Smart solutions on a balanced budget
With growing urbanization, often critical financial conditions and the challenges of climate change cities carry a crucial part of development as a whole. What does intelligent infrastructure mean then for buildings, mobility solutions and energy management?
The challenges of constant growth
As cities are where we choose to live, urban infrastructure has a profound effect on our quality of life. How can infrastructure, which needs constant renewal to maintain its standards of performance and safety, also cope with future demands of rapid urban growth?
For most of the last 100 years, urbanisation in Australia and New Zealand has been relentless, and the trend is set to continue into the foreseeable future. More than a third of New Zealanders live in or around Auckland. Australia’s five largest cities are home to more than 60% of the country’s population, while cities with over a million inhabitants account for roughly two thirds of Australia’s GDP.
Although digitalisation in the information age has transformed our lives, much of our urban infrastructure has yet to catch up. In most places, trains, power systems, buildings, buses and roads have hardly changed in nature. Some digital systems have been incorporated but we have only just begun to unlock the potential of fully digitalised, electrified, information-enabled, intelligent infrastructure. Doing so will be key to meeting the world’s present and future sustainable development challenges.
Siemens is a trusted partner with solutions across all infrastructure domains, making cities more efficient, sustainable and resilient. We help cities face the challenge of maintaining, modernising and upgrading their ageing infrastructure.
With more than half of the global population living in cities, there is no doubt that we live in an urbanized world and the global challenges of the 21st century are in urban areas.Joan Clos, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme*
*Source: Interview with Joan Clos by the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service on the "Rio+20" conference, June 2012
Efficient, safe and ecofriendly transportation
Urban growth presents particular challenges for transportation systems, but the fluent movement of people and goods remains a top priority. Siemens connects information technology with transportation expertise to create the best mobility offering for customers and passengers.
In all major Australian and New Zealand cities, demand for transportation is higher than ever before. Be it total kilometres travelled, container traffic through ports or the number of registered vehicles on the road – mobility indicators are at record levels. How can our transportation networks remain an enabler, rather than a barrier to personal and economic mobility?
Innovative traffic-management technology can optimize road and rail capacity, while information systems help passengers find efficient travel routes. Automated and dynamic control systems adapt flexibly to changes in passenger volume and demand – optimising traffic flow at all times.
Our specialist knowledge includes comprehensive domain and turnkey expertise that enables us to service the entire mobility spectrum. Siemens’ mobility platforms integrate diverse transport providers, offering an end-to-end travel experience across metro, bus, car, bike-sharing, parking and even taxi services. As a single-source provider, we offer high-quality rail products and solutions for urban and interurban transportation and logistics.
Worldwide, buildings account for some 40% of all energy consumed. In Australia, non-residential buildings alone produce 10% of our greenhouse gas emissions – and this figure is expected to rise 25% by 2020. Making existing buildings more efficient, integrated and “smarter” offers tremendous savings potential – as does incorporating intelligent technology into new construction.
Public and commercial organisations around the world trust Siemens to increase the value and competitiveness of their buildings and infrastructure. We achieve this by delivering building Performance and Advisory services – underpinned by a deep expertise in building operations and data-driven digital service delivery capability – that maximise efficiency, minimise operating costs and reduce environmental impact. The result? Optimised building performance, enhanced sustainability and a stronger market reputation.
As the market leader for smart, sustainable buildings, Siemens is a technology partner, consultant, service provider, system integrator and product supplier. We offer fire safety, security, building automation, heating, power supply, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and energy management products and services.
Rethinking power for the better
Australia and New Zealand have abundant energy sources and the luxury of a reliable energy supply. Yet, power grids face growing challenges: rising demand, vulnerability to severe weather, and the tricky integration of renewables. Boosting efficiency and resilience improves the affordability of power and helps make the grid fit for the future.Australia’s Climate Change Authority has identified energy efficiency as the best way to reduce CO2 emissions while improving productivity and creating jobs. And the federal government wants to improve energy productivity by 40% by the year 2030. A lot needs to be done to make that realistic, because Australia’s international energy-efficiency ranking – especially in transport and industry – could be considerably better.
Power outages have an immediate and significant impact across all infrastructure domains. Avoiding them requires sensible planning and timely investment in the right technologies. Smart grid solutions from Siemens make it possible to modernise and adapt existing power grids to future expectations. They enable power operators to manage energy more efficiently, react more flexibly to changing demand and incorporate electricity from distributed and renewable sources.
