Siemens and Mercedes-Benz collaborate on Digital Energy Twin
Digital Energy Twin co-created by Siemens and Mercedes-Benz for sustainable factory planning. Image courtesy Siemens
Siemens and Mercedes-Benz have collaboratively developed a Digital Energy Twin to improve the integration of energy efficiency and sustainability measures in factory designs and upgrades.
Part of Siemens’ Xcelerator business platform, the digital twin is designed to support the ambition to run the automaker’s global production sites on 100% renewable energies by 2039.
The Digital Energy Twin enhances, simplifies and speeds the early phase factory energy planning process for both brownfield and greenfield sites.
The collaboration combines the decarbonisation and energy twin domain know-how of Siemens with the automotive knowledge of Mercedes-Benz to create a scalable tool for the automotive environment.
Siemens will provide training and support, maintain and continuously develop the Digital Energy Twin, as it is positioned for broad implementation across the Mercedes-Benz global production network.
Based on behavioural models of buildings, technical equipment and energy generation, the Digital Energy Twin, which was designed and tested in Mercedes-Benz plant Sindelfingen, Germany, at the ‘Factory 56’, connects inputs such as weather data, load profile simulation, building asset selection and dimensioning.
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Simulating a physical energy system, it verifies proposed planning scenarios for energy usage, providing recommendations on how to optimise desired outcomes including energy efficiency and associated cost savings, as well as emission reduction.
“By accurately modelling operational and energy usage scenarios, the Digital Energy Twin enables faster and more transparent decision making in the early planning phases,” said Matthias Rebellius, member of the managing board of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure.
“This demonstrates how at Siemens we are combining the real and digital worlds to drive scalable, sustainable progress in industries and represents an exciting first step towards an integrated process for optimised planning, building operation and production.”
“The Digital Energy Twin is our answer to successfully visualise, analyse and sustainably optimise energy-efficient building processes. Through this innovative approach, we benefit from a better understanding of existing factory buildings and transform them into living smart buildings,” added Arno van der Merwe, vice president production planning Mercedes Benz Cars.
“Thanks to this transformative technology, we are maximizing their potential and setting forward-looking standards for energy-efficient and sustainable building use in Mercedes-Benz’s global production network.”
Siemens and Mercedes Benz established a strategic partnership in 2021 for sustainable automotive production, enabling cooperation on advancing the digitalisation of sustainable production methods.
