Germany industrial giant Siemens has opened the final wing of a new CHF250 million ($280m) ‘smart infrastructure’ facility in Zug in Switzerland which, it claims, takes advantage of the latest IoT sensing and AI sense-making technologies to optimise highly-efficient energy infrastructure and deliver a “climate-neutral” industrial footprint. So far as smart technology goes, as a driver for sustainable management of the greenfield Industry 4.0 operations, the site in Zug appears to be the big one.
It is also an unabashed marketing plug for the company’s own smart infrastructure division, holed-up in Zug, selling smart-building technologies to the rest of the industrial market. This week, the German firm opened a CHF70 million ($78m) research and development (R&D) facility on the 25,000 square-metre campus at Zug, which also comprises a main office building and a factory; the whole site was seven years in the making, and meets Switzerland’s “high environmental standards”, the company said.
Around 1,700 staff work at the Zug campus. Siemens called the facility a “state-of-the-art sustainability flagship built by combining real and digital worlds”. A statement explained: “Heat pumps and water from Lake Zug are used for cooling and heating, while rooftop photovoltaic systems produce electricity. Planted flat roofs provide an additional layer of insulation. Siemens’ building automation system… provides optimal room climate control as well as energy efficiency, and together with LED lighting, the system ensures the best possible indoor comfort.”
The whole setup is designed and managed in a digital twin, or a ‘business information modelling’ (BIM) system. “[The] building is constructed twice: virtually, and then in the real world,” continued Siemens. “It allows electricity, heating, cooling, and water consumption to be documented, measured, and adjusted through various applications. A [connected] room reservation system… [allows] for demand-driven room control and digital signage… A wide variety of IoT functions have been implemented to increase efficiency, comfort, and… [the] user experience.”
Roland Busch, president and chief executive at Siemens, said: “Technology is the key to sustainability. With 40 percent of global energy demand coming from buildings, zero carbon facilities are a huge lever for businesses – and countries – to become greener. It’s complex. We use AI to orchestrate hardware and software. Switzerland [is]… the perfect place to advance this technology.”
Matthias Rebellius, member of the managing board of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure, said: “The new campus… is a great example of [combining the physical and digital worlds]. Featuring the latest technology from across our portfolio to enhance building operations and achieve the highest efficiencies, the campus will operate in a completely climate-neutral way, reaching the target we committed to two years ago.”
