Research and development intensity up in 2012
For 165 years we have been meeting our customers’ needs with innovative products and solutions while steadily opening up new markets.
Siemens innovations – yesterday and today
We have always been a pioneer in our own era – from the first Siemens innovation, the electric pointer telegraph, right up to today. Here are just a few of the research milestones in our 165-year company history:
- the world-record gas turbine from the Energy Sector,
- the world’s first integrated magnetic resonance imaging/positron emission tomography (MRI/PET) system from the Healthcare Sector,
- Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal): A common software framework for all automation solutions in all segments covered by the Industry Sector throughout the world.
Siemens is now active in all fields of research that support the business of the Energy, Industry, Infrastructure & Cities and Healthcare Sectors. That includes:
- Software architectures and IT platforms
- IT security
- Business analytics and monitoring
- Imaging
- Automation and communication technologies
- Material research
- Electronics
- Sensor technologies
- Drive technology
- Energy conversion
- Systems engineering
More information on Siemens technology fields
The programs that we introduced in fiscal 2009 to enhance our innovative strength also paid off during 2012. For example, we managed to increase the number of invention reports yet again – by 400 to 8,900. We expect to further improve our innovative strength with the help of initiatives already in place, such as the "Inventor of the Year" award, innovation workshops, idea contests, and the active implementation of Open Innovation concepts.
All figures in this chapter refer to continuing activities. Previous years have been adjusted to be comparable.
Some 29,500 employees worked at over 180 Siemens research and development locations in fiscal 2012. We had an average of roughly 12,900 R&D employees in Germany and another 16,700 R&D employees in about 30 countries outside of Germany, including the U.S., China, Austria, India, Slovakia, Switzerland, the U.K., Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico and France.
Our involvement is also reflected in our expenditure on research and development, which rose to 5.4 percent of our revenue and amounted to €4.2 billion.
Siemens holds roughly 57,300 granted patents worldwide, compared to about 53,300 the year before. The number of published patent filings for calendar year 2011 put Siemens in third place in the statistics compiled by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) and – for the second time in succession – in first place in the ranking of the European Patent Office (EPO). The statistics published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) show Siemens in tenth place for the number of patents granted in calendar year 2011. As a comparison: in calendar year 2010 Siemens ranked third at the DPMA, first at the EPO and ninth at the US PTO.
2011-Feb-24 | Author