Siemens Selected by Department of Energy for $6.4 Million Project to Strengthen the Resilience of the Nation’s Power System and Critical Infrastructure

Siemens R&D unit to research energy management systems for solar and
microgrid technologies to enhance resiliency, autonomous operation, and
safeguard against cyber and physical threats

PRINCETON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) US, Siemens central research and
development (R&D) unit in the US, announced it was selected for a $6.4
million research award from the U.S.
Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to
advance solar energy’s role in strengthening the resilience of the U.S.
electricity grid. This project will create an innovative Energy
Management System that can coordinate distributed microgrids to work
together. The system will utilize diverse technologies to increase grid
resilience against natural disasters or cyber-attacks as well as
autonomously restore power during a blackout using smart inverters.

CT US was selected as a part of the Energy Department’s effort to invest
in new projects that enable grid operators to rapidly detect physical
and cyber-based abnormalities in the power system and utilize solar
generation to recover quickly from power outages. Siemens is one
of several projects that will develop grid management technologies
that show how solar energy will enhance power system resilience,
especially at critical infrastructure sites. Collaborative efforts
between Siemens and the DOE are expected to begin by Summer 2019.

“Siemens technologies are helping to modernize the U.S. electric grid
and develop stronger, more resilient power systems that can detect and
defend against physical and cyber-threats and support smart
infrastructures,” said Ulrich Muenz, Siemens CT Head of the Autonomous
Systems and Control Research Group. “This project advances innovative
research and development for technologies that could one day become
standard across the industry to enhance and protect critical
infrastructure through autonomous and resilient energy management
systems.”

The Siemens CT team will be led by Ulrich Muenz and Sindhu
Suresh and work with partners from DOE’s National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL), Columbia University, Siemens Digital Grid and Holy
Cross Energy to develop, validate, and demonstrate a highly innovative,
three-layer Energy Management System (EMS) for Autonomous and Resilient
Operation of Energy systems with RenewaAbles (AURORA).

This project continues CT’s collaborative work with the DOE’s U.S.
National Laboratories to strengthen, enhance, and modernize the nation’s
electric grid and critical infrastructure. In January 2019, CT signed an MOU
with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), to
conduct integrated experiments within their respective research and
development facilities to help integrate innovative power electronic
devices with the electric grid, including smart inverters for solar
panels, batteries, and electrical vehicles that are capable of
supporting the nation’s power system.

“The increasing deployment of distributed solar resources gives grid
operators like Holy Cross Energy an opportunity to rethink the design
and operation of our electric power system, in ways that utilize these
local assets to not only deliver value to the consumer, but also to
enable and enhance the reliability and resilience of the power systems
in which they are embedded. By working with Siemens and collaborators in
this very important project, we will get a window into the future
self-driving grid and discover the most important steps we need to take
to get ourselves ready for it,” says Bryan Hannegan, CEO of Holy Cross
Energy.

About Siemens Corporation

Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a
global powerhouse focusing on the areas of power generation and
distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed
energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and
manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed company Siemens
Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and
road transport, Siemens is shaping the world market for passenger and
freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed
companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy,
Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and
digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly
solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. For more than
160 years, the company has innovated and invented technologies to
support American industry spanning manufacturing, energy, healthcare and
infrastructure. In fiscal 2018, Siemens USA reported revenue of $23.7
billion, including $5.0 billion in exports, and employs approximately
50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

About the Solar Energy Technologies Office

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office supports
early-stage research and development to improve the affordability,
reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the grid. Learn
more at energy.gov/solar-office.

Contacts

Carolyn Joiner
Siemens Corporate Technology
(609) 751-1571
carolyn.joiner@siemens.com