Power from exhaust gases

Energy consumption as an opportunity

However, the high absolute energy requirement of the Umm Salal also creates the potential for efficiently recovering its heat losses. Although this may seem paradoxical at first – especially considering that the shipping industry worldwide is responsible for up to four percent of carbon dioxide emissions – it also represents an opportunity. Waste heat recovery systems (WHRS) that enable energy to be recovered from exhaust gases are being used today in the shipping industry, reflecting the rising price of marine fuel and additional costs for CO₂ emissions.

More and more shipping companies are recognizing the advantages of energy recovery at sea: fuel savings and the resulting reduction in fuel costs, more eco-friendly transportation, and an on-board power supplies that eliminates the need to run an additional generator.

In all nine of the new ships under construction, the exhaust gases from the diesel propulsion unit – or more accurately, their heat – is converted into steam in a waste-heat boiler by the WHRS. This steam drives a turbo generator and generates electric power that can be used, for example, to supply the on-board supply system or the booster, an electric motor integrated in the drive shaft. In this way, the recovered energy is fed directly back to the consumer.​

Lower consumption, more planning flexibility

As a result, a ship’s fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions can be reduced by as much as twelve percent and energy costs can be cut by up to ten percent. A ship with a daily consumption of about 240 metric tons of heavy fuel oil would use 24 tons less fuel – equivalent to about US $17,000 (at $ US 710 per metric ton on April 11, port of Rotterdam). There also other benefits in the form of a substantial reduction in maintenance costs and more flexible planning in the construction of new ships. Fuel tanks can be made smaller, thereby increasing available space on the ship and improving its external lines, and the ship’s main propulsion unit can have a lower rated power.

All of this adds up, for the environment as well as the shipping company. “In order to be able to survive in a competitive environment in which fuel costs have reached historic peaks, we have to be able to keep fuel costs per TEU and mile as low as possible,” Hinge emphasized. In addition, a WHRS pays for itself within two or three years of operation: after that, it runs at a profit.​

Energy-efficient products and solutions

With its energy-efficient products and solutions – like Sirius industrial controls – the Industry Sector is making an important contribution to improved energy efficiency and environmental protection for its customers in industry. Our coordinated range of automation technology, industrial control technology, and industrial software is unique worldwide. And our innovative energy efficiency tools help customers reduce their energy and operating costs by up to 20 percent – benefiting both them and the environment.

In the current issue of Industry Automation Press Feature you’ll find bundled information on the topic of energy efficiency, and you can learn more about Siemens’ expertise in this area.

Industry production with Siemens technology: The car of the future

A car dealership in 2025: four people – two adults and two children – are standing in front of a projection surface and are moving images through the air with their hands. Is the family looking for its new car? No, it is building one: a flower vase over the navigation device, bottle storage under the passenger seat, a tachometer and speedometer in motorsport design, one multimedia console for the rear seat in blue, the other in green.

From series production to made-to-order

Fuel efficiency, networking with the environment, automatic driving – what will the car of the future bring? The biggest trend in the automotive industry is diversity of variants and individual design. If you take a look at the innovations in production technology, that can already be clearly recognized today. “The future lies in the early identification of customers with the product, when the car purchaser helps decide details of the product’s design already in the planning phase, for example,” explains Matthias Frische, Integration Manager of the Siemens Industry Sector, citing the example of Fiat. For the launch of the new Fiat 500, the manufacturer offered not just a great variety of combination options, but also went a step further in Italy: an online portal allowed consumers to help with the decision about certain design details.

New technology changes the way we work and think

Behind the new options for creating cars in an unimagined diversity of variants – and even for producing niche vehicles with which a great deal of money can nevertheless be made –, there is a lot of innovative technology. First and foremost, however, this trend is leading to a revolutionary change in established ways of working. The path from vision to design to production of a car usually occurs in a step-by-step manner – without a given station in the process being able to influence the previous one. “Between product development and production, there are still gaps on the map,” says Matthias Frische. “Siemens works tirelessly to close these gaps with innovations.” As an example, he describes a production planner who is able to optimize production processes through the Siemens Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. He does this, for example, by suggesting to the designer that certain screws be planned in a more favorable location for his tool – and this is accomplished with a graphical interface without the need to pass a lot of papers back and forth. Such innovations are the first important basis of modern production.

Digital factory – planning, testing, building cars

A second pillar of the manufacturing of the individual car of the future is the digital factory: with the virtual representation of the actual factory, production processes can be simulated, new variants can be tested, and processes can be optimized. The results are then implemented in the construction of the manufacturing plants. That makes production both flexible and cost-efficient: if you can eliminate errors in a plant already in the digital world, this creates enormous savings potential. By having design and production grow together, more efficient production methods are also used, allowing material to be conserved, for example.

Intelligently networked energy wonders

Whether intelligent LED lights, low-consumption powertrain concepts, or accident prevention through communication with traffic signs and other vehicles – the car of the future will surely also be individually tailored to the buyer. And that will now be possible on the basis of new manufacturing methods that bring production together with design. Or as Matthias Frische formulates it: “Siemens is the only company worldwide that simultaneously offers a complete solution portfolio on the software side and on the automation side – both for the digital and the actual factory.”

Product lifecycle management

Our industrial software translates this concept into proven solutions that are open, scalable and flexible. Using our PLM software, manufacturers can simulate production steps and operational states, without the need for costly real-world prototypes. In the field of mechanical engineering, for example, we offer PLM solutions that span the entire process chain – from computer-aided design and manufacturing to the construction of entire virtual machines. The advantages: time-to-market is accelerated considerably, while end customers benefit from improved product quality and productivity.

Humanity’s most vital resource

In Singapore, space is just as scare and valuable as water. Coupling high energy efficiency with minimal space requirements, the MEMCOR^® membrane filtration system we installed in the Kranji District is ideal for converting wastewater into drinking water on the densely-populated island.

Energy and environmental consulting