Siemens opens digitalisation centre to advance smart energy systems

Siemens opens digitalisation centre to advance smart energy systems

The Digital Grid Centre in Abu Dhabi is a collaborative space for development, demonstration and testing of digital technology in energy systems, which focuses on the core pillars of digitalisation including cybersecurity, Digital Twins and the Internet of Things.

Siemens has opened a Digital Grid Centre in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to advance the digitalisation of energy systems in the Middle East, supporting smarter cities and industry.

The centre enables Siemens to collaborate with customers in developing, demonstrating and testing digital energy solutions, and provides remote support for the utilities, oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure sectors.

Using lab simulations and live data connections, the Digital Grid Centre enables Siemens to remotely provide service and support for customer operations, including preventative and corrective maintenance, simulation and testing.

For example, customers will be able to witness Factory Acceptance Tests conducted abroad without needing to travel, using a live remote monitoring system to ensure equipment is ready to be installed on-site.

“Our energy systems are evolving as decentralisation and a diversifying energy mix impose greater complexity on our electricity grids,” said Franco Atassi, Head of Smart Infrastructure for Siemens in the Middle East.

“Managing and protecting these intricate energy systems requires intelligent application of digital technologies, and our Digital Grid Centre directly addresses this challenge. We will use the centre to support our customers in their Digital Transformation, working together to develop and implement technology for smarter cities and industries in the Middle East.”

With a dedicated team of engineers, the centre focuses on six pillars of digitalisation: Remote collaboration, cloud and data (IoT), cybersecurity, digital substation, Digital Twin and energy efficiency analytics.

The centre demonstrates the potential of connecting energy systems to the Internet of Things (IoT), capturing data for consolidation, visualisation and analysis in a cloud-based operating system such as Siemens’ MindSphere.

MindSphere enables the connection of products, plants, systems and machines to the Internet of Things, deriving real-world value from data using advanced analytics. The Digital Grid Centre will show how these technologies can turn Big Data into smart data, unlocking greater potential from energy networks to improve reliability, efficiency and grid safety.

Customers will also be able to experience how Digital Twin technology can replicate physical grid infrastructure in the virtual world, simulating the performance of energy networks before they are constructed.

Insights from these Digital Twins can then be used to support the planning and design of grids for long-term reliability, performance and cost efficiency.

Cybersecurity is a core element of the Digital Grid Centre. Operational Technology (OT) is a rapidly growing target for cyberattacks and the protection of critical infrastructure requires a holistic, always-active approach to security.

Siemens offers comprehensive cybersecurity services for industry, utilities and power grid operators and the Digital Grid Centre allows customers to embrace Digital Transformation while keeping data and equipment secure.

The centre joins the company’s MindSphere Application Centres in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of an on-going regional investment into digitalisation.

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