Innovative technologies to mitigate climate change

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The most efficient way to combat climate change is to employ innovative technologies that increase the efficiency of power generation, transmission and utilisation in industry, buildings and transportation. With its broad portfolio, Siemens is uniquely positioned to address these challenges. The company invests more than €2 billion per year of its R&D budget in environmental technology, has 30,000 patents in this field, and the products it launched on the market eliminated in 2006 around 15 times the level of global CO2 emissions that the company itself produces.

CARBON REDUCTIONS FROM EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES

The most effective way to reduce CO2 emissions between now and 2050 is to employ innovative technologies that increase the efficiency of power generation, transmission, and utilisation. Some 26 billion tonnes (Gt) of CO2 equivalent from an estimated 44 Gt of globally-emitted greenhouse gases (GHGs) caused by energy-related processes, can be addressed through technological innovations. Many solutions already exist. Estimates show, for example, that the global utilisation of the 10 most important environmental technologies that Siemens, and other companies, already have in their portfolios would reduce emissions by approximately 10 Gt of CO2 per year by 2050. That figure corresponds to nearly 40 per cent of GHGs emitted due to energy-related activities today. Moreover, this estimate doesn’t take into account other technological advances or growing markets.

Power plant retrofits

Power plant retrofits to achieve the highest levels of efficiency possible today would reduce annual CO2 emissions by 2.5 Gt. Siemens is equipping a gas and steam combined cycle power plant in Germany with the world’s largest gas turbine. This facility will achieve an efficiency rating of 60 per cent (by comparison, the best coal-fired plants reach 46 per cent). Building 20 such combined cycle power plants every year between now and 2050 would result in further savings of 1.6 Gt. All in all, retrofitting and new construction of state of the art fossil fuel facilities alone could reduce CO2 emissions by 4.1 billion tonnes, which is the amount of CO2 all of Europe currently emits.

Wind energy

Wind energy has the potential to reduce annual worldwide CO2 emissions by 600 million tonnes by 2050. Establishing effective and safe processes for CO2 capture and storage (CCS) at fossil fuel plants could also eliminate a further 2 Gt of CO2 per year from the climate balance, if 20 power plants per year were equipped with CCS technologies starting in 2020.

Buildings

An additional 2 Gt CO2 reduction potential could be realised through better building insulation, modern heating and air conditioning systems, and more extensive building automation. Siemens has already modernised 6,500 buildings worldwide through performance contracting projects that offered guaranteed energy savings of more than €1 billion and reduced CO2 emissions by 2.4 million tonnes. Investment in systems and equipment is financed via the energy savings achieved, creating a ‘triple win’ for customer, company, and environment.

Lighting systems

The savings potential harboured by lighting systems should not be underestimated as lighting accounts for nearly 19 per cent of global electricity consumption. The potential for savings is huge and easy to exploit because energy saving lamps and LEDs can reduce consumption by up to 80 per cent compared to conventional light bulbs. Added up over the entire product lifecycle, this amounts to several hundred euros per unit and an impressive 0.5 tonne reduction in CO2 emissions for each energy saving lamp used. Siemens’ Osram subsidiary estimates that annual CO2 emissions could be reduced by 270 million tonnes if only 30 per cent of all lighting units, in houses, factories, and streets, were equipped with energy saving solutions.

NANO TECHNOLOGY FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE GAS TURBINES

Siemens is moving closer to the physical limits in its development of highly efficient power plant technologies. The materials in a gas turbine, for example, have to withstand very high temperatures of up to 1,500ºC. The combustion chamber is also subjected to high pressure and a glowing hot tornado of gas that passes through at a speed of 100 metres per second. Finally, the turbine blades are exposed to centrifugal forces equivalent to 10,000 times the acceleration due to the Earth’s gravity. Siemens researchers have developed extremely fine turbine coatings as well as new ceramics for the combustion chambers. They also designed new shapes for the turbine blades using 3D virtual reality simulations.

Due to these R&D efforts the world’s biggest and most powerful gas turbine will have an output of 340 megawatts; as much power as 13 jumbo jet turbines. The combined cycle facility where it will be used will supply enough electricity for the population of a city the size of Hamburg and will achieve an efficiency rating of more than 60 per cent which will also be a world record. This power plant offers a good example of a groundbreaking innovation for environmental and climate protection and one that Siemens is developing to market maturity with its customer E.ON.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Siemens is committed to renewable energy sources, such as wind, water and geothermal energy. Offshore wind turbines, in particular, need to withstand extremely high stresses, which is why the company has developed a process that makes it capable of building a 52 metre long blade in one piece, without any adhesive joints. This enables the blades to withstand wind speeds of 10 metres per second and an air pressure of 100 tonnes. Siemens is not only building the world’s biggest wind park in Lynn and Inner Dowsing (UK) but also many others. As the wind energy sector is growing rapidly in the US, Siemens recently opened a rotor blade factory in Fort Madison. More than 6,300 wind turbines built by Siemens are currently operating around the world. Their combined output of 5.5 gigawatts is helping reduce CO2 emissions by 10 million tonnes per year, which is approximately the amount produced by one million Germans.

Siemens also has a long tradition in hydropower. In 1978, the company supplied the generators for the world’s biggest hydroelectric power plant in Itaipú, which is located between Brazil and Paraguay. Today, one-third of all electricity produced with carbon neutral hydropower is generated with technology from Voith Siemens Hydro. Geothermal energy sources are nearly inexhaustible reservoirs of heat in the earth. Siemens is using this technology to build what will be the world’s most modern geothermal power plant near Munich, which will supply 6,000 households with electricity and 20,000 with heat.

FUTURE CARBON FREE POWER PLANTS

Achieving carbon free power generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) poses the biggest challenge for power plant innovators. CCS can reduce CO2 emissions by 80 per cent in coal-fired plants by capturing CO2 and safely storing it, in old oil or gas fields, for example. Siemens researchers are working on the two most important technologies here: one for capturing CO2 before it burns in integrated gasification combined cycle plants, and the other for extracting it from flue gas after combustion. Pilot projects for examining system feasibility and costs are now being planned.

EFFICIENT POWER TRANSMISSION

Siemens has developed high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems able to transport electricity over great distances with low losses, ie in an environmentally friendly and economical manner. It’s often possible to generate electricity using hydropower plants in remote regions, but the energy has to be brought to the consumers in the cities. Such is the case in China, where hydropower generated in Yunnan is transported over 1,400 Km to the Pearl River Delta. Without HVDC technology, fossil power plants that emit more than 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year would have to be built near consumers.

SMART GRIDS – VIRTUAL RENEWABLE ENERGY NETWORKS

Small, distributed plants that use biomass or geothermal sources, combined heat and power plants, and plants with fluctuating outputs (wind, solar) need to be integrated into the existing network hierarchy without disturbances. This poses a major challenge, which is why Siemens developers are working on smart grid systems that bring together the most diverse electricity sources to form ‘virtual power plants’. Smart grids can turn specific consumers on and off in order to balance out peak loads, thereby creating a dynamic balance in the power network rather than the static one that exists today. Siemens is working with RWE Energy on a pilot project that not only links cogeneration plants, biomass, and wind power facilities with a distributed energy management system but also monitors and controls system operation.

REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION

Innovative technologies that increase efficiency can help reduce energy consumption in industry and households without negatively affecting economic growth, prosperity, or quality of life. Industrial motors alone account for 65 per cent of all the electricity consumed in industrial applications and also harbour the greatest potential for improvement. Siemens is now achieving energy savings of up to 60 per cent through the use of frequency converters and energy saving motors. If all motors suitable for retrofitting were to be re-equipped with such components, the resulting CO2 savings would total several hundred million tonnes per year. The technology involved also substantially reduces energy costs, and the initial investment can be recouped in less than two years.

Intelligent traffic guidance and management systems, such as those implemented by Siemens in London and the Ruhr District in Germany, reduce traffic jams and make a key contribution to climate protection. Achieving a climate friendly transport system also involves getting as many people as possible to use public transportation. Carbon dioxide emissions per seat and kilometre for passenger cars are three times higher than those for suburban and subway trains. Although trains are already one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transport, Siemens has identified new potential improvements. The Oslo subway system, for example, is now equipped with new technology that reduces the system’s energy consumption by 30 per cent.

CLIMATE PROTECTION IS A PART OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Siemens is very aware of its environmental responsibility, which is why it is committed to reducing its sales-related CO2 emissions by 20 per cent between now and 2011. Due to its electricity and heat consumption, business travel, and use of industrial gases and corporate vehicle fleets, Siemens currently emits approximately 4.53 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. However, with its broad portfolio, Siemens is also uniquely positioned to address the challenges associated with climate change. The products Siemens launched on the market eliminated in 2006 around 15 times the level of global CO2 emissions that the company itself produces.

Author

Dr Ulrich Eberl is head of the Technology Press and Innovation Communications department of Siemens. Eberl studied physics at the Technical University of Munich and wrote his dissertation about converting solar energy in the process of photosynthesis. In 1988, he became a science and technology correspondent for various newspapers and magazines. After working for Daimler’s technology publications, he joined Siemens in 1996. Since 2001, Eberl has been editor-in-chief of the magazine Pictures of the Future (http://www.siemens.com/pof), which has been the recipient of several international awards.

Organisation

Siemens (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electrical engineering and electronics. The company has around 475,000 employees and provides innovative technologies to benefit customers in over 190 countries. Founded 160 years ago, the company focuses on fields such as energy and environment, industry and infrastructures and healthcare. In fiscal 2006, Siemens had sales of €87.3 billion and a net income of €3.033 billion.

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