Interview: Siemens willing to cooperate with Chinese partners in building smart cities, says CEO

by Xinhua writers Chu Yi, Du Zheyu

BERLIN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Siemens has always valued cooperation with Chinese partners and looks forward to cooperating with Chinese partners in the construction of future smart cities, said Roland Busch, chief executive officer of Siemens AG in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"Cities produce 70 percent of carbon emissions. Fighting climate change, therefore, requires that we drastically improve sustainability in cities," said Busch, highlighting Siemens' efforts in constructing the Siemensstadt Square "district of the future."

He expressed hope to collaborate with Chinese partners to explore efficient and sustainable smart city solutions and bring a more comfortable living environment for urban residents in China.

The German tech giant laid the foundation stone in late June for one of the largest underway urban brownfield development projects currently underway in Europe. The Siemensstadt Square will cover an area of approximately 76 hectares, accommodating around 35,000 people and many businesses.

"We can't start over; we must decarbonize existing areas. And this is what we do at Siemens' birthplace in Berlin, which has a history of 125 years," Busch said. "By transforming it into the digital, sustainable, competitive city of the future, we believe it will give us at least a century more."

According to the CEO, given the long history of the district, more than 250,000 square meters (25 hectares) of historic buildings, such as the administration building and the historic switchgear factory, are being carefully preserved.

"The 7,000 residents in Siemensstadt Square will be able to experience a five-minute commute to work, an easy drop-off at school, a frictionless shopping experience, and a sense of connection and community. They will be working in a climate-friendly way, but also an easy, open, inclusive way," he said.

Boasting decarbonization technology in the project, he said: "Our technologies in intelligent automation, for example, will reduce Siemensstadt Square's carbon footprint from 3,000 tonnes per year to net zero. The electricity required for the system will be generated entirely from renewable and local energy sources."

The CEO emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) for the cities of the future. "AI, which is one of our key technologies, will allow us to analyze data and make predictions that will enable the optimization of manufacturing operations, waste management, traffic flow, water supply, energy consumption, and more. "

Stressing the importance of collaboration in building the smart city, Busch said that it was exactly through the joint efforts of Siemens partners that Siemensstadt Square had become a reality.

"We will have as many as 25,000 workplaces available here -- all part of a robust innovation ecosystem. A diversity of thinkers will share research and insights, conduct experiments and create synergies," he said.

"This ecosystem will work to solve the challenges of our future, and can serve as a blueprint for many future city projects in partnership with China," he added.