Siemens MEA energy conference: An interventionist hand in building a ‘smarter’ infrastructure Africa

SIEMENS Energy and key partners, recently, held a major the Middle East and Africa-focused virtual conference tagged ‘Shaping the Energy of Tomorrow.

One critical priority of the event, which brought together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of potentially drastic change for the sector, was the need to drive forward the sustainability and de-carbonisation agenda at a defining moment in the energy industry.

Stakeholders lauded the impact of the Siemens Energy Week, especially against the backdrop of the long-term impacts of Covid-19 and a fundamental shift in energy markets to collaborate for the achievement of a future that is sustainable, efficient, affordable, and accessible, in line with the ideals laid out by UN Sustainable Goal 7.

Held in partnership with the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ghorfa), the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS), and Masdar, a global leader in renewable energy and sustainable urban development, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi government’s Mubadala Investment Company, the conference had a roll call of world-class speakers.

The line-up featured numerous regional ministers, CEOs, energy, and finance industry leaders, and Siemens Energy experts for the eight-panel sessions.

Chief Executive of Foreign Trade and Member of the Executive Board, DIHK, Dr. Volker Treier, described the MEA Energy Week as a significant initiative which provided an excellent platform to discuss the essential economic challenges of today and tomorrow.

The event came shortly after the listing of Siemens Energy on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on September 28, following a spin-off from Siemens AG.

Significantly, the responsibility to help shape the direction of the future of the energy sector, with a focus on sustainability, innovation, and de-carbonisation, for the benefit of society has been placed squarely on Siemen’s shoulders since an estimated one-sixth of the world’s power generation is already based on technologies from Siemens Energy.

As explained by the CEO for Siemens South Africa, Thabo Molekoa, in an interview published in the October edition of Africa Report, this recent engagement is a follow up on Siemens Energy’s plan, to use its new status as a standalone company to target African markets for wind, solar and hydrogen power solutions.

Molekoa told the Africa Report, an online publication, that the company is discussing retrofit or new renewable energy solutions for businesses and governments in Africa.

Siemens Energy is working on adapting its turbines to enable them to increase the proportion of hydrogen used, and Molekoa explained that Siemens is aiming for some turbines to be able to run on 100% hydrogen.

The new company also has a stake of 67% in renewables business Siemens Gamesa, which says that its African wind power installations of 3.4GW are more than half of the continent’s entire wind power capacity.

The separation was designed to allow Siemens Energy, according to him, to respond more quickly to customer demand.

Though Siemens still has a stake of about 35% in Siemens Energy, he said the next 12 to 18 months will witness a further decline, adding that many businesses within Siemens compete for capital.

This means Siemens Energy can now identify the most important trends in its market and allocate capital as needed.

“We didn’t want Siemens to have a controlling stake,” he clarified.

In its South Africa operations, Siemens Energy is far from writing off non-renewable sources.

Stressing the importance of taking existing resource endowments and levels of electrification, in the region, Molekoa pointed out that, excluding South Africa, these levels are still low in the southern Africa region.

Siemens Energy is also in talks with the government of Botswana over how to stabilise its power supply, which Molekoa said presently depends heavily on coal.

In Mozambique, the company this month won a contract to supply emissions-reducing power generation equipment for LNG development.

Wary of unreliable electricity, from state-owned utility Eskom, some South African miners have started launching solar tenders in a bid to find an alternative. ArcelorMittal South Africa, Sasol, and Impala Platinum are among those to have invited bids to supply solar power.

For Molekoa, the spate of solar tenders represents a significant shift. “The minute that mindsets shift, we are better off,” Molekoa said.

Whilst a significant issue, Molekoa believes Power may not be the most important issue facing miners. He sees them as pragmatic, rather than having a fixed agenda on what power solutions should look like. “They just need a truck. They don’t care if it’s pink or brown,” he said.

Nonetheless, he insists mining companies stand to gain from using renewable power by anticipating future pressure from their shareholders about sustainability.

Concerning its engagement with Nigeria, a deal signed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Buhari could overcome the biggest obstacle to Nigeria’s rapid economic development: the lack of reliable and country-wide electricity.

Said to be part of a 5-series project, the journey towards the deal, termed the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), began on August 31, 2018, when Merkel and her business delegation, including Siemens AG CEO Joe Kaeser, visited Nigeria to meet with President Buhari.

Statistics, from the World Bank, reveal that only about 50% of Nigerians have access to electricity, which, however, does not translate to reliability.

Involving a five-fold increase in national generating output, the plan was for the revamping of the power distribution and transmission systems in a massive construction project that promotes local skills and sustainable technology.

Meanwhile, the approval from the Nigeria government, July 2020, for the pre-engineering phase of the expansion of the country’s electricity capacity to 25,000MW from the current average of around 4,500MW, formally signaled the implementation of its project in Nigeria.

Formerly known as the Nigeria Electrification Roadmap, the PPI comes with some memories for Nigeria as it was in the course of consultation for the project that Buhari’s former chief of staff, Abba Kyari caught the coronavirus infection. It eventually led to his death.

Expected to be completed by 2025, the first of the 3-phase project, which will be done in 2021, involves the upgrade and expansion of transmission and distribution infrastructure: the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Distribution Companies (Discos).

One of the projected benefits of the project includes the improvement of access to affordable, efficient, and reliable electricity and support of industrial development and economic growth.

It means there will be significant opportunities for Nigerian companies to provide local content in the areas of site surveys and soil investigation, civil works, the supply of smart meters, data centre hosting, power system modeling, to name but a few.

As Molekoa said, African urbanisation and young demographic structures could easily translate into huge sustainable energy demand.

Siemens interventions and indeed, proposed projects in Africa speak to its dedication to smart infrastructure, which entails intelligently connecting energy systems, buildings, and industries to adapt and evolve the way people live and work. Working together with its customers and partners to create an ecosystem that intuitively responds to the needs of people, Siemens helps customers to better use resources.

That way, the company assists its customers to thrive, communities to progress, and support sustainable development.

“We do this from the macro to the micro-level, from physical products, components, and systems to connected, cloud-based digital offerings and services. From intelligent grid control, and electrification to smart storage solutions, from building automation and control systems to switches, valves, and sensors,” its website statement reads.