of tions and new business models more quickly What new forms of cooperation are be- oxygen deficiency, or hypoxia. and flexibly than well-established companies ing established? was transformed into a research lab. Together with 200 “Human beings can adapt to oxygen defi- can. Conversely, the international presence, Scheuble: We’ve met with a very positive volunteers, a team of scientists used the camp to study the ciency, although they do so at different global market access, and manufacturing ca- response in Europe, especially here in Mu- effects of altitude sickness. The results might soon be used rates,” explains the expedition’s leader, Dr. pacities of large companies can help startups nich, and we’ve already established many to develop new treatments for patients in intensive care. Daniel Martin, Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia break through onto the international scene. good relationships. One recent example is and Critical Care Medicine at University Col- As a result, there’s great potential for coop- the Satellite Co-Location Center in Munich, lege London. “For example, if 100 people get eration between new companies and major which we established together with fortiss, pneumonia, 25 of them will shake it off companies like Siemens. the Technical University of Munich, and the within a week. Half of them will have to be European Institute of Innovation and Tech- hospitalized and will take about four to six How is Siemens reacting to these nology (EIT). The center is meant to serve as weeks to get better. The remaining 25 pa- developments? an innovation hotspot for business and sci- tients will be dead within a week, despite in- Dr. Sven Scheuble is the Scheuble: Cooperation with startups is be- ence, with a focus on information and com- tensive care and the administration of oxy- Head of the Technology to coming more and more important to munication technologies. Here, people and gen.” Business Center at Siemens Siemens. We’ve already made more than 150 companies with innovative ideas can work At the Mount Everest base camp, the at- Corporate Technology. investments in startups around the world with us on research issues that are relevant mospheric pressure is only half of what it is through Siemens Venture Capital, and the to Siemens and demonstrate their own at sea level. This means that only half as Siemens Technology Accelerator (STA) now expertise. much oxygen enters the lungs during inhala- has ten years of its own experience with Interview by Katrin Nikolaus. tion. At sea level, oxygen saturation (i.e. the

110 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 111 How Ideas Mature | High Altitude Laboratory How Ideas Mature proportion of red blood cells carrying oxy- entists working on the Xtreme Everest project well as identical twins and individuals who As was the case in 2007, expedition par- gen) is 100 percent, but at the base camp it subjected 200 healthy people to oxygen de- had taken part in the 2007 expedition. ticipants were examined using blood gas drops to only 70 percent. This is equivalent ficiency, simulating the hypoxia suffered by A group of native Sherpas also took part. analysis devices from Siemens, which are ro- In Brief to that of a person suffering from hypoxia. hospital patients. Sherpas’ tolerance for hard labor and their bust and weigh approximately 11 kg. The ex- The human body responds to decreasing at- The project team had already gone to ability to carry heavy loads at high altitudes pedition was accompanied by Siemens em- mospheric pressure by producing more red Everest in 2007. Together with several other made them an important part of the experi- ployee Steve Carey, team leader for blood gas Without innovation there is no growth, and PEOPLE: blood cells so that a greater amount of oxy- participants, Dr. Martin climbed all the way ment. systems maintenance at Siemens Healthcare without growth there is no prosperity. But competi- Patents: gen can be carried in the blood. to the summit where, at an altitude of 8,848 “Scientists used to think that Sherpas can in the UK. When Carey learned of the project tion for new ideas is big. Emerging markets are in- Beat Weibel, Corporate Technology As with Dr. Martin’s hypothetical pneumo- meters, there is only one third as much oxy- transport more oxygen in their blood than he immediately took advantage of this op- creasingly investing in research and development. [email protected] nia patients, 25 percent of those who travel gen as at sea level. The researchers took lowlanders,” says Dr. Martin. “But that’s not portunity to test “his” measuring devices on There is also a start-up scene on the Internet. No Simon Ahlers, Corporate Technology to this altitude suffer no problems as a result blood samples from one another only a few the case. Their hearts function the same way the world’s highest mountain. In longer limited by national borders, it is sharing infor- [email protected] of the low atmospheric pressure. Around half hundred meters from the peak. The level of as ours, and their oxygen supply is the same addition to making sure that all of the instru- mation at incredible speed. But how does an idea Oliver Pfaffenzeller, Corporate Technology contract altitude sickness and require addi- oxygen in Dr. Martin’s blood was the lowest as well. The answer is that Sherpas can process ments worked smoothly during the expedi- become a successful reality? The process requires a [email protected] tional oxygen. The remaining 25 percent ex- that has ever been measured in a healthy per- oxygen better than we can.” In fact, the re- tion, Carey served as a test subject. good network, a feel for trends, good business TechnoWeb/innovations management: perience extreme nausea, headaches or dizzi- son. searchers found out that the Sherpas’ micro- The conditions on Mount Everest were sense, start-up capital, and a lot of stamina. Two ex- Michael Heiss, Corporate Technology ness. challenging not only for participants but also amples that illustrate this are an innovative power [email protected] Why some people can adapt to high alti- for the measuring devices. Prior to the expe- converter and an electrolyzer. (pp. 92, 95, 96) Christoph Krois, Corporate Technology tudes better than others is a medical mystery. Scientists hypothesized that the more nitric oxide dition, Siemens simulated the mountain’s [email protected] But this knowledge could play a key role in temperature and atmospheric pressure in an Anyone searching for new ideas will find it hard Pictures of the Future: improving the treatment patients receive a person’s body contains, the better he or she altitude chamber so that various systems to ignore start-ups. Equipped with knowledge of the Dr. Falk Wottawah, Corporate Technology while in intensive care. can cope with high altitudes. could be calibrated to deliver accurate results. scene, Technology Scouts at Siemens search for in- [email protected] The instruments faithfully performed their terface opportunities for the company. How do you Dr. Heinrich Stuckenschneider, tasks during the expedition, even though spot a promising start-up? “We consider the original- Corporate Technology they occasionally needed a little assistance. ity of an idea or a product. We also look at its market [email protected] “We sometimes had to put an electric blanket potential and the quality of the team,” says Alex Siemens Inside e-Car: underneath the devices so that the liquids Farcet, cofounder, President, and CEO of Startup- Malte-Michael Ewald, Industry they contained wouldn't freeze,” says Carey. bootcamp, in an interview. Likewise, tomorrow’s [email protected] trends are not just a matter of speculation — a fact Technology-to-Business Center: Early Morning Exercises. More than 60 that is demonstrated by Corporate Technology’s sce- Dr. Sven Scheuble, Corporate Technology tests were conducted on the volunteers. “We nario technique. For ten years this method has [email protected] got up at 6 a.m., conducted various blood served as a reliable basis for making decisions about Dr. Martin Prescher, Corporate Technology tests, measured participants’ respiratory rate, future developments. (pp. 102, 106, 108) [email protected] and did a prescribed series of early morning Dr. Stuart Goose, Corporate Technology exercises,” says Carey. One impression re- The best way to quickly bring together as many [email protected] mains particularly vivid for him. “Many of the bright minds as possible is to utilize the Internet. Blood gas measuring device/Xtreme Everest 2: Sherpas had never before seen an exercise Siemens’ TechnoWeb is a platform for sharing ideas Stephen Carey, Healthcare bike,” he says. “They had to do the same ex- and researching trends across departmental and na- [email protected] A typical day at the lab (left), Siemens’ Steve Carey exercises (center) and meets with Dr. Adam Sheperdigian (center) and Dr. Daniel Martin. ercises as the rest of us, but some had to have tional boundaries. Idea competitions give this ex- their feet taped to the pedals because they change additional momentum. (p. 100) kept falling off!” External: Patients in an intensive care unit suffering Magical Nitric Oxide. The scientists on circulation is much better than that of other The ongoing research project is being Unusual approaches generate new insights. Alex Farcet, Startupbootcamp from hypoxia are always given additional oxy- the 2007 expedition were also accompanied people and their blood contains far more ni- funded by donations. More than ₤850,000 A research team relocated its activities to Mount [email protected] gen, usually by means of artificial respiration. by 200 healthy volunteers. At the base camp, tric oxide. “Whenever there is too little oxy- has been collected to date, and an additional Everest in order to study the effects of oxygen defi- Prof. Rainer Marquardt, However, increased oxygen inhalation is not the researchers used blood gas analysis de- gen, Sherpas seem to respond by producing ₤250,000 is needed so that the data can be ciency on 200 volunteer test subjects. The goal was Universität der Bundeswehr München without risk. The treatment’s high respiration vices from Siemens to examine the subjects. more nitric oxide. In samples taken at 3,500 fully analyzed and all of the information and to develop new treatments for intensive care [email protected] pressure can damage blood vessels in the One of the first findings was that the human meters, the breath of one of the ‘normal’ par- findings compiled in a comprehensive data- patients. (p. 111) retina, and breathing in too much oxygen can body seems to exhale more nitric oxide when ticipants contained 16.4 ppb of nitric oxide, base. That’s why it is still too early to say any- damage the lungs if done over an extended there is little oxygen in the air. Nitric oxide while that of a Sherpa contained 77.8 ppb,” thing definite about the final outcome. Initial Successful partnerships lead to successful re- LINKS: period. “Instead of pumping patients full of gas expands blood vessels, causing blood to added Martin. Nitric oxide increases blood results are expected in early 2014. sults. Within just a few months, Siemens and Volvo European Patent Office: oxygen, blood, and medication to enhance flow more strongly and thus improving the flow and changes the way in which mito- However, the scientists have already made got an electric model of the C30 on the road. Proven www.epo.org heart rate, we might find a way to slow down supply of oxygen to the body. chondria process oxygen. Put simply, it en- some surprising discoveries. Women seem to components from the Siemens portfolio were modi- Siemens Technology-to-Business Center: physiological processes so that the body has However, the first expedition left many ables them to make better use of the small be able to handle high altitudes better than fied to meet the quality standards of the automobile www.ttb.siemens.com more rest and time to heal itself,” suggests questions unanswered — questions Xtreme amount of oxygen they get. men, while older men are less affected by al- industry. (p. 105) Startupbootcamp: Dr. Martin. Everest 2 set out to resolve. As a result, in 2013 The scientists hypothesized that the more titude sickness than younger ones. But Dr. www.startupbootcamp.org In their search for answers, scientists are some 200 participants once again climbed to nitric oxide a person’s body contains, the bet- Martin has a simple explanation for these Good ideas have to be protected. Siemens ap- Xtreme Everest 2: faced with the dilemma that severely ill pa- the Mount Everest base camp and were ex- ter he or she can cope with high altitudes. As findings: “Young men tend to want to climb plies for around 40 patents each day. But which in- www.xtreme-everest.co.uk tients in intensive care can hardly be sub- amined at temporary labs that were set up at a result, patients in intensive care could con- the mountain too fast, and that makes them ventions are worthy patents? And in which coun- World Intellectual Property Indicators 2012: jected to extensive medical tests. Simulations various altitudes. The participants included ceivably receive medication that changes the more likely to suffer from altitude sickness,” tries? Does receiving a patent justify its cost? Patent www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/wipi/ in altitude chambers are also inadequate for children aged eight to 17, who trekked to a nitric oxide level of their blood in the hope of he says. On mountains as elsewhere, slow attorneys at Siemens are confronted by such ques- Siemens Innovation: such large-scale research. That’s why the sci- lab located 3,500 meters above sea level, as increasing their chances of survival. and steady wins the race. Nicole Elflein tions every day. (p. 98) www.siemens.com/innovation

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Pictures of the Future, Fall 2013 (German, English) Industry 4.0: From Scenario 2060: Research into Powders to Finished Underground Economy Alzheimer's: Village of Pictures of the Future, Spring 2013 (German, English) Parts Forgetfulness Pictures of the Future, Fall 2012 (German, English) Pictures of the Future, Spring 2012 (German, English) Innovation Website Enjoying the panoramic view from the top of an offshore wind turbine or watching the pro- Pictures of the Future, Fall 2011 (German, English) duction of the world’s most efficient gas turbines close up — these experiences are made Pictures of the Future, Spring 2011 (German, English) possible by the new Siemens 360° feature. You can find this interactive format, which enables you to virtually dive into the world of inno- vations, on the pages of Siemens’ new innovation website at www.siemens.com/innovation. The site also offers an overview of the tech- Pictures of the Future, Special Edition Green Technologies (English) nology areas that are the focus of Siemens’ R&D activities, as well as a link to Innovation News, Siemens’ weekly media service that looks German Green City Index, analyses of 12 major cities (German) at new technologies. The online edition of Pictures of the Future magazine features more than 1,200 articles, photographs, graphics, and European Green City Index, analyses of Europe’s major cities (English) films, which together offer a comprehensive insight into Siemens’ laboratories and technology trends: www.siemens.com/pof Your Pictures of the Future, youth issue 2012 (German)

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Street, number The Energy Transition in Germany The key to a successful energy transition is sustainability. If such a transition is to succeed, a series of interconnected ZIP, City measures must be taken. That’s because in the future the structures of energy systems will be much more complex, more networked, and more flexible than they are today. If all of these measures, together with the appropriate political framework, are carefully planned and Country implemented, the transition will be a model of success for others. Together with Siemens, corporate consulting firm McKinsey & Company conducted a research project to find out what Germany can learn from the tried and tested measures being taken by other countries. The Telephone number, fax or e-mail study is available free of charge on the Internet at: www.siemens.com/future-of-energy/publications.html

114 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 Pictures of the Future | Fall 2013 115 Publisher: Siemens AG Corporate Communications (CC) and Corporate Technology (CT) Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich, Germany For the publisher: Dr. Ulrich Eberl (CC), Arthur F. Pease (CT) [email protected] (Tel. +49 89 636 33246) [email protected] (Tel. +49 89 636 48824)

Editorial Office: Dr. Ulrich Eberl (Editor-in-chief) Arthur F. Pease (Executive Editor, English Edition) Florian Martini (Managing Editor) Hülya Dagli Nicole Elflein Susanne Gold Dr. Ulrich Kreutzer Katrin Nikolaus

Additional Authors in this Issue: Dr. Fenna Bleyl, Dr. Hubertus Breuer, Christian Buck, Catharina Bujnoch, Nils Ehrenberg, Roman Elsener, Urs Fitze, Ines Giovannini, Julia Hesse, Dr. Andreas Kleinschmidt, Bernd Müller, Gitta Rohling, Sara Sauer, Bernd Schöne, Hans Schürmann, Nicole Susenburger, Dr. Sylvia Trage, Sebastian Webel, Silke Weber, Andreas Wenleder, Johannes Winterhagen

Picture Editing: Judith Egelhof, Irene Kern,Stephanie Rahn, Jürgen Winzeck, Publicis Munich Photography: Kurt Bauer, Oliver Beckmann, Max Etzold, Ivan Fleischer, Jörg Gläscher, Axel Griesch, Claudia Guadarama, Martin Hangen, Heiko Jahr, Simon Katzer, Jens Küsters, Domingos Marques, Arthur Pease, Stefan Speidel, Volker Steger, Jürgen Winzeck

Internet (www.siemens.com/pof): Florian Martini, Stefan Schröder Historical Information: Dr. Florian Kiuntke, Siemens Historical Institute Address Database: Susan Grünbaum-Süß, Publicis Erlangen Graphic design / Lithography: Rigobert Ratschke, Seufferle Mediendesign, Stuttgart Illustrations: Wolfram Gothe (pp.12-13, 90-91, title), Arnold Metzinger (pp.48-49) Graphics: Jochen Haller, Seufferle Mediendesign, Stuttgart Translations German — English: TransForm GmbH, Cologne Translations English — German: Karin Hofmann, Publicis Munich Printing: Bechtle Druck&Service, Esslingen

Picture Credits: LanzaTech (4 r.), Portal da Copa (5 b.l.), gettyimages (14-15), Wien 3420 AG (16), schreinerkastler.at / Wien 3420 AG (16-17), MIT (20), private (21 t.), Lars Krüger (21 b.), bab.ch (28 l.), Fotex (28 r.), Ultima Hora (32 b.), Arthur F. Pease (37 & 38 t.) laif (36 b.l., 45 m., 50-51, 53 b.), Mauritius (44 a., 44 b.l., 53 t.), F1online (52 l., 52 r., 70 m., 71, 78), Munich Re (56), 2012 PJM Interconnection (63 t.), dpa/pic- ture alliance (68 l., 77 r., 84 t., 84 b.l.), Hans Sautter (68 r.), Corbis (69), Hawaiian Electric Company (70 t.), imago (73 t., 84 b.r.), Katalin Bodor Aquatim (73 b.), Stadt Stuttgart (77 m.r.), DFKI (82), Hawkeye Photography (95 l.), Fotolia (100), Volvo (105 t., m.r., m.l., b.l., 106), ddp (109) Illustrations: Ken Jatho, Hannah Stolz (106-107 background) All other illustrations: Copyright Siemens AG.

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Not all of the healthcare products mentioned in this issue are commercially available in the U.S. Some are investigational devices or are under development and must be approved or reviewed by the FDA and their future availability in the U.S. cannot be assured. The statements by Siemens’ customers described herein are based on results that were achieved in the customer’s unique setting. Since there is no “typical” hospital and many variables exist (e.g. hospital size, case mix, level of IT adoption), there can be no guarantee that other customers will achieve the same results.

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