Siemens has opened a Digital Grid Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to advance the digitalisation of energy systems in the Middle East, supporting smarter cities and industry. The center enables Siemens to collaborate with customers in developing, demonstrating and testing digital energy solutions, and provides remote support for the utilities, oil & gas, industrial and infrastructure sectors.
Using lab simulations and live data connections, the Digital Grid Center 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 Center 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 & Data (IoT), Cyber Security, 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 Center 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. The Digital Grid Center joins the company’s Mindsphere Application Centers in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of an ongoing regional investment into digitalisation.
