Future Makers: Powering a better future, starting today, with Siemens Energy

October 15, 2024 at Siemens Energy "My Growth" Weeks

Superfast-gaming chips and fat-busting superdrugs, asteroid-chasing rockets and carbon-capturing technologies, 4 day working weeks and chess reinvented as a reality TV game, health-enhancing fashions and the rebirth of the hairy mammoth. Nvidia is transforming tech, while Novo Nordisk innovates healthcare, KinetX changes the space race, while Climeworks eliminates carbon.

We used to marvel at innovations with a leap of imagination. Ideas and technologies that promised to transform our world, but seemed a little out of reach. Now, science fiction has collided with practical reality, powered by mind-boggling technologies that are evolving at incredible speed, but also rapid social and cultural change, accelerating human possibilities into practice.

Next is now, not only because of the pace of innovation, but also the convergence of pathways – technologies, industries, customers, applications and expectations.

What’s happening in gaming today, shapes new experiences in retail or finance. New possibilities of space travel accelerate the evolution of EVs. Clean energy meets green cement. Pharma tech meets fashion tech. Physical and digital are one, fast developing markets outpace the old stagnated developed markets, and GenZ outthink their GenX leaders.

The future is already here, even if it’s unevenly distributed. Curiosity drives creativity, enabled by new capabilities to address the biggest challenges. So what could you do? What’s your vision of next, and how do you start now?

For Siemens Energy, this future is everything. The challenge of transformational change is at the heart of their business, and contribution to society.

The energy system is being radically transformed, driven by our concerns for the environmental, technological innovations, and diverse market forces.  4 Ds – decarbonization, digitalization, decentralization, deregulation – are shaping this transition towards a more sustainable, resilient, and efficient energy system of the future.

Decarbonization refers to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy production and consumption, especially from fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Decarbonization is essential for mitigating climate change impacts, such as global warming, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss, as well as for improving air quality, public health, and environmental justice. This is the key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the first stated goal of the forthcoming COP28 conference, and the centre of all efforts to address the climate change. Currently, there are calls to triple the renewable energy capacity and double the energy efficiency by 2030 – and ultimately by 2050 to achieve a 90% renewable energy share in the global electricity mix and achieve net zero emissions. It can be achieved by:

  • Increasing the share of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass, in the energy mix, by providing policy and regulatory support, incentives, and subsidies, as well as investing in technology innovation and infrastructure development.
  • Using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for thermal generation, which can remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or from industrial sources, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for carbon pricing, as well as supporting research and development and demonstration projects.
  • Improving energy efficiency and managing demand for energy, by implementing standards and labels for appliances and equipment, providing information and feedback to consumers, and promoting behavioral changes and lifestyle choices.

Digitalization refers to the use of information and communication technologies to monitor, control, and optimize the operation and planning of the energy system across multiple pathways and scales. Digitalization can enhance the performance, reliability, and security of the energy system, as well as create new value propositions, business models, and markets for energy services. It can be achieved by smart meters, AI, ML, Big Data, Blockchain, IoT and more:

  • Installing smart meters, smart devices, and smart platforms, which can provide real-time data and communication, as well as balancing supply and demand, by providing feedback, incentives, and recommendations to consumers and prosumers.
  • Using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and big data, which can improve the efficiency, reliability, and security of the energy system, as well as reduce costs, emissions, and waste, by automating and optimizing various tasks and processes, such as customer service, marketing, software development, and manufacturing.
  • Using blockchain, internet of things (IoT), and edge computing, which can enable faster, more reliable, and more secure digital connections, as well as support the integration of distributed energy resources, autonomous transportation, and smart cities, by enabling decentralized and transparent transactions, and creating virtual replicas of physical assets and systems.

Decentralization refers to the shift from large-scale, centralized power plants to smaller, distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar panels, microgrids, battery storage, and electric vehicles on houses, offices, factories, and roads. Decentralization can enhance the resilience, reliability, and flexibility of the power system, as well as empower consumers to participate in energy markets. It will be enabled by innovations in rooftop solar panels, battery storage, and microgrids. Plus tools like FIT, net metering, energy communities with P2P trading, and more:

  • Promoting and supporting the growth of distributed generation, by providing feed-in tariffs (FIT) and net metering schemes, as well as reducing the barriers and costs for interconnection and integration to the grid.
  • Fostering the development of energy communities, which enable consumers to share and trade their electricity with others, by providing legal and regulatory recognition, incentives, and support, as well as facilitating the participation and collaboration of stakeholders.
  • Enhancing the resilience and reliability of the power system, by using energy storage and smart grids, which can provide backup power and ancillary services, as well as cope with the variability and uncertainty of renewable energy sources.

Deregulation refers to the liberalization of the energy market and the removal of barriers for new entrants and innovative business models. This can increase the competition, transparency, and diversity of the energy sector, as well as foster social and environmental justice. It can be enabled by retail competition, prosumers, distributed renewable generation and much more:

  • Introducing retail competition in the electricity sector, which allows consumers to choose from different providers and plans, and offers lower prices and increased choices, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for electricity trading, as well as ensuring fair and efficient market functioning .
  • Encouraging the participation of consumers and prosumers in energy markets, by providing smart export guarantee, FIT, and local energy hubs, which allow consumers to generate their own electricity and sell the excess to the grid or to others, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for electricity trading, as well as ensuring fair and efficient market functioning .
  • Promoting the development and adoption of renewable energy sources and distributed energy resources, by providing policy and regulatory support, incentives, and subsidies, as well as investing in technology innovation and infrastructure development, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for electricity trading, as well as ensuring fair and efficient market functioning .

The key is how these 4Ds work together

  • Decarbonization is made more feasible by Decentralization, as smaller, localized renewable energy sources often have lower carbon footprints than large, centralized fossil fuel-based power plants.
  • Digitalization supports both Decarbonization and Decentralization. Digital technologies can optimize the use of renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency, and manage decentralized energy grids.
  • Deregulation (or Democratization) can accelerate Decarbonization, Decentralization, and Digitalization by opening up energy markets to competition, encouraging innovation, and empowering consumers.