Siemens and Swinburne University of Technology have launched the most advanced future Energy Transition Hub of its kind in Australia at the University’s Hawthorn campus in Melbourne.
Featuring some of the most advanced digital energy technology from Siemens and the technical, R&D and teaching expertise of Swinburne, the $5.2 million Hub is a future energy grid laboratory accessible to students, teaching staff and industry. With a digital twin of Australia’s energy market, the Hub also enables commercial research teams to run simulations of new solutions, particularly the intermix and influx of various sources of energy into the grid.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Karen Hapgood, said: “We are incredibly excited about this new collaboration with Siemens, who has partnered with Swinburne over many years to share in our vision of people and technology working together to build a better world.”
“Australia’s ambitious carbon reduction targets need a multipronged approach by industry, research and government. The new Siemens Swinburne Energy Transition Hub will be working on new technologies to improve efficiency, supply, integration, storage, transport and use, as well as how we can improve existing technologies and frameworks. We need change fast, and the Siemens-Swinburne team will focus on taking ideas to market – where they can make the most impact as quickly as possible.”
The Hub enables users to leverage digital twins of energy grids, map scenarios, research new findings, develop original and creative hypotheses, and test results. The digital twin of Australia’s energy grid will help commercial research teams run simulations of new, innovative solutions and software. Researchers, students and industry can use the opportunity to work on solutions for greener, more efficient future energy systems using Siemens Xcelerator, a new open digital business platform and marketplace.
Peter Halliday, CEO and Chairman, Siemens Australia and New Zealand, said: “Collaboration between industry and academia is critical to driving better outcomes on key topics of national importance such as the energy transition. I’m proud of what the Siemens and Swinburne teams have achieved at the Energy Transition Hub, creating a best-of-its-kind for industry. The race to tackle climate change is real and of utmost importance. Australia’s contribution to global emissions is just over 1%. As industry and as a society, we should be focusing on reducing our emissions beyond the 1%, using digitalization as the key lever to drive long-term sustainability. The Hub is a great example of how the best minds can collaborate to help shape the future.”
In addition to R&D and commercialization projects, the hub will deliver short courses for industry professionals. It will also give back to Swinburne students, with Siemens software and the company’s real-world industry experience integrated into engineering technology courses.
This announcement comes shortly after Siemens and Swinburne also announced collaboration on the AI for Net Zero project that will develop comprehensive guidelines for responsible AI adoption and foster ethical practices within the energy industry, whilst helping accelerate the adoption of renewable energy for achieving net zero targets.
The microgrid technologies include SICAM A8000 and SIPROTEC5 devices for control and protection. The planning stations feature Siemens PSS® software which is used by over 70% of utilities and independent system operators including AEMO and grid operators.
