Does Siemens Have the Key to Modernising Electricity Grids?
Siemens and Tietoevry, a top digital engineering and software company from the Nordics, have formed a strategic alliance, set to propel the digital transformation of energy manufacturing across Northern and Central Europe.
One of Tietoevry's main areas of focus is energy grids. The Finnish company plans to utilise Siemens' technology - along with its own IT services - to help grid operators boost business performance, ramp up productivity and digitalise their value chains.
Crucially, Tietoevry hopes that, by integrating Siemens' software into their business model, it can help its clients solve any problems relating to the energy transition, such as the need for durable and resilient infrastructure and a significant hike in grid capacity.
What exactly is Siemens' Gridscale X?
Siemens' Gridscale X software platform is what anchors this strategic partnership.
It is at the cutting-edge of software platforms designed to streamline grid operations amidst the evolving challenges of the energy transition. Launched as part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio in 2024, Gridscale X has the capacity to provide interoperability, modularity and cybersecurity.
For Tietoevry, the product seems as though it is heaven sent. It is geared towards enabling operators to manage grids autonomously, enabling swift scaling of utility capacities, integrating distributed energy resources and enhancing grid flexibility.
Gridscale X's key components include its Protection Data Manager and Dynamic Line Rating feature, both of which will be highly sought after by Tietoevry's clients.
While the Protection Data Manager simplifies the management of grid protection equipment data thereby slashing manual labour and operational costs, the Dynamic Line Rating employs real-time environmental data to optimise grid capacity, potentially raising transmission efficiency by 10-15% while reducing congestion costs.
From the wide angle, Gridscale X aligns perfectly with Siemens’ vision for a sustainable and energy-efficient future, empowering energy manufacturers to meet the demands of dynamic grids more effectively.
“Grid requirements are changing tremendously, driven by a seven-fold increase in distributed energy resources, putting enormous pressure on power utilities," says Sabine Erlinghagen, CEO of Siemens Grid Software.
"Gridscale X enables grid operators to rethink grid management, increase capacity fast, and leverage distributed energy resources to improve customer satisfaction. It ultimately empowers utilities to reach net zero, while keeping their grids stable and reliable.”
How to make electricity grids more resilient
As climate change intensifies and electricity demands surge, the pressure on energy systems to evolve is becoming more pressing than ever before. The transition is complex too: the integration of renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, into traditional grids is posing providers significant challenges.
The existing grids, which aren't designed to handle these high demands or withstand the impacts of increased weather volatility, rely on smart technologies and innovative storage solutions to manage these new energy forms.
As things stand, a great deal of the infrastructure in developed countries is old or ageing, meaning it is prone to failures and inefficiencies.
In essence, the transformation to smarter grid systems is going to be vital if we want to see a sustainable future. Tackling these challenges is going to necessitate a comprehensive approach, involving coordinated efforts, breakthrough technologies and substantial investments.
“The ongoing energy transition requires significant changes to the existing grid infrastructure and how it is managed,” says Magnus Törrönen, Head of Siemens Grid Software for Northern Europe.
“Due to the electrification of everything, and rapid growth of distributed energy resources, companies need to think about new ways of working and collaborating. We need to look across sectors and the ecosystem, leverage the strengths of different organisations, and collaborate to successfully and quickly meet our net zero targets.”
“Partnering with Tietoevry enables us to support utilities in a completely new way.”
Niko Jauhiainen, Head of Asset & Data Solutions, Energy & Utilities at Tietoevry, sums things up nicely.
“The partnership, leveraging Siemens expertise and the Gridscale X software platform, helps us add more capabilities to our next-generation solutions supporting our utility customers in grid life-cycle management and addressing challenges related to grid flexibility,” he says.
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