Pictures of the Future

The Magazine for Research and Innovation | Spring 2007

www.siemens.com/pof s

Livable
Megacities
What technology can do to
improve urban quality of life

Technology for
the Environment Molecular Medicine
Solutions that can limit climate
change are already available Earlier Detection and More Effective Treatment of Diseases
Pictures of the Future | Editorial
T he generation pyramid is changing
shape. Fewer children and increasing
numbers of old people are turning it upside
down. The average life expectancy in indus-
trialized countries today is approximately 80
years — twice as high as it was just a century
ago. In 2050, there will be more people aged
60 and older worldwide than children under
the age of 15. According to statistics com-
piled by the United Nations, people over
80 are the fastest-growing age group. And
their number is expected to double world-
wide by 2015 and quadruple by 2050.
A long life is obviously something every-
one would like to have. But longevity harbors
tremendous challenges for society at large.
Pictures of the Future | Contents
Contents
takes into account the individual patient’s
predispositions and health history, thereby
making treatment more efficient (p. 68).
The second engine of change in the
healthcare sector is information technology.
By contributing to the smooth exchange of
data between clinics, doctors’ offices, phar-
macies and health maintenance organiza-
tions, IT makes processes faster and more
efficient. In addition, it helps users to or-
ganize the flood of data that is generated
by modern imaging processes and molecu-
lar medicine.
After all, illnesses such as cancer and heart
disease are generated by the interaction of
many genes and proteins. Knowledge data-

A Long and Healthy Life

Prof. Dr. Erich R. Reinhardt is a member
of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and
President and CEO of Siemens Medical Solutions.
Cover: Even as established diagnostic
imaging technologies are being com-
bined, as in this remarkable CT/PET
scan, new, molecular-based visualiza-
tion systems are being developed that
will enhance their capabilities. On the
horizon are biomarkers for cancers and
arterial plaque — and a new world of
diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities.
For example, average worldwide per capita bases and computer-supported analytic Livable Molecular Technology for
healthcare expenditures for people over 75
years of age are five times higher than those
processes open up the possibility of identi-
fying these connections and diagnosing
Megacities Medicine the Environment
for people aged 25 to 34. If we wish to keep genetically determined health risks even be-
healthcare costs affordable in spite of demo- fore such diseases break out, so that coun- 78 Scenario 2020 48 Scenario 2020 178 Scenario 2020
graphic change, we need solutions that offer termeasures can be taken early on (p. 70). Talk of the Town Microscopic Miracles The Power of Persuasion
enhanced quality of care at lower cost. That These new technologies will inaugurate 10 Trends 51 Trends 181 Trends
applies in particular to the rapidly increasing a change away from a reactive approach to Lights and Dreams Dissecting the Disease Machine Our Vanishing Options
incidence of diseases such as cancer, cardio- medicine that intervenes only when symp- 13 Interview: Experiencing 54 In Vitro Diagnostics 183 Facts and Forecasts
vascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. toms appear, and toward a knowledge-based Megacities in New Ways The Right Mix The Sources of Greenhouse Gases
Our goal must be to continue offering preventive kind of medicine in the future. 14 Facts and Forecasts 57 In Vivo Diagnostics 184 Interview: Cutting Emissions
people unlimited access to top-quality med- Information technology will also help older What People Think of Cities Nipping Deadly Diseases in the Bud Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber
icine in the future — and I’m convinced that and chronically ill people to continue living 16 Brazil 62 Molecular Therapy 186 Energy Efficiency
this will be possible if we lay the ground- in their own homes with as much fulfillment Supercity Solutions Zeroing in on Cancer How Cities Can Save a Fortune
work today. The key to success is patient- as possible, thanks to processes of self-diag- 18 Interview with Jaime Lerner 65 Research Cooperation UHF-MRT 190 Building Systems
focused healthcare that is highly efficient nosis, monitoring and telemedicine (p. 42). The Former Mayor of Curitiba on Focusing on Single Cells Working Smart in China
and utilizes the most effective processes Siemens has done a great deal in recent Buses and Clean Water 67 Research Cooperation DCE-MRI 191 Power Generation
available. Molecular medicine and ultra- months to identify the crucial trends in all 20 Moscow and St. Petersburg Visualizing Tumor Growth Zero-Emission Power Plants
modern information technology will play these areas of healthcare. For example, in Tale of Two Cities 68 Interview: Prof. Detlev Ganten 194 Treasures in the Trash
key roles in this process. The rapid growth addition to acquiring CTI in the field of mo- 22 Chicago Combining Images and Lab Results 196 Hybrid Future
rates of these markets — 10 percent annually lecular imaging and biomarkers, it has also My Kind of Metropolis 70 Knowledge-Based IT 199 Green Transportation
for medical IT and up to 14 percent for some acquired DPC and Bayer Diagnostics in the 25 Security Digging out the Data Lowering Emissions
of the core fields of molecular medicine — area of laboratory diagnostics. As a result, Eyes on Everything 73 Facts and Forecasts 102 Product Development
confirm that our healthcare systems are in Siemens Medical Solutions has become the 28 London Market of the Future Going Greener
a state of transition. first company in the healthcare sector that Building a Better Life in the City 74 Interview: Prof. Ralph Weissleder 104 Water Treatment
Developments in the field of molecular is capable of offering a comprehensive di- 32 Noise Prevention Tomorrow’s Treatments Solutions You Can Swallow
medicine are extremely promising, as evi- agnostics chain incorporating all of the key The Color of Quiet
denced in several articles in this issue of solutions of in vitro and in vivo diagnostics 34 Lighting
Pictures of the Future (pp. 48-75). Particu- in connection with information technology. Let there Be Light Features
larly through the combination of laboratory With almost 7,000 researchers working 38 Navigation Systems 116 Siemens Venture Capital
diagnostics and molecular imaging, molecular on the development of medical systems Pocket Navigator Healthy Investments
medicine offers tremendous potential for around the world, we are confident that we 41 E-Government 114 In Brief 146 Research Cooperation
diagnosing diseases at an earlier stage of can live up to our role as a trendsetter and A Door that’s Always Open Book: How Innovations Are Born / Watching Thoughts with fMRI
development. As a result, they can be treated generator of medical progress in the future 42 Telemedicine Jack of All Trades / Heating with 176 Emerging Technologies
more effectively and economically. Besides, as well — for the good of our partners, cus- Happy Fish — Healthy Patients Vegetable Oil / Safe Blood Dona- Tapping the Sun and Moon
molecular medicine opens up a broad new tomers and countless other people all over 44 Household Appliances tions / Small Wonder 106 Feedback / Preview
field: a more personalized type of therapy that the world. Home Smart Home

2 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 3
Pictures of the Future | In Brief
How Innovations
Are Really Born
C ould it actually take 20 years for
an innovation to develop from
an initial idea to a marketable prod-
uct? How are innovations that revo-
lutionize entire industries developed?
And how do developers deal with
innovations that are promising, but
also threaten to make their compa-
nies’ long-established products obso-
lete? Is there a way to avoid the “not
invented here syndrome?” Can slow-
moving evolutionary developments
be just as successful as ingenious
innovation breakthroughs?
What makes innovators tick, and
what drives them? How are they
able to overcome a broad spectrum
of challenges? What’s the secret of
their success — bold visions, moti-
vated teams, or having the freedom
to apply their creativity? How im-
portant are internal and external net-
works and close ties with customers?
are as varied as the innovators themselves.
The answers are found in a new
Flames of innovation. The paths to market success
book, Innovative Minds — A Look
Inside Siemens’ Idea Machine. It
takes readers behind the scenes at Siemens laboratories, highlighting the stories
of 30 innovators from all of Siemens’ business areas and regions. These are people
who have developed some of the most successful innovations of recent years,
ranging from piezo injector technology for automobiles to new computer tomo-
graphs and magnetic resonance tomographs, from the halogen lamp to industrial
automation, and from the gas sensor for building technology to the gas turbine for
power generation.
Many management books describe the ideal way to generate innovations — by
using the right strategies, tools and processes, for example. But reality is almost
always more complicated, and the roads to innovation are more intricate than
management theories indicate. Innovative Minds tells the true and exciting stories
of innovators and their innovations. It will inspire innovators to try out new things
— and encourage companies to create environments that promote innovation, help-
ing them attract today’s best minds. The book is a useful resource for all involved in
the complex processes that transform an initial idea into a successful product — for
readers working in R&D, marketing, production, sales, strategy and innovation
management units, or corporate organization and management departments.
The book can be ordered from: http://www.siemens.com/innovation/book ■ ue
4 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Easy to use. AySystem has a large display that can also
be programmed for use as an emergency call button.
Jack of all
Trades
I t’s a mobile alarm system, fitness trainer,
and monitor of persons in need of care, all
in a single product. The versatile AySystem pre-
sented by Siemens this spring contains a mobile
communications module and sensors that de-
tect noise, temperature changes and movement.
But that’s not all. The device can be equipped
with a camera and GPS unit. Users can also re-
motely control AySystem via the Internet. The
alarm feature is suitable for use in cars, week-
end homes, or with baby phones. The owner
simply sets threshold values for temperature or
noise. Should actual measurements deviate
from the predefined range, the device will send
a text message or initiate a call via the mobile
communication network. The device’s motion
sensor can be used to monitor persons who
are in need of care, whereby AySystem notifies
a specified caregiver if someone has fallen or is
no longer able to move. And because AySystem
is linked to the Internet, it can also be used to
track the movements of taxis, joggers or people
on mountain bikes. The system will be offered
on the basis of a mobile communications con-
tract or a prepaid card. ■ na
Environmentally friendly and safe. The BSH vegetable
oil stove is well-suited for use in emerging markets.
Vegetable
Oil as Fuel
A vegetable oil stove specially designed for
developing countries is making the pre-
paration of meals safer and more environmen-
tally friendly. The portable stove is the first to
use conventional — and renewable — vegeta-
ble oil as a fuel. And, unlike setups that burn
wood and other fossil fuels, it produces hardly
any pollutants. The device, which has been
successfully tested, costs about 30 euros,
making it affordable for most people in
emerging markets like the Philippines. There,
production of the stoves is well under way,
and tests in Tanzania and several other coun-
tries will follow. More than one-third of the
world’s population currently cooks meals over
open fires. In emerging markets especially,
people often use wood, exposing themselves
to dangers in the process. According to a study
by the World Health Organization (WHO), at
least 1.6 million people die of respiratory ail-
ments associated with cooking each year.
Cooking with wood involves inhaling large
amounts of pollutants and can cause fires and
burns. The “Protos” stove, which was devel-
oped by BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte
GmbH, works like a camping stove. The owner
uses an air pump to generate pressure of up to
three bar in a tank filled with vegetable oil, at
which point the oil flows through a channel
into a vaporizer tube at the burner. There, the
cooking flame heats it up, whereupon it
vaporizes and ultimately burns. In the develop-
ment of the stove, BSH was supported through
a public-private partnership involving the
German Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development, and the German Investment
and Development Company. ■ sw
Safe Blood Donations
S iemens and several part-
ners have developed an
RFID-based solution for the
comprehensive monitoring of
blood donations. The achieve-
ment will make blood transfu-
sions even safer in the future.
For one thing, blood identifica-
tion via radio chips will practi-
cally eliminate the possibility of
mix-ups. The system is also
equipped with a temperature
sensor that makes it possible
to consistently monitor the
temperatures a sample has
been exposed to. Blood often
has to be discarded because its
RFID blood bag. Temperature sensors monitor processing.
temperature is either insufficiently monitored — or not monitored at all — throughout
its processing. The RFID chips with temperature sensors are affixed to blood bags,
whose temperature can be determined at any time using radio-based reading devices.
The chips are tough enough to withstand extreme stresses, including a sterilization and
pasteurization process when they are manufactured, and being subjected to centrifugal
force of up to 5,000 g while being processed. The system is expected to be ready for
use in 2008 following approval by regulatory authorities. ■ na
Small Wonder
O sram has developed a light-emitting diode
(LED) spotlight that achieves an output of
more than 1,000 lumens for the first time. That’s
brighter than a 50-watt halogen lamp. The
power consumption is also substantially lower.
In other words, the device is suitable for a broad
range of general lighting applications. The Ostar
Lighting LED can, for example, provide sufficient
light for a desk from a height of two meters,
while its small size will also enable completely
new types of lamp design. The market launch
of Ostar Lighting is scheduled for summer
2007. To achieve a 1,000 lm output , experts
at Osram employed a sophisticated system
for high chip-packing density, whereby the
researchers managed to integrate six high-per-
formance light emitting diode chips into the
unit’s small housing. Each chip has an area of
only one square millimeter. Ostar Lighting also
achieves extremely high efficiency, delivering
Powerful illumination. Ostar Lighting up to 75 lumens per watt, depending on the
can be used for general applications. operating current. ■ sw
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 5
 Siemens is investing in California-based U-Systems.
Pictures of the Future | In Brief
The company uses a new ultrasound approach to 3D
breast imaging. X-rays are not involved, but results
can be compared with those from mammography.

New Turbine Coating Healthy

U sing a mixture of exotic
metals, Dr. Werner Stamm of
Siemens Power Generation in Mül-
heim an der Ruhr has substantially
improved gas turbine blades. Using
a ceramic coating, he improved
the components’ combustion
temperature, efficiency and serv-
ice life. Turbines fitted with these
blades use fuel more efficiently
and thus help to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions. In gas turbines,
the hot combustion gas strikes the
Stamm with turbine blade. He has submitted 52 inventions. blades in an environment whose
temperatures are in excess of
1,000 degrees Celsius. In order to protect these blades, Stamm developed a protective
coating that is much more stable than those previously used. Here, he used various metals,
including rhenium, which is relatively unknown. The optimal mixture of the materials pro-
duces a coating that not only provides protection against oxidation but also serves as an
adhesive for layers of thermal insulation. Rhenium, with its extremely high melting point
of approximately 3,200 degrees Celsius, improves various properties, particularly the heat
resistance.Stamm was one of 12 Siemens Inventors of the Year in 2006. He has been work-
ing for the company for 15 years and has submitted 52 inventions. The thing he likes most
about his work is that he can see the entire life cycle of his products — in this case from
the basic material to the coatings and the blade itself — all at a glance. ■ na
Cardiac Catheter in 3D
Investment
Experts from Siemens
Venture Capital (SVC)
constantly search the
startup scene for technol-
ogy trends and business
ideas. By making targeted
investments, Siemens is
able to offer its customers
state-of-the-art solutions.
I dentifying pioneering innovations is a little
like hunting for truffles,” says Dr. Ralf Schnell,
head of Siemens Venture Capital. “You need a
highly developed startup scene in which new
technologies thrive, and the skills to ferret out
at an early stage new trends that can be suc-
cessfully marketed.” For this, Schnell relies on
the venture capital experts on his team, who
are well aware of what’s going on at Siemens
Corporate Technology, and also keep tabs on
new trends. The health care sector is particular-
ly innovative; that’s why Schnell put together a
team that analyzes startup companies in the
sector and regularly identifies technologies to
gram) can be compared directly with a conven-
tional mammograph to improve the diagnosis.
At the time Siemens encountered U-Systems,
it was unclear if the technology would function
properly in everyday use. Based on experience,
SVC’s experts are well aware that a lot can go
wrong in the process of creating a marketable
product. After U-Systems’ developers had solv-
ed a few problems in 2006, the first functional
unit of the product called SomoVu was deliv-
ered that fall. The devices have since proved
themselves in clinical applications, and many
hospitals have ordered additional units. They’ve
been so successful that SVC significantly boost-
will be rejected. The test which can significantly
reduce treatment costs has already received
clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration. The current post-transplant procedure
involves administering medications that sup-
press defensive reactions. But excessive doses
of such medications can weaken the immune
system and lead to further complications, includ-
ing infection. Until now, there has been no way
to know in advance how the body will react to a
transplant, resulting in medication doses that are
either too high or too low. Jay estimates annual
expenditure on transplant-related medications
currently totals between $15,000 and $20,000
SVC’s activities aren’t limited to investments;
establishing direct links with the technology
scene is just as important. “We help our col-
leagues in the Siemens business areas to estab-
lish personal contacts with leading experts, by
providing a suitable platform for dialogue,”
Schnell says.
SVC organizes and conducts several special-
ized Innovation Circles yearly, as well as a
Siemens Venture Summit — all designed to
bring together internal and external experts.
These meetings are valuable for Jay and Schnell
because they generate new ideas. But, “there’s
always a certain risk involved. Not every idea

T o assist doctors in conducting

minimally invasive proce-
dures, Frank Sauer, a researcher at
Siemens Corporate Research in
Princeton, New Jersey, has devel-
oped a system that provides them
with a view inside the body during
operations. The new method not
only makes it easier for cardiolo-
gists to conduct catheter proce-
dures, in which a small instrument
is inserted into the body through a
vein; it also makes such proce-
A look into the body. Fast and safe catheter interventions. dures safer and easier to learn.
Until now, physicians have had
only a very limited view during interventions, being unable to directly see the organs in
question. The new procedure, however, gives doctors a general overview of the target or-
gan, helping them to guide the catheter. By using images from CT or MR scanners, Sauer
creates a 3D depiction of the patient. The system then uses built-in position sensors to dis-
play the catheter in the image during the procedure, allowing the doctor to see the exact
position of the instrument’s tip at any time. Sauer and his team developed the new system
in cooperation with the Angiography, Fluoroscopy, and X-Ray Systems division of Siemens
Medical Solutions and partner company Biosense Webster. And its potential is far from ex-
hausted. Sauer plans to link the devices’ position indicators with images generated during
the operation, enabling doctors to intervene immediately if any problems occur. ■ na
add to the Siemens R&D portfolio.
U-Systems is one such pick. The California-
based startup has developed a method for im-
proving mammography examinations through
the use of ultrasound. Doctors usually conduct
preventive breast cancer examinations using
X-rays. However, when thick breast tissue is in-
volved, which roughly 40 percent of all women
have, the resulting images display poor resolu-
tion. Siemens Medical Solutions (Med) did in
fact examine possibilities for combining an X-ray
machine with ultrasound, but the costs seemed
prohibitively high.
“We got lucky when we found out about
U-Systems in 2003,” says Dr. Andrew Jay, head
of SVC’s Medical Solutions Fund in Boston. The
startup’s X-ray-free ultrasound technique fit right
into Siemens’ plans. The system images the
breast from the front, rather than from the side
as mammography does, which means it can also
be used to examine small breasts. And the ultra-
sound source used by U-Systems was actually a
system from Siemens. “So we were delighted
with the company’s approach right from the
start,” says Jay. The 3D ultrasound image (sono-
ed Siemens’ financial interest in U-Systems, and
Med signed a worldwide distribution agreement.
“Our investments safeguard our access to the
most advanced expertise from outside of Sie-
mens — and that ultimately helps Siemens to
maintain its leading position in medical technol-
ogy,” Schnell explains. SVC is now expanding
its search for startups in the medical systems
sector, where the pace of development has
picked up substantially in recent years, not least
due to the IT revolution and advances in ge-
netic and molecular engineering. This explains
why experts at the venture capital company
now evaluate between 400 and 500 startups per
year worldwide. The Medical Solutions Fund fo-
cuses on molecular imaging, in vitro diagnoses,
and IT applications. Many startups actually
approach Siemens themselves. “They’d like to
become partners in our global high-tech com-
pany,” says Jay with a measure of pride.
One company that contacted Siemens was
Cylex, a startup that developed a test that meas-
ures the intensity of immune system reactions
prior to organ transplants. The test helps doc-
tors better assess whether a transplanted organ
per patient. He thinks immune tests could cut
this figure by between 30 and 50 percent. Sie-
mens is exploring the possibility of developing
works in practice, or maybe there’s no market
for a given application,” says Schnell. “That’s
why you often need a kind of sixth sense when
an automated version of the Cylex test. choosing investments.” ■ Harald Hassenmüller
Financing a Range of Innovations
In addition to carrying out its own research and development activities, Siemens funds external
innovations by investing in startup companies via SVC, and through organizations like the Siemens
Technology Accelerator (STA) and the Siemens Technology-To-Business Center (TTB). These provide
startups with capital and expertise, as well as access to Siemens’ global resources. In return, Siemens
benefits from the technologies developed by startups. STA and TTB assist companies as early at the
“seed phase,” while SVC is responsible for making investments during subsequent financing rounds.
SVC is also closely involved in the Siemens innovation strategy process. With an investment volume of
about 700 million euros spread out across more than 100 startup companies and 30 venture capital
funds (primarily in the U.S., Europe, and Israel), SVC is the world’s third most active corporate venture
capital investor. It focuses on young companies that have the potential to generate solid returns in
Siemens’ strategic application fields — energy and the environment, health systems, automation, and
industrial and public infrastructure. SVC’s involvement encompasses several phases: financial participa-
tion; support in the form of licensing, supply, and marketing agreements; possible acquisition of the
company in question; and assistance with selling the company or launching it on the stock market.

6 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 7
Livable Megacities | Scenario 2020 Parking guidance system Building technology LEDs and OLEDs Power plant technology

Highlights
13 How People Experience Cities
Urban planner Harald Mieg and
environmental psychologist Christ-
ian Hoffmann discuss how urban
dwellers feel about quality of life.

14 What People Think of Cities

According to a comprehensive
study, despite numerous prob-
lems, citizens and urban decision-
makers are generally optimistic.

16 Supercity Solutions
Whether it’s Moscow, São Paulo,
London or Chicago — each city
deals with its problems in its own
special way. Pages 16, 20, 22, 28

25 Eyes on Everything
Safety is a major factor in a large
city’s reputation. That’s why
there’s a billion-dollar market
for safety solutions.

32 The Color of Quiet

Noise affects the quality of life.
That’s why technologies are being
developed to make power plants,
trains and cars quieter.

34 Let there Be Light

LEDs will transform urban envi-
ronments. They not only save
energy but also offer innovative
possibilities for illumination.

39 Pocket Navigator
In the future, drivers and pedestri-

Talk of the Town

ans will be able to find their way
around cities more easily, thanks
to technologies like digital graffiti.

2020
Municipal manager John Gardiner is an
expert on the efficiency of urban infra-
structures. In response to questions from a
student, he explains how the city they live
in has dramatically reduced its energy con-
sumption while also enhancing the quality
of life. His apartment, which is also an
example of efficiency, is equipped with
energy-saving appliances and a multimedia
display made of organic LEDs.
It’s June 2020. Municipal
manager John Gardiner is
explaining to a visiting stu-
dent how he has improved
the quality of life in his
urban neighborhood while
cutting energy consumption
in half.
J
ennifer, you’ll just have to stay for dinner,”
says John Gardiner, looking over the edge of
his glass. “I’m expecting a couple of important
people who can contribute to our discussion on
environmentally friendly urban planning.”
“Thanks for the invitation,” replies Jennifer
Miles, a student of applied ecology who had
approached John after he gave a presentation
at an international conference on energy effi-
ciency. She had asked him a few questions, and
he had spontaneously invited her to his apart-
ment — in order to continue their interesting
scientific discussion. “You wanted to tell me
how you managed to more than halve energy
consumption,” Jennifer prompts. “Saving en-
ergy is very important, but it’s not everything,”
John replies. “A city shouldn’t sacrifice any of its
charm in the process. Its inhabitants have to
enjoy living there.”
John walks over to the panorama window.
“Some 800,000 people live in my neighbor-
hood. For years now, it’s been the most popu-

8 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 9

Livable Megacities | Scenario 2020
lar of the city’s 20 districts. And from up here
it’s clear why people like it so much.” Jennifer
nods. “Do you know where most energy was
being wasted ten years ago?” asks John. “In
power plants?” Jennifer answers. “Back then
they had much lower efficiency ratings, and
lots of energy was lost in the form of heat.” “Al-
most everyone gets that question wrong,” says
John, smiling. “A lot more energy was wasted
in buildings due to poor insulation. People vir-
tually threw fuel out the window. In those
days, heating systems accounted for 80 per-
cent of household energy consumption! Build-
ings were old, smart building technologies
were practically nonexistent, there were hardly
any combined heat and power plants — and
fuel cell technology wasn’t affordable.”
“And what did you do about it?” “Financial
incentives,” John answers. “For one thing, car-
bon dioxide emissions have been taxed for a
long time now. That initially brought some re-
lief to the homeowners and property owners
who had modernized their buildings early on.
And we introduced stricter regulations for new
buildings. Then too, as a municipal manager
I’ve strongly emphasized performance con-
tracting.” “What’s that?” asks Jennifer. “We ap-
pointed a team of energy savings detectives.
They look at all energy users in private house-
holds, businesses and public buildings, and
make recommendations on modernization,
which they also implement. The biggest energy
guzzlers were motors and ventilation and air-
conditioning technology. Today we mostly use
Lighting up Buenos Aires. The 140-meter-wide
| Trends
Avenida 9 de Julio in the Argentine capital is
considered to be the world’s widest street. It’s
an impressive display of the appeal of city life.
was not only to be the world’s most energy-
efficient city — we also wanted to provide our
citizens with the best possible quality of life.”
John leans back in his chair. “I’ve also made
that a top priority here in my apartment,” he
says. “Take the lighting, for example. You have
no idea how important lighting is for creating a
sense of well-being. That OLED light panel over
there is also my home movie theater. And the
ceiling has a luminescent screen where I can
make a romantic sunset appear every evening.
You really must stay for dinner.”
“Um...could be difficult, but now that you
mention lighting, were you able to save energy
there too?” asks Jennifer, walking toward the
window. “Yes,” says John. “Thanks to LEDs,
which need less than a fifth of the electricity
required by incandescent bulbs or halogen
lamps. The price of these tiny light sources has
fallen significantly. They’re so economical and
have such long lifespans that today we’re even
inserting them into pedestrian pathways to
ensure safety. I’ve got a few of them here in the
columns and the furniture...”
“Wow,” says Jennifer with a polite smile.
“And what about road traffic? That was always
the second biggest energy consumer, wasn’t
it?” “Here we used a two-pronged strategy,” lec-
tures John. “First, we used taxes and emissions
certificates to promote hybrid and electric cars.
Then we expanded the public transportation
system significantly. We also converted the en-
tire fleet of city buses so that they could run on
hybrid diesel engines — but that was just a
Lights M aybe it will be a salesman who moves to
New York, or perhaps a skilled tradesman
who settles in Mumbai — at some point this
year, one individual moving to a city will tip the
MRC McLean Hazel consulting firm based in Ed-
inburgh, Scotland. “Ultimately, even these
cities offer much better development opportu-
nities than the surrounding areas. People who
gist Christian Hoffmann in an interview (p. 13).
This is confirmed by a research project sup-
ported by Siemens, which found that half of
the people surveyed rated the quality of life in

energy-saving motors, and ventilation systems
now have smart regulation systems. That cuts
energy consumption by more than half.” “How
did you get industry on board? Didn’t it cost a
lot?” asks Jennifer. “That too is a misconcep-
tion,” answers John. “Of course investments
are necessary. But they’re usually balanced out
quickly by the resulting savings. By the way,
that’s ideal for local authorities, which usually
have tight budgets.”
“I can see a power plant in the distance,”
says Jennifer. “In my courses I learned that
power plants have become increasingly effi-
cient over the last 30 years.” “That’s right,” says
John. “And thanks to the savings, we were able
to revise our requirements planning downward
and close down older power plants with high
CO2 emission levels. When we needed new
power plants, we made sure there was a mix of
geothermal energy, wind energy and conven-
tional technology. We also ensured that our
suppliers installed the best technology avail-
able. Efficiency wasn’t our only criterion for the
turbines; we also had to fulfill strict noise regu-
lations. Nowadays, people living near a gas
turbine plant hardly notice anything. Our aim
symbolic measure. The buses and the subway
system accounted for only one percent of the
city’s total energy consumption.”
“And what was the second step?” asks Jen-
nifer. “Efficient traffic management,” answers
John. “Of course, passenger car traffic has de-
creased considerably, thanks to our outstand-
ing subway system and the tolls on city traffic,
but lots of commuters and suppliers still come
here by car. But now we inform drivers about
congestion risks while they’re still on beltways.
Automatic guidance systems then direct them
through the city to parking garages.”
Jennifer’s cell phone rings, interrupting
John’s enthusiastic lecture. “Hi, Mike,” Jennifer
greets the caller and a smile lights up her face.
“O.K., great, I’ll come down right away,” she
says and folds up her phone. “John, what
you’ve just said is absolutely true. The auto-
matic guidance system directed my boyfriend
to a free parking space right in front of your
building. I asked him to pick me up.” She
shakes hands with John and puts her half-
empty glass on the counter. “Thanks for the
drink and all the information. Bye!”
■ Norbert Aschenbrenner
and
scale, and for the first time in history more peo-
ple will be living in cities than in rural areas.
The development is dramatic in scale. Two
thirds of the planet’s population will be living in
cities by 2050. The biggest impact will be felt in
Dreams megacities, defined by the UN as cities with
more than ten million inhabitants. Growth in
these huge metropolitan areas presents ex-
traordinary challenges in terms of energy and
water supplies, and traffic and transport sys-
Megacities are like tems. An adequate infrastructure is often non-
magnets. Although existent in emerging markets, while in estab-
lished cities it’s frequently outdated.
their infrastructures Mercer Consulting publishes an annual
are often inadequate ranking of quality of life in cities, measured in
and their populations terms of tangible factors. While it may seem
paradoxical, many low-ranked cities are experi-
face huge challenges, encing particularly dynamic growth. Mumbai,
they are still regarded for example, was most recently ranked 150th
of 215 cities. However, about 350 families
as the places where move there every day. According to the UN, the
dreams come true. population of the Nigerian capital Lagos
(199th) is expected to increase to 20 million by
2010 and reach 40 million by 2025.
“This phenomenon is easy to explain,” says
urban expert Prof. George Hazel, director of the
live in cities also gain access to services such as
medical care. In the countryside these services
aren’t available or are too far away.” And cities
shine brightly — something that’s very appar-
ent when you look at images taken by satel-
lites. But they also have a magic attraction that
isn’t limited to the light they emit. That’s be-
cause they’re places where dreams can come
true. Shanghai overflows with optimism, Dubai
conveys the impression of unlimited, magical
growth, while New York and Tokyo are arche-
typical of the urban legend.
Needed: Optimism and Good Governance.
The Mercer study has a more sober view of all
of this, which is a good thing given that the
firm acts as a consultant for companies that
send employees abroad. As a result, Mercer
rankings are based on an assessment and com-
parison of factors such as health care, traffic
and transport infrastructure, safety and cleanli-
ness. The study is a view from the outside, of
course; on the inside, things are often per-
ceived differently. “Contentment with one’s liv-
ing conditions doesn’t depend directly on the
physical design of a city,” says urban psycholo-
their city as at least average (p. 14). The finding
was also valid for participants living in emerg-
ing markets. Conducted by MRC McLean Hazel
and the GlobeScan research institute, this study
polled 522 decision-makers in 25 of the world’s
largest cities. The respondents were asked to
indicate their most urgent problems and their
expectations for the future. The study found
that politicians, urban planners and others who
influence urban development are mostly opti-
mistic about the future. “And they have to be,”
says Hazel, “because you can’t overcome the
challenges of urban growth unless you have a
positive attitude.”
The study also found that the trend in city
agencies around the world is moving away
from simply administering public services to-
ward actively managing them. “This makes it
possible to improve the quality of life to the
highest possible level — even in big cities, with
all their problems,” explains Hazel. Money isn’t
usually the most pressing issue when it comes
to making improvements, he says. The key is-
sue is good governance and integrated long-
term planning. This is the foundation of the ef-
fective use of funds. It’s also important to get

10 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 11
Livable Megacities | Trends
citizens involved and to give them responsibil-
ity. Curitiba in Brazil is a good example. Years
ago, the city’s water reservoirs were filled with
garbage (p.18). To remedy the situation, city
authorities paid fishermen to remove the
garbage. In addition to earning more money,
the fishermen also benefited from the fact that
the water became cleaner and was thus able to
support more fish. For its part, the city bene-
fited from a service that cost much less than
would have been the case if a waste removal
company had been hired for the job.
Modern information technology offers an
elegant — and democratic — way to get citizens
involved, which in turn boosts their quality of
life. E-government solutions, for example, enable
residents to file applications and tax returns
more quickly and easily (p. 41). They also save
municipal authorities money by making pro-
cesses more transparent. Because most gov-
New York’s Central Park, extensive subway system and ultramodern subway control center provide leisure, reliable transportation and security for millions of people.
ernment officials today tend to focus only on
their own areas of responsibility, even projects
based on the best intentions often have a neg-
ative effect in the end. Hazel tells the story of a
new, modern hospital that was built just out-
side his home town of Edinburgh. The idea was
to offer more efficient patient care at lower
cost. But because public transport connections
to the hospital were poor, almost all visitors
and staff had to drive and pay high parking
fees. “There was no holistic planning. The hos-
pital externalized its costs but the result didn’t
improve the overall quality of life for the city’s
citizens,” says Hazel.
That’s why Hazel proposes an approach in
which district managers have an overview of all
the relevant factors and cooperate closely with
planning experts from specific infrastructure
segments. Siemens has been working in a simi-
lar way for several years, with interdisciplinary
teams implementing projects for facilities such
as airports, hospitals, hotels and stadiums. The
advantage here is that the company’s complete
12 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
range of expertise is harnessed and utilized
synergistically. This is good for customers, who
no longer have to deal with several different
partners — while also receiving higher-quality
products and services. Dr. Willfried Wienholt,
head of Urban Development at Siemens, is a
contact partner for megacities. “I talk to mayors
and urban planners and try to advise them on
strategy,” says Wienholt. “The key is to develop
a joint and holistic point of view that includes
the interdependency between ecology and in-
frastructure, for example. My goal is to open up
new perspectives and find innovative solu-
tions.”
Requirements vary sharply from city to city,
however. In emerging markets, for example,
the most important initial aspect is meeting
basic needs like housing, food, water and en-
ergy. Wienholt points out that Siemens offers
expertise in developing public infrastructures
(Pictures of the Future, Fall 2006, pp. 6-41).
“When people have enough to eat and are warm
in the winter, they begin to seek to improve
their social status and develop their potential,”
says Wienholt. Consequently, the more devel-
oped a city is, as a rule, the higher its citizens’
expectations will be.
One factor that has a negative impact in
every city is noise, particularly from road traf-
fic. Aircraft, industry and power plants also
contribute to the problem, and noise levels
sometimes get high enough to make people
sick. Siemens uses several approaches to the
diminution and elimination of noise (p. 32).
Siemens Power Generation, for example, has a
team that works on reducing power plant noise
levels as efficiently as possible. Siemens engi-
neers are also reducing the noise levels of
trains, while more and more vehicles are using
piezo injectors, which help to make combus-
tion not only more efficient but also quieter.
Road traffic can also be made more accept-
able by using traffic information systems that
help prevent congestion and make it easier for
motorists to find parking spaces. Navigation
systems can even be used to help pedestrians
find their way through unfamiliar cities.
Siemens has also developed a museum guide
that uses virtual markers and provides museum
visitors with information on exhibits via a
handheld computer (p. 38).
Bright Lights, Small Cameras. Security is a
high priority in all big cities. Here, video cam-
eras can do more than help police officers solve
crimes; they can also prevent crime from hap-
pening in the first place. London is a pioneer in
this field (p. 28). Any reservations its citizens
might have had about cameras in public places
were eliminated after the July 2005 terrorist at-
tacks. Now, Siemens experts are working on al-
gorithms that will enable image recordings to
be assessed automatically on the basis of un-
usual activity (p. 25). Studies have shown that
better visibility and lighting can also help pre-
vent crime in public places — for example, at
building entrances and in parks.
Lighting plays a big role in improving the
quality of life. Bright lights at work — in combi-
nation with daylight — heighten employees’
concentration, while warm lighting at home
creates a pleasant atmosphere. A leader in
lighting technology, the Siemens subsidiary
Osram is also playing a part in a revolution
that’s changing cities and much more (p. 34).
The company is producing light-emitting
diodes for everything from pin-sized lamps to
large plastic spotlights. The diodes are ex-
tremely efficient, dramatically cut energy use
and are very long-lasting. They also open up
completely new possibilities for facade lighting
and interior lighting systems. Given their at-
tractive properties, light diodes will probably
be given the task of ensuring that the cities of
tomorrow continue to shine brightly.
■ Norbert Aschenbrenner
| Interview
Experiencing Megacities In New Ways
Prof. Harald Mieg, 45, (left) is the director of the interdisciplinary
Georg Simmel Center for Metropolitan Studies at Humboldt Univer-
sity in Berlin. A geographer, Mieg is also a professor of Metropolitan
and Innovation Studies whose work is focused on sustainable urban
development and human interaction in megacities. Psychologist
Christian Hoffmann, 38, specializes in the psychology of innovation
and urban-environment relationships. Hoffmann is a co-publisher of
the magazine Umweltpsychologie (Environmental Psychology).
What makes a city worth living in? you have to build in a way that prompts people
Hoffmann: Satisfaction with one’s living situ- to say: “This is my neighborhood and I’m going
ation depends on a lot more than a city’s physi- to help take care of it.” Spaces should be open
cal design. Also very important are soft factors and visible, and no areas should become stig-
such as social cohesion — in other words, the matized due to cheap forms of construction.
degree to which people are incorporated into The less visible a building doorway is, for exam-
personal networks. There are also objective ple, the more likely you’ll see a higher level of
criteria, of course, including noise levels, air crime there.
pollution and crime, job opportunities, free-
dom of movement and good public transport. What must an architect take into account
to ensure that residents feel comfortable?
Why do cities with a poor quality of life, Mieg: The most important factor is the design
from an objective standpoint, often have of semi-private areas — those between public
the most dynamic population growth? places, such as streets and squares, and private
Mieg: People move to cities like Jakarta and spaces. This could be the area in front of a
Lagos because they’re the most attractive building, or an inner courtyard — places
places in their countries. We may not find them where people talk with their neighbors, which
appealing, but people go to them because they is why they’re so vital for communication. The
enable them to take control of, and improve, design of apartment building lobbies, for ex-
their lives. There’s also a lot of psychology ample, has a major impact on whether people
involved. The myths associated with city life talk to each other or remain anonymous.
exert a very powerful attraction.
How should an apartment building lobby
What influence does urban psychology be designed?
have on urban planning? Mieg: It must be visible and open, but access
Mieg: There’s great potential here. Urban to the apartments should be clearly separated.
psychology examines the interfaces between It should be bright and pleasant, with plants
people and their urban environment, address- around. If possible, there should also be day-
ing issues like the user-friendliness of mobility light streaming in from above. The lobby
services, for example. Experienced urban must be clean and orderly; it must be clear
planners always use psychology — even if they that someone is caring for it. Otherwise, the
don’t refer to it as such. Urban psychology can semi-private area becomes public space, which
be applied in many areas: to help lower crime, increases the risk of vandalism.
improve communication between planners
and residents, and control traffic flows. And what about public places?
Mieg: Outdoor spaces will be used in accor-
How can crime be reduced? dance with their appearance. If a square is des-
Hoffmann: According to the “Defensible olate, people won’t treat it with respect — they
Space” concept, urban construction should be won’t feel responsible for it. Generally, people
carried out in a manner that leads residents to feel responsible for their private spaces and to
identify with their surroundings. Put simply, some extent for semi-private areas.
Are the guidelines you’ve mentioned
actually being used?
Hoffmann: Yes. Take Helmholtzplatz in Berlin,
close to where I live (www.kiez-lebendig.de).
Seven years ago there were many vacant com-
mercial buildings, houses in need of renova-
tion and a lot of drug dealers. Residents got in-
volved to make the square more open by
helping to build playgrounds and renovating
houses and shops. Within five years the place
became one of the city’s top locations, and it
all started by asking local residents what could
be done to make the square more attractive.
Mieg: Berlin’s many courtyards are another ex-
ample. They used to be symbols of a poor qual-
ity of life. You could hear construction crews
hammering away at 6:00 a.m.; the courtyards
smelled bad. Today they’re beautiful, with small
playgrounds for kids, cafes, interesting shops
and a delightful urban atmosphere — an exam-
ple of an ideal semi-private area. And the Sony
Center, with its large public spaces that exude
grandeur, even elicits a new way to understand
democracy — but in a manner conceived to
welcome people, not to impress them.
What can technology accomplish here?
Mieg: It can help to meet basic needs by sup-
plying food, warmth and mobility. It can also
have a more subtle impact in the form of light-
ing, which not only creates a sense of security
but also can make a city more attractive. The
typical urban atmosphere was in fact created
with the advent of electric light. New types of
traffic guidance systems are also greatly en-
hancing the quality of urban life by helping visi-
tors to circumvent traffic jams. In the future,
pedestrians will even be guided by satellite, en-
abling them to experience cities in a completely
new way. ■ Interview: Norbert Aschenbrenner
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 13
Livable Megacities | Facts and Forecasts

What People Think of Cities Most Serious Economic

Challenges
Most Serious Environmental
Challenges
Predicted Approach of
Energy Experts

Fossil fuels Renewable

technologies
Unemployment 20% Air pollution 26%

Source for all charts: Megacity Challenges, GlobeScan, MRC McLean Hazel, 2006. Download from: www.siemens.de/megacities
Cost of living 14% Transportation 15%

I n a Siemens-sponsored research project, 522 decision-

makers from 25 of the world’s largest cities have for the
first time provided detailed information on today’s most
The next most important infrastructure issues are
safety and security (nine percent) and energy supply (six
percent). Water and water sanitation were mentioned by
Around one-third of those surveyed say needed invest-
ments are often not made due to a lack of funds and
proper planning. Another problem cited is inadequate co-
Economic
development
14% General pollution 14%
52% 48%

Inadequate 8% Water pollution 13%

pressing urban problems, and the outlook for the future.
Conducted by GlobeScan, an independent research insti-
tute, the study surveyed representatives of politics, city ad-
ministrations, business, the media, and scientific institutes
in the fall of 2006. At the same time, the consulting firm
MRC McLean Hazel analyzed critical infrastructure sectors
in eight of the 25 megacities, focusing on transportation,
energy supply, water, health care, safety and security, and
new approaches for urban financing and administration.
The megacities were divided into three categories:
Emerging Cities such as Cairo, New Delhi and Lagos; Tran-
sitional Cities like Istanbul, Moscow and São Paulo; and
Mature Cities such as London, New York and Paris. Al-
though each city has its own unique problems that call for
specific solutions, there are common trends. For example,
most of those surveyed surprisingly expressed optimism
about the future, and two-thirds of the respondents — in
both Mature and Emerging Cities — believe their cities will
successfully manage the next five years.
Economic growth and job creation have the highest
priority for 81 percent of those interviewed, while the most
important infrastructure issue is transportation, which 27
percent of those surveyed described as the number one
factor for boosting their city’s competitiveness and appeal.
That’s because congested streets and roads make life diffi-
cult and also have a negative impact on the economy. The
Confederation of British Industry, for example, estimates
that traffic jams in the UK alone generate an annual cost
to the economy of $38 billion.
Most Serious Social Challenges
Poor living conditions
Gap between rich and poor 11%
Poverty 9%
7%
Education
Population growth 7%
Public safety 7%
7%
Unemployment
only three percent of respondents as an important com-
petitive factor. This is surprising, given that the cost of
inadequate supplies of clean drinking water and a lack of
water treatment systems in developing countries amount
to an estimated $170 billion per year, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO). Moreover, the United
Nations Development Program reports that over one bil-
lion people live more than one kilometer away from the
nearest source of clean drinking water. Europe and the
U.S. aren’t immune to such problems, either; both need to
overhaul water infrastructure systems that are in some
cases a century old. Even in a highly developed city like
London, one third of the total water supply today is lost
due to leaky pipes — and the percentage is even higher in
Emerging Cities such as Dhaka (62 percent).
Mature Cities often have outdated infrastructure sys-
tems, while some types of infrastructure are not even
present in developing countries and emerging markets.
London’s subway system, for example, urgently needs to
be overhauled and expanded, while Karachi, Pakistan,
doesn’t even have a subway, which is why commuters can
often be seen riding on the roofs of buses. Meanwhile,
countries like India and China struggle with inadequate
electrical capacity, which frequently leads to blackouts.
Still, even the OECD countries need to invest approxi-
mately $4 trillion in power generation and transmission
between 2002 and 2030, according to the International
Energy Agency — and developing countries will need to
spend a whopping $5.2 trillion.
Most Serious Challenges
Facing Urban Infrastructures
14%
Emerging
cities
Transportation
Inadequate / ineffi-
cient infrastructure
Planning
Lack of funding 3 4
% of respondents
mentioning Environment /
pollution
ordination among various city agencies. Many respondents infrastructure
would like to see holistic urban management concepts im-
Financing 7% % of
plemented, which has hardly been the case to date. And respondents
environmentally friendly solutions are becoming a more mentioning
important field of investment worldwide. That’s because
cities, which occupy only 0.4 percent of the earth’s sur-
face, generate about 80 percent of all greenhouse gases. City’s Probability of
The majority of those surveyed would therefore especially Successfully Managing
like to see investment in public transport systems like
Short-Term Future 100%
subways, street cars, and regional rail lines over the next
five to ten years. Over the next ten years, Istanbul plans to
North America 71%
expand its $1.6 billion budget for construction projects by
Africa/Middle East 66%
an additional $4.9 billion, for tram and subway projects.
The most serious environmental challenge at the
India/China 57%
moment, according to those surveyed, is air pollution, fol-
lowed by traffic jams. Six of ten respondents believe that Europe 55%
the authorities in their cities are aware of the often sub-
stantial role that infrastructure decisions can play in envi- Latin America 50%
ronmental protection. Given a choice between environ-
Rest of Asia 42%
mental protection and economic growth, however,
authorities often opt for the latter, especially in developing
Average 67%
countries, where 55 percent of those surveyed say envi-
ronmental considerations should take a back seat to meas-
ures for expanding their cities’ economic capacities. Only
14 percent of respondents from Mature Cities agree with
them, however.
Regardless of the type of city they live in, around half of
those surveyed say energy supply should focus on renew-
able resources, and half favor continued use of fossil fuels.
There is a clear trend toward environmentally friendly
resources such as wind and solar energy, but there’s still
much to be done in this regard. In the UK, for example,
only four percent of total energy is generated through re-
% of respondents mentioning
newable resources, while 95 percent of Moscow’s needs
Transitional Mature are covered by gas, and India and China rely mostly on coal
cities cities (75 percent). The majority of experts surveyed approve of
water recycling. Beijing’s Bei Xiaohe water treatment plant,
17 43 45
for example, now provides drinking water for 400,000
people, with plans for its capacity to be doubled.
9 10 14
Urban authorities not only want to expand infrastruc-
9 9 8 ture, but also want to make it more efficient. In addition,
they seek to actively control demand — a policy that has
11
not been implemented to a sufficient degree in the past,
although examples from the transportation sector demon-
9 2 4
strate that demand management can be quite effective.
The introduction of London’s Congestion Charge in 2003,
Solid waste 9% % of
respondents
mentioning
Most Important Predicted Approach of
Infrastructures for Transport Experts
Attracting Investment
Individual Mass transit
27% motorized infrastructure
Transportation transporta-
tion
Safety and 9%
security
29% 71%
Education 6%
6%
Communications
Energy supply 6%
Leisure and 6%
culture
City
6%
management ity for prosecution of crimes, and improved planning can
5% make a positive contribution here. Gangs were cited by 36
Environment
percent of respondents as the most serious problem in this
Health care 4% area, and this applies especially to those from developing
countries and emerging markets. Other dangers men-
Water 3% tioned include terrorism and natural disasters. The general
trend is toward crime prevention, with respondents tend-
ing to agree on the importance of investing in new tech-
nologies such as surveillance cameras linked with intelli-
for example, has led to a 26-percent reduction in traffic gent systems that automatically evaluate data.
jams and a 21-percent decline in inner-city traffic volume. Opinions differ on the topic of privatization. Most of
Megacity demographic trends indicate an increasingly the respondents predict infrastructure facilities and services
aging population and heightened demand for medical will remain largely under the ownership and control of lo-
services. According to a study by the WHO, 130,000 people cal authorities. The majority of those surveyed are open to
die in developing countries each year from the effects of the idea of public-private partnerships, though, with 70
urban air pollution alone. Mumbai now spends 25 percent percent of politicians and public officials favoring the use of
of its budget on health care, yet only one in five of its citi- PPPs as a means of boosting infrastructure efficiency. In
zens receives proper medical attention. The main problems fact, they even believe this is more important than simply
here are a lack of hospitals and doctors and an inefficient providing financing for infrastructure projects.
health care system. While investment is needed to create At the same time, even cities that have transferred the
additional capacity, the quality of health care must also be provision of services to private companies try to maintain
improved and costs must come down. More preventive as much control over them as possible. In general, the
examinations and new information technologies, such as study shows that today’s urban officials understand that in
the electronic patient file, would be a good start here. the future their roles will change — from passive adminis-
Safety and security are also keys to ensuring a good trators to proactive managers of efficient services.
quality of life. Additional security personnel, better capac- ■ Sylvia Trage

14 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 15

Attractive Megacities | Brazil
Supercity
Solutions
São Paulo is South America’s No. 1
metropolis. But the city’s size also
with it tremendous challenges in
terms of water supply, power supply
and transportation. Siemens is
providing solutions for virtually
all of the city’s major infrastructures.
A riane López has only been living in São
Paulo for a year. However, the Siemens
employee’s chances of finding her way
through the vast ocean of buildings aren’t any
worse than those of a veteran “Paulistano.”
Without a good map of the city, almost every-
one — including experienced taxi drivers —
gets lost sooner or later. “It’s no wonder,” says
Antônio Arnaldo, former Secretary of Infra-
structure of São Paulo’s municipal administra-
tion. “São Paulo is the largest city in South
America and is up to 80 kilometers across.
More than 19 million people live in the metro-
politan area.” This vast melting pot of concrete
and humanity is also the country’s economic
powerhouse — contributing about 16 percent
of Brazil’s gross domestic product. More than
33,000 industrial enterprises and nearly 2,000
banks are established here. That makes this
megacity the most important financial and
economic center in South America.
“Unfortunately, the challenges we have to
contend with here are also massive,” says
Arnaldo. “Take our drainage system, for in-
stance. After a heavy rainfall, there may be as
many as 500 flooded areas throughout the
city.” Flooding poses a constant threat
throughout the rainy Brazilian summers from
October to March.
On the other hand, local reservoirs are of-
ten empty during the area’s dry winters. “In
16 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
São Paulo, we simply have too little water for a
population of this size,” says Arnaldo. “And we
also suffer from serious leaks throughout the
water delivery infrastructure.”
Nevertheless, this sort of incident does not
go unnoticed for long at Sabesp, a partly state-
run enterprise that is the world’s fourth-largest
water supply company. Here, a Siemens’ Power
control and monitoring system sounds an
alarm whenever a probable leak is detected.
“The system has been in operation since late
2006 and is the most modern in South Amer-
ica,” says Hélio Luiz Castro, head of water
distribution at Sabesp. “It constantly measures
pressure in the pipes and monitors water con-
sumption on a neighborhood by neighbor-
hood basis throughout the city.”
Digital Water Manager. Castro points to a
monitor displaying São Paulo’s entire water
grid. “On that screen, we can monitor all of the
major systems and data on a single user inter-
face in real time, from the reservoirs all the
way to the pumping stations. If we were to
have a major leak anywhere in the city, a warn-
ing notice would automatically appear in the
corresponding location. For example, the sys-
tem would notify us of an unusually high level
of water consumption in that area. Thanks to
this technology, we’re able to track down al-
most any disruption and correct it much faster
than before,” Castro says. But Siemens tech-
nology does more than just locate damage. A
digital water manager also collects data such
as outdoor temperatures, which can be used
to make water-consumption forecasts. “This
enables us to adjust the activity of our pump-
ing stations accordingly,” says Castro. “That
saves energy and reduces our operating costs.”
In all, Sabesp pumps approximately 67 cubic
meters of potable water per second in Brazil’s
megacity.
However, São Paulo isn’t just thirsty; it’s
also incredibly mobile. According to the mu-
nicipal administration, five million cars are
registered in this metropolis, and 500 more
are added each day — a traffic load that often
produces prodigious smog. In addition, the
subway system is still far too limited for a city
of this size. São Paulo’s four lines comprise a
mere 60 kilometers, compared to more than
1,100 kilometers of track in New York City.
“In order to reduce automobile traffic and
improve the quality of life, we urgently need
new metro lines,” says municipal infrastruc-
ture expert Arnaldo. “That is why we are work-
ing on a new subway line, which is expected to
enter service in 2008.”
However, the new line will not come close
to meeting São Paulo’s demand. Nevertheless,
Arnaldo is certain that at present, additional
expansion would be too costly. “Even now, we
are heavily subsidizing the system. If fares re-
flected real costs, most people would no
longer be able to afford a ticket.”
That’s why São Paulo needs solutions that
cut costs and make public transportation more
efficient. An example is the innovative energy
distribution systems with which Siemens has
equipped the subway depot and a section of
track of the new Line 4 Subway. “Small trans-
former stations that supply the trains with
power are located at regular intervals along
the subway line,” explains Christiano Oliveira
from Siemens Transportation Systems. “We
have equipped some of these stations with
controlled rectifiers, which prevent voltage
losses and save energy. This allows the dis-
São Paulo’s Water management (left) power infrastructure (center), and public transit systems (right) are strained by a population of 19 million people.
tance between the transformer stations to be
increased by 15 percent. As a result, the sub-
way operator can build fewer transformer sta-
tions, which means huge savings.”
In addition to its contribution to the new
Line 4 Subway, Siemens has also helped to im-
prove São Paulo’s old commuter trains. The
1960s-vintage vehicles have been renovated,
and bolstered by ten completely new train
sets. Together, the renovated and new trains
now offer a comfortable alternative to the
city’s never-ending traffic jams.
Energy Challenge. The prospects for São
Paulo’s inhabitants would be dim indeed with-
out the steel lifelines that supply the city with
Measuring almost 80 kilometers across, São Paulo
is South America’s largest city. Home to 19 million
people, the conurbation accounts for 16 percent of
Brazil’s gross domestic product.
energy. Around 1,000 kilometers of high-volt-
age lines criss-cross the metropolis like a safety
net, keeping Brazil’s economic heart beating.
One of the men responsible for the power sup-
ply, José Sidnei Colombo Martini, CEO of
CTEEP, an energy distribution company, has his
hands full avoiding a collapse. “São Paulo’s en-
ergy demand is constantly increasing,” he says.
“That’s why we frequently need to add new
substations that can handle the additional
load.” But that’s more easily said than done in
a city like São Paulo. “You simply have too little
space for conventional systems,” say Martini.
But there’s a solution. It’s a new substation
that Siemens and its partner company Alusa
are building in the Anhanguera district of the
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 17
Attractive Megacities | Brazil | Interview

city. Thanks to gas-insulated switchgear (GIS)
from Siemens, the new substation occupies
only a fraction of the space required by con-
ventional stations, since GIS encloses its cop-
per lines like tubular capsules. These lines con-
tain SF6, a special gas that prevents the
potential difference of roughly 400 kV from
causing a flashover. As a result, the individual
current-carrying elements can be spaced very
closely. “The Anhanguera substation is the
largest of its kind in Brazil and is key for São
Paulo because it will primarily supply the city’s
financial district with energy,” says Martini,
who believes that the city could lay its equip-
ment and lines underground. “It would then
be possible to use the space made available to
improve the quality of life, perhaps by planting
more green spaces. And a city without over-
head power lines is more people-friendly and
attractive,” he adds.
The future arrived at the Hospital do
Coração about ten years ago. The hospital,
which is located in the heart of São Paulo, is
South America’s most modern, and started us-
ing Siemens medical technology in 1996.
Since Siemens supplied the hospital’s radiol-
ogy department with computer tomographs
(CT), and the digital picture archiving and
communications system PACS, the hospital
has been updating its technology with
Siemens equipment.
The new devices include a 16-slice PET / CT
scanner, the first of its kind in all of Latin
America. “Medical care is becoming increas-
ingly expensive in Brazil, while the insurance
companies are paying less and less,” says clinic
CEO Dr. Antonio Carlos Kfouri. “At the same
time, doctors no longer have as much time as
they used to. As a result, we have to become
more efficient and speed up processes.”
According to Kfouri, the number of com-
puted tomography examinations alone has in-
creased by 15 percent per year since the new
Siemens systems were introduced. “It’s crucial
that our patients also benefit from digitiza-
tion,” says Kfouri. “Picture archiving and com-
munications systems, for instance, enable
both faster and better treatment. When doc-
tors transfer their patients to a neighboring
department, they can now send radiographs
to their colleagues with the click of a mouse.”
Word of the high quality of Hospital do
Coração has spread and demand has grown
accordingly. Says Kfouri: “In response, we plan
to expand our clinic by about 12,000 square
meters. But even that won’t be enough. As a
result, a completely new building complex is
also being planned.”
In order to improve the quality of life of its
residents, São Paulo will also have to invest
more. It has made a start by significantly in-
creasing its budgets for education and health.
“But we also need creative technical solutions,”
says Arnaldo. “For instance, we have around
6,000 sets of traffic lights, most of which are
not synchronized. With intelligent traffic con-
trol, we could accomplish a lot without spend-
ing too much.”
Despite the challenges, Arnaldo is quite
optimistic about the future. “In ten years, São
Paulo will still be South America’s most impor-
tant city. In the long run, though, we’ll remain
competitive only if the most important part of
our city — our inhabitants — doesn’t get left
behind.”
■ Florian Martini

Curitiba: Cutting Traffic by 30%

Buses and Clean Water
Jaime Lerner, 69, was governor of the Brazilian state of
Paraná from 1995 to 2002. Prior to that, he was the mayor
of Curitiba for many years. During that period he trans-
cluding Los Angeles. In order to prove that it’s
easier to implement such a system than some
people think, we even set up a small test line Compared to São Paulo, the city of Curitiba,
in New York City in 1992. At first people said, which has three million inhabitants and is situated
“The traffic department won’t let you do it.” So about 500 kilometers further south, is an almost
we went to the traffic department, and they tranquil village — and an example of a city that’s in

What’s the key to improving the quality
of life in cities?
Lerner: The key is to simply start. That’s often
not as easy as it sounds, because many people
in city councils are afraid to risk change. In-
stead, they have drawn-out discussions, post-
pone necessary decisions, and are generally
pessimistic about change. Such pessimism is
often a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the foot-
dragging wastes time, and the cities’ problems
continue to grow. I’ve been invited to a huge
number of seminars over the past 30 years to
discuss these problems, but I’ve never been
invited to talk about solutions. So, getting
started is half the battle, and innovation
means tackling the issue of change.
What changes were essential in order to
transform the third-world city of Curitiba
into a livable urban environment?
Lerner: Our situation was like that of many
other cities; for example, we didn’t have
money for a subway. We therefore sat down to
figure out how to create an optimal mass tran-
sit system that would be inexpensive, reliable
formed a third-world city into a livable metropolis. Lerner
has gained worldwide recognition for his innovative urban
planning concepts and unconventional ideas. He has
received numerous international awards, including the
United Nations Environmental Award, and is also a
member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
and, above all, fast. The solution was the “Bus the more garbage is fished out, the cleaner the
Rapid Transit System” (BRT) we established, water becomes. In turn, the cleaner the water,
whereby buses travel in special lanes closed to the more money the fishermen make.
all other traffic. Passengers enter the bus at
stops via special boarding tubes that are at the How were you able to get around the bu-
same height as the bus doors. Passengers pay reaucracy and implement these changes?
in the tubes, rather than on the bus. Today, Lerner: The main factor here is speed.
the system pays for itself and transports two Changes must be implemented very rapidly —
million people per day, with the buses travel- on the one hand, to sidestep the slow-moving
ing at approximately one-minute intervals. It bureaucracy, but also to ensure that there’s no
has led to a traffic reduction of up to 30 per- time to doubt what you’re doing. To accom-
cent in Curitiba, while investment by private plish this, you need to be stubborn. You also
companies in our city has increased significantly. have to understand that democracy isn’t al-
ways about consensus; there’s also conflict.
Do you have any more examples? Imagine, for example, that you’re playing a vio-
Lerner: During my term as governor of lin at a concert and you notice that maybe a
Paraná, the bays around Curitiba were be- fifth of the audience doesn’t like your playing.
coming more polluted and fish stocks were Well, I wouldn’t stop playing and try to reach a
declining. Our response was to get fishermen consensus. You’ve got to play to the end. You
to “fish” for garbage, which we bought from can talk to the dissatisfied people later.
them. Basically, the key thing here was to es-
tablish a system of mutual co-responsibility Could the Curitiba concept also be applied
that would create a win-win situation for to other cities, even much bigger ones?
everyone. So when the weather isn’t good for Lerner: Of course. We established our BRT in
fishing, garbage is fished out of the water, and 1974, and today 83 cities use our system — in-
told us that the transport workers’ union tune with the environment. “At 96 percent, we
wouldn’t stand for it. So we went to the union have the highest literacy rate of any city in Brazil,”
to explain our idea. They said that handicapped says Mayor Carlos Alberto Richa. “We also have the
people would never accept it. We then met with lowest unemployment rate in the country, and
the handicapped people’s association — and we’re number three in the number of graduating
five days later our system was up and running. university students.” The city also ranked as a high-
quality place to live on the UN’s Human Development Index. Richa’s predecessor, Jaime Lerner, planted
What does it take to create a truly livable the seed for this success (see interview). About 30 years ago, Lerner started working to give Curitiba
city in the 21st century? an effective local transit system, countless green spaces and parks, and other upgrades. The result?
Lerner: If you want to improve the quality of More than 50 square meters of green space per person — about six times more than Paris — and up
life in cities in the future — and make urban to 30 percent less traffic than before. Siemens was also involved in Curitiba’s development. It was the
environments more humane — you have to first high-tech company to open an office in the city and has meanwhile forged close ties to local uni-
address three issues: mobility, sustainability versities. Siemens now supports various cooperative research projects for software development and
and social diversity. My experience has shown produces most of its communications solutions for corporate clients in Curitiba. Siemens is also help-
me that the future of urban mobility lies above ing to modernize the city — for example, by improving healthcare facilities. In 2006, Siemens supplied
the surface — if nothing else, because of cost two Magnetom Avanto MRI machines to the ADBI Diagnostic Center. The mayor hopes that innovation
considerations. Consequently, the quality of will provide a bright future for this metropolis. “Our goal is to become a long-term high-tech hub,” says
above-ground systems must be improved. As Richa. “This is the best way to help our citizens maintain their high quality of life,” he says.
far as sustainability is concerned, you can sub-
stantially improve the quality of life in a city if
people drive less, live closer to their jobs and
separate their garbage for recycling purposes.
If you want to make a city more humane, you
need to have a balanced mix of different in-
come and age groups, races and religions.
That’s because people will only feel responsi-
ble for their city if they also feel that they
themselves are respected.
Do you drive or take the subway?
Lerner: Actually, I walk — but only a couple of
meters, because there’s a BRT bus stop right in
front of my house.
■ Interview by Florian Martini

18 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 19
 Late in the day, many commuters cross the Moskva
Livable Megacities | Moscow and St. Petersburg
River as they pass the parliament building on their
way out of the city center. Heavy traffic is one of the
Russian capital’s biggest headaches.
says. That was the year his institute ordered the
first high-field magnetic resonance tomograph

Tale of Two Cities in Russia, to be used for the early detection of

heart and circulatory disease and cancer. “This
device quickly and efficiently delivers a large
amount of high-quality information for diag-
noses,” Sinitsyn explains, adding that angiogra-
phy devices are also very much in demand.

Fast Track to St. Petersburg. It takes rail trav-

Old and new high-rises characterize the frenetic boom- elers five and a half hours to get to St. Peters-
town that Moscow has become. St. Petersburg, on the burg from Moscow, a distance of 700 kilome-
ters to the northwest. To make the trip more
other hand, is more relaxed and cultivates its historic comfortable, the Russian government has or-
image. But Russia’s two biggest cities have much in dered eight Velaro trains from Siemens. The
common: increasing traffic and overextended electricity company will also be responsible for their
maintenance for the next 30 years. The next
networks. Municipal authorities are increasingly rely- step will be to plot a new, faster rail route. After
ing on Siemens technologies to provide solutions. the project is completed, the trip is expected to
take less than three hours on trains traveling
250 kilometers per hour.
“St. Petersburg, which still claims a leading
role as a cultural center, was also specifically

F rom his office on the 12th floor of the

municipal building, Aleksandr Ivanovich
Borisov looks down on the future of Moscow. A
new neighborhood is being built at top speed
on a former industrial wasteland in the western
part of the city. The future Moscow Interna-
tional Business Center (MIBC) is expected to
introduce something new: Combining com-
mercial properties, residential units and recre-
ational facilities in a square kilometer, it will be
the first complex of its kind not only in Russia
but in all of eastern Europe.
Renowned architects have designed the
buildings of this “Manhattan on the Moskva.”
For example, Sir Norman Foster designed the
Rossija Tower, which is set to be one of Eu-
rope’s highest skyscrapers. “It will symbolize
Moscow’s Third Ring road will be equipped with a
guidance system, sensors and electronic signs.
Moscow as a global metropolis,” says Borisov,
who is an adviser to Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and
Director General of the Moscow International
Business Association (MIBA).
Russia’s capital is vigorously claiming a
place in the front ranks of global megacities.
Ardently courted by foreign investors, Moscow
is today the headquarters of all of Russia’s lead-
ing industrial companies and major credit insti-
tutions. With a population of 10.5 million,
Moscow attracts workers from all over the
country by offering the highest salaries, and it
dominates the country’s wholesale and retail
trade. “Moscow is the locomotive of the national
economy,” says Borisov.
In architectural terms, Moscow’s growth is
primarily upwards. Free space is at a premium,
and many factories are being relocated to the
city’s outskirts. In the harsh light of reality,
Moscow’s inhabitants and visitors alike realize
how crowded the city has become. “Moscow
shares the typical problems of Europe’s large
cities. Its inhabitants suffer particularly from
heavy traffic,” says Yuri Rosljak, Moscow’s First
Deputy Mayor. “Improving the situation is a ba-
sic priority.” That’s because a working infra-
structure is essential for investors as well.
Over 3.2 million vehicles are currently regis-
tered in Moscow, and 300,000 are added every
year. “Nobody was prepared for this boom,”
Rosljak admits. Despite the authorities’ efforts
to mitigate the traffic problem, constant con-
gestion and a rising number of traffic accidents
make daily driving difficult. Drivers sometimes
spend hours traveling even short distances,
and during rush hours passenger cars’ average
speed is only six kilometers an hour.
In Moscow there are only 4.5 kilometers of
road per square kilometer — less than half of
the figure for London. “What’s more, there’s no
traffic guidance system that reacts to changing
situations,” explains Michael Abel from Siemens
Intelligent Traffic Solutions. But a solution is
taking shape on the Third Ring road around the
city. Siemens, which signed a protocol of coop-
eration and partnership with Moscow’s munici-
pal authorities in December 2006, is currently
equipping the 34-kilometer-long urban free-
way with a comprehensive traffic guidance sys-
tem that reacts flexibly to changing situations.
In the future, speed limits will be flexibly set by
means of electronic traffic signs, lanes will be
closed off, and rules and recommendations will
be flexibly posted. The system includes a traffic
control computer, a video monitoring center
and a weather station, the requisite sensors for
traffic and weather data, cameras and a data
transmission system. The system is due to en-
ter service in mid-2007.
Moscow’s municipal authorities have also
decided to change their approach to parking
facilities. Siemens has equipped an initial set of
parking spaces on Tverskaya Street with auto-
matic parking meters, but that’s only the begin-
ning. In a few years this technology will be ex-
panded to cover 40,000 parking spaces. And a
new parking garage management system with
room for 1,400 vehicles at Domodedovo Air-
port enables drivers to pay by credit card as
well as cash. The system even has an inte-
grated license plate recognition function,
which is a valuable tool in the struggle to pre-
vent auto theft.
According to Yuri Rosljak, Moscow’s prob-
lems have increased even further in recent
years, due to the fact that not only its inhabi-
tants but Russians in general regard it as their
most attractive city. For example, Moscow has
developed a ravenous appetite for energy, with
electricity consumption growing by eight per-
cent annually. At that rate, power plant capac-
ity, which is currently 15 gigawatts, will need
to increase to 31 gigawatts by 2020, says
Sergey Romanovski, who manages the city’s
energy sector. “We already have less capacity
than we need,” he admits. In the cold winter of
2005/2006, shortfalls in the electricity network
resulted in short-term interruptions of service
for private customers.
Needed: Power Plants and Hospitals.
Moscow urgently needs new power plants, and
its outdated ones need to be modernized. Of
the approximately 20 new construction pro-
jects planned in the city’s energy program, 14
will be privately funded. The Strogino urban
power plant, which has two generator units,
each with a capacity of 130 megawatts, has
been equipped with gas and steam turbines
from Siemens. Plans also call for an expansion
of the distribution and high-voltage networks.
The Third Ring, a 34-kilometer-long urban freeway (left), will soon be equipped with a flexible traffic guidance system from Siemens. In the future, the high-speed
Velaro train (center and right) will cut total travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg from five and a half hours to less than three hours.
“Siemens technologies offer good solutions for
many aspects of the energy sector,” says
Moscow’s energy expert Romanovski.
In addition to transport and energy, Deputy
Mayor Rosljak also sees tremendous challenges
in the area of social services. “In our long-term
development strategy, it is our duty to safe-
guard quality of life, better living conditions,
employment and access to free education and
training for our citizens,” he says. That, he
adds, will make life in Moscow even more at-
tractive. For Rosljak, it’s obvious that the pri-
vate sector must play a key role as a partner in
these projects. With Siemens in mind, he cites
medical technology as one example.
The tremendous demand for medical tech-
nology solutions and maintenance at hospitals
is confirmed by radiologist Valentin Sinitsyn
from the Cardiology Center at the state-sup-
ported Lomonosov University. “Our close part-
nership with Siemens dates back to 1991,” he
planned as a commercial center,” explains
Aleksandr Prokhorenko, the city official respon-
sible for foreign contacts. But today, the city’s
approximately 4.5 million inhabitants would
benefit more from culture and commerce if
traffic weren’t such a problem. Nevertheless,
relief is on the way in the shape of bypass
roads, a tunnel under the Neva River, additional
bridges and subway routes, and a lightweight
streetcar system. Because St. Petersburg requires
increasing amounts of energy, the Northwest
power plant, which uses turbines from Siemens,
was built in 2001. A second generator unit
from Siemens went into operation at the end
of 2006.
“Piter,” as St. Petersburg’s inhabitants affec-
tionately call their city, has always played a ma-
jor role for Siemens, says Igor Vershikovsky,
who heads the local Siemens office. This is
where Carl von Siemens, the company
founder’s brother, opened Siemens’ first office

20 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 21
 Waterfront skyline. Chicago offers a high quality of
Livable Megacities | Moscow and St. Petersburg | Chicago
life. Apartments and office space are cheaper than in
other major U.S. cities. What’s more, the city itself is
one of the safest in the country.

The Konstantinovsky Palace (left) and other cultural treasures make St. Petersburg a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Equipped with Siemens turbines, the city’s Northwest power plant serves nearly five million people.

in Russia in 1853. In 1991, Siemens launched Siemens’ cooperation with environmental

its first joint venture with local turbine manu- protection companies is also growing, says
facturer LMZ. Siemens office head Vershikovsky. One such
Siemens is also a major sponsor of cultural project involves purifying the water flowing
and research activities here. For example, it’s down the Neva into the Baltic Sea. “Finland and
subsidizing the construction of an interactive the Baltic countries practice environmental
technology museum for children and youths in
the Peter and Paul Fortress in the city center,
and it grants ten scholarships annually to tal-
ented students. St. Petersburg, whose city cen-
protection according to EU norms, so greater
demands are now being placed on us,” he says.
St. Petersburg differs from Moscow prima-
rily in terms of its well-preserved historic cen-
My Kind of Metropolis
ter and surrounding palaces and gardens from ter. High-rises exist only in housing projects on
Chicago was once the
czarist times is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
has always valued the protection of cultural
monuments. After the reconstruction of the
the outskirts, and even they are less than 25
stories high. But that may change. A Gazprom
Group subsidiary is planning a multipurpose
commercial center of an B etween 1870 and 1900, Chicago was the
fastest-growing city the world had ever
seen. During those years, the city’s population
that continues unabated. Today, Chicago has
2.8 million residents (nearly 10 million if the
metropolitan area is included), making it the
hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The
only serious U.S. rival is L.A., which has already
hosted the games twice.
Konstantinovsky Palace, which is now a confer- business center, Gazprom City, to be located
aspiring U.S. But it later increased sixfold, from just under 300,000 to third-largest city in the U.S. after New York and One factor that could help is Chicago’s repu-
ence center, the Russian company Neviss-Kom- along the Neva near the baroque Smolny Clois- fell behind Los Angeles more than 1.7 million. Its port and railroad sta- Los Angeles. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is the tation as one of the country’s safest cities —
pleks provided the Palace’s energy supply and ter. Initial plans for a 300-meter skyscraper and New York. Now, the tions were the biggest transshipment hubs in second-biggest in the world, and the city’s despite Al Capone’s gangster legacy from the
building automation systems. “Siemens, which have triggered storms of protest from local in- the U.S. Chicago’s big advantage over other Sears Tower, which is 110 stories and 442 me- prohibition era. According to Chicago Police
supplied the components, has a good reputa- habitants. All in all, if the project goes through, city is rapidly regaining its cities was its location. Canals, lakes and rivers ters high, was for many years the world’s tallest Superintendent Philip J. Cline, aggressive crime-
tion here. That helped us a lot with this con- the city could wind up having more in common past glory as a progressive connected it with the Great Lakes, New York, building until 1998, when it was surpassed by fighting strategies and the innovative use of
tract,” says Neviss-Kompleks General Director with Moscow than most people think. the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. buildings in the booming cities of Asia. new technology have helped Chicago keep
Aleksandr Shvirikasov. ■ Thomas Veser
and dynamic city in the Siemens established its first U.S. regional Still, Chicago need not have an inferiority ahead in the fight against crime. “Unlike the
heart of America. The me- office in Chicago during this booming era of complex, as its quality of life outside the lime- national trend that shows a 2.5 percent in-
tropolis on Lake Michigan economic development. Today, Siemens em- light offers key advantages. For example, hous- crease in crime in 2005, Chicago saw a 2.4 per-
ploys more than 3,000 people in the state of ing is affordable and specialized workers are cent decrease, according to recent FBI statis-
Developing Materials and Software offers a high quality of life Illinois, which is home to the U.S. headquarters available, as are attractive jobs. There are uni- tics,” says Cline.
and is one of the safest of Siemens Building Technologies and, since its versities of worldwide renown, cultural attrac- Between 2002 and 2005 the number of
cities in the U.S. purchase from Bayer, the global headquarters tions, parks and beaches. In fact, almost all of homicides fell by 26 percent. The police use a
The Russian Federation has a formidable research network consisting of renowned universities and of Siemens Medical Solutions’ Molecular Diag- the lakefront of Lake Michigan is accessible to combination of street presence and modern
research institutes, which are concentrated within the administrative structure of the Moscow Acad- nostics division (p. 54). the public. “In terms of its quality of life and technology to combat problems such as the
emy of Science. Siemens has been working closely with Russian research teams for years. For example “Chicago remains a key transshipment cen- what it has to offer, Chicago can stand up to illicit drug trade. More than 225 police cameras
it has been involved with Lomonosov University in Moscow in the area of nano-carbon-based materials ter, where the security of goods and workforce any other major city,” says Rick Kogan, an are wirelessly linked to all 25 police stations
for use in the cathodes of advanced, next-generation X-ray systems. “Russia has an excellent reputa- safety traditionally enjoys a high priority,” says award-winning Chicago Tribune reporter. and the 911 emergency center. Siemens set
tion in the area of materials research,” says Dr. Martin Gitsels, who is responsible for Siemens’ coopera- Dave Mangano, regional vice president for Sie- up the pilot program for this comprehensive
tion in the project. Gitsels heads the research center that was established by Corporate Technology mens Building Technologies (SBT). “That’s why Olympic Opportunity. Chicago is back in the security system. During this project Siemens in-
(CT) in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2004. Another focus of CT’s research center is the development Siemens’ ties to the city have been growing for fast lane, and the most visible signs of this are stalled a network of more than 60 surveillance
of new concepts for turbine combustion chambers. Siemens also recently launched a joint research years.” It’s no coincidence that Siemens’ busi- the many construction sites that dot the city. cameras. The network uses intelligent software
project in the area of software and systems engineering with the International Institute for Advanced ness here focuses on areas that are crucial to New buildings are going up because more and (Pictures of the Future, Fall 2006, p. 86) that
Aerospace Technologies, which is based in St. Petersburg. The project focuses on methods of improv- growth: building and industrial automation, more people want to live here. Even New York can differentiate between suspicious and rou-
ing the quality of safety-relevant systems. “We usually initiate research projects on commission from security, telecommunications and power gen- real estate mogul Donald Trump says that in- tine activities and then alert the authorities.
our customers at Siemens or from CT and take on the responsibility for the expenses involved,” says eration. vestments in Chicago pay off better than those The company has also improved safety in
Gitsels. For their part, the Russian partners in such projects contribute laboratory infrastructure and The first telephone line connecting New in his own home town, which is why he’s build- many commercial and residential buildings by
expertise to the research work. York and Chicago was established in 1882, ing a new residential and mixed-use skyscraper installing sophisticated emergency commu-
ushering in a rivalry between the two cities downtown. Chicago also has a good chance of nication systems in accordance with a new fire

22 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 23

Livable Megacities | Chicago
ordinance. This was passed by the city in the
fall of 2004 in the wake of a tragic fire that
took the lives of six city workers. The system
enables residents trapped in a fire to directly
contact the fire department and provide it with
information that will aid the rescue operation.
Chicago’s role as a center of shipping and
commerce made it a hub for U.S. railroad com-
panies. One rail line still in operation is the
South Shore Line, which was built in 1908 and
is now used by commuters and day trippers
who want to enjoy wonderful views of the lake.
Siemens was recently commissioned to equip
all of the line’s rail cars and its 25 stations with
Internet Protocol (IP)-based digital video cam-
eras. The state-of-the-art IP system provides a
reliable surveillance infrastructure platform that
can be expanded quickly and economically.
Chicago’s significance as a transit hub is
also in evidence at O’Hare Airport. The facility,
which was completed in 1943, handles almost
Siemens equipped Chicago’s South Shore Line
with state-of-the-art IP surveillance cameras.
80 million passengers per year. Video-based
surveillance and fire detection alarm systems
from Siemens help ensure the safety of passen-
gers and ground personnel. More than one
million tons of cargo are transshipped via the
Illinois International Port District every year. In
2005 Siemens was selected to provide perime-
ter surveillance security improvements to the
port’s Iroquois Landing and Calumet Harbor
facilities. In line with tighter security stipula-
tions for the nation’s coasts, the almost 50,000
square-meter transshipment area is now under
24/7 video surveillance.
Here, Siemens delivered an extensive video
monitoring system, which alongside cameras
consists of intelligent analysis software and a
high-capacity network for data transmission.
“The problem with comprehensive video moni-
toring is that you need to analyze it in real
time. That’s because no one can constantly
digest what’s happening on dozens of monitor-
ing screens,” says Pete Vitone, head of Security
System Sales at SBT in Chicago. The software
automatically generates a bird’s-eye view of
the entire area from the camera images. If a
suspicious activity is registered, the system im-
mediately notifies the security personnel and
activates the zooming feature on the cameras.
Safe Hotels. You’ll also find Siemens security
solutions at the top of the Sears Tower. These in-
clude the fire detection and alarm system and
the security systems for the transmitters on the
roof. In the Grand Hilton Chicago — which with
1,544 rooms is the city’s largest hotel — and
other Hilton hotels, Siemens fire detection and
alarm systems provide optimal protection. “If all
of Chicago’s hotels installed such systems, hotel
guests and my people would sleep a lot easier,”
says Cortez Trotter, formerly Chicago’s Fire Com-
missioner and now Chief Emergency Officer.
The fire detection system upgrade was under-
taken by Hilton on its own initiative; it was not
legally obligated to do so.
Many theaters, international companies and
banks have put down roots in the area around
Michigan Avenue. One of the most prominent
of these is Boeing, which moved its corporate
headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in 2001.
Large-scale building complexes such as these
need efficient climate control systems. Siemens
has installed a building automation system that
saves energy and improves occupant comfort in
Hyatt’s new Chicago headquarters building.
Conserving energy is now a top priority, espe-
Surveillance systems are an essential part of
| Security
today’s security mix. Siemens’ VistaScape platform
is ideal for combing and interpreting data from mul-
tiple sources at airports and other major facilities.
cially since buildings use some 40 percent of all
the energy consumed each year in the U.S.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley plans to drasti-
cally reduce energy consumption in the city’s
schools. To this end, Siemens has provided a
natural gas and electricity-use monitoring sys-
tem that compares energy use data with billing
data to spot errors. Even small discrepancies can
add up to millions of dollars. But even more im-
portant is the evaluation of significant differ-
ences between schools. Plans call for those
schools that conserve energy to be rewarded.
Some schools in Chicago’s suburbs are already
ahead of the game. For example, in addition to
installing a state-of-the-art climate and light
control system in a school in the suburb of Glen-
brook, Siemens has insulated the windows and
doors. The result: annual savings of $400,000.
Many other school districts have signed energy-
savings contracts with Siemens, whereby the
company guarantees a certain level of savings
from which the investment can be paid off.
Siemens also installed energy-saving tech-
nologies during the renovation and expansion
of the NFL’s Chicago Bears stadium. A big prob-
lem in the stadium, which holds 61,500 spec-
tators, was how to effectively manage temper-
ature control in interior spaces, which can heat
up very quickly when thousands of people
show up at once to grab a snack or use the rest-
rooms. The high-performance cooling system
from Siemens reacts rapidly, and can ensure
that things stay cool in the summer months.
Siemens also equipped the stadium with a fire
detection and alarm system that is integrated
with sprinklers to prevent fires or put them out
early on.
This year the Bears had a chance to win the
Eyes on Everything
Super Bowl for the first time in 21 years, but lost
to the Indianapolis Colts before a television au- A city’s reputation depends largely on whether residents and visitors feel safe.
dience of 93.2 million. But ever tough and re- Siemens offers solutions that range from intelligent video surveillance of public
silient, Chicago remains optimistic — thanks in
no small measure to safety and security systems
spaces and subway system to worldwide container tracking for major ports.
from a company that’s called the city home for
over one hundred years. ■ Harald Weiss

P rotecting urban centers from intruders has

always been of paramount importance. As
early as the Middle Ages, major trading centers
were going to great lengths to build battle-
ments, including towers and fortification walls.
Access to cities was controlled at checkpoints,
and anyone approaching the most important
buildings, for example a palace, was con-
fronted by heavily armed guards.
Even though today’s cities are thousands of
times larger than medieval settlements, the
fundamental security problems of the past are
Surveillance systems keep an eye on Chicago’s harbor facilities 24/7. Siemens supplied the systems and the evaluation software (shown in a demonstration scenario). still with us today. The city gates of old have
been replaced by airports, rail stations and
highways, which are under stricter control than
ever before. Following the attack on the World
Trade Center in New York and the subsequent
terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, major
cities in western industrialized countries in par-
ticular have been going to great lengths to
adapt their security concepts to the new chal-
lenges that have emerged as a result of these
events. Experts estimate that the market for
security systems to protect cities, events and
transportation infrastructures will grow to an
annual volume of approximately $106 billion
by 2010. London, for example, is a pioneer in
monitoring public spaces. The city has installed
roughly 500,000 video cameras. Most London-
ers don’t object to being watched on an every-
day basis. After the July 2005 attacks, analysis
of videos recorded by transit system cameras
quickly put the authorities on the terrorists’
trail. Within hours of the bombings, Siemens
provided the city with a team of experts and
associated specialized equipment. Plans call for
a greater emphasis in the future on using mon-
itoring systems in a manner that could prevent
attacks and disasters.

24 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 25

Livable Megacities | Security
Siemens is working intensively to develop
automatic image-processing systems that will
be able to interpret data (Pictures of the Future,
Fall 2006, pp. 83, 86). Thanks to the acquisi-
tion of the U.S. company VistaScape in late
2006, Siemens is able to offer a system plat-
form that uses defined rules to interpret data it
compiles from cameras, sensors, radar and ul-
trasound systems.
“We use this platform to monitor very large
outdoor areas such as harbors and airports,”
explains Peter Löffler, who is responsible for
smart video surveillance at Siemens Building
Technologies in Zug, Switzerland. The system
depicts objects, for example pedestrians and
cars, as symbols on three-dimensional models
of aerial views. The system’s users see the ob-
jects in terms of their size, direction, and speed
of movement. If radar detects an unfamiliar
object, for instance, the system calculates
which camera is best positioned to supply
more precise images. “This is a big leap forward
High-rise buildings such as Taipei 101 require a specialized security solutions. In London, cameras monitor nearly all public spaces (center).
from earlier video analysis systems,” Löffler
explains.
What’s more, Siemens Corporate Research
(SCR) in Princeton is developing algorithms
that are opening up new areas of application
for automated video monitoring. By this
summer, SCR researchers expect that it will be
possible to determine on a monitor which per-
son belongs with a specific piece of luggage,
for example. With this smart link, an alarm will
not be issued if the luggage owner leaves it to
simply walk a few meters to a trash bin; but
it will be if he or she is absent for a longer
duration.
Amorphous crowds of people pose the
greatest challenge for future monitoring sys-
tems. “We need algorithms that can evaluate
the characteristics of crowds,” explains Löffler.
26 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
To meet this need, SCR is working on filtering
out concrete information from movement
data: individuals moving faster than a crowd’s
average speed, or groups that suddenly change
their direction of movement. Using a measure-
ment of crowd density, predefined values can
be automatically set in motion. If there’s a risk
of panic due to overcrowding on a train plat-
form, for instance, the platform entrances can
be closed in time to defuse the situation.
Cameras that Call. In addition to object and
anomaly detection and interpretation, smart
video monitoring platforms will be able to
seamlessly share information. For instance, if a
potential medical emergency is detected such
as a person lying on the ground, a surveillance
platform could automatically determine the po-
sition of the nearest available rescue personnel
using WLAN. Emergency personnel will wear
radio signal transmitters that continually ad-
vise the system of their positions; a control sys-
tem would then then handle communications
and manage the response.
Such combined surveillance and informa-
tion platforms would be particularly helpful in
the world’s largest buildings, such as Taiwan’s
509 meter-tall Taipei 101 and the 700 meter-
tall Burj Dubai apartment and office tower,
which is now under construction. The fifth-
tallest building today is the Jin Mao building in
Shanghai, which Siemens equipped with fire
and personnel safety protection systems.
“We’ve installed about 4,500 fire detectors on
the building’s 88 floors,” says Lance Rütimann
of SBT. A fire in the skyscraper would most
likely require the evacuation of thousands of
people. The system in Shanghai reports indica-
tions of a fire, determines its location and noti-
fies response teams.
If the situation requires, the needed infor-
mation is automatically forwarded by advanced
voice alarm systems — the latest is the E100
from Siemens. This system instructs people in
danger zones to leave, naming the emergency
exits that should be used to ensure a safe, effi-
cient evacuation. Simultaneous announcements
keep occupants of other parts of the building
up to date as to the status of the situation.
“Compared to what’s often observed with
warnings consisting only of an alarm, people
respond more positively to voice announce-
ments and are more likely to behave appropri-
ately in such situations,” says Rütimann. In a
control center, in turn, the E100 automatically
activates a protocol including response instruc-
tions and automated procedures for security
personnel. “This prevents incorrect reactions
arising due to stress,” Rütimann explains.
One consequence of 9/11 is the realization
that every new high-rise building should have a
back-up control center outside the building itself.
If the main control center has been damaged
or destroyed, the back-up center can take over.
Seamless fire protection is also needed in
transportation tunnels in megacities. In this
connection, Siemens equips subway and rail-
road tunnels with multifunctional fire protec-
tion systems. Such systems not only detect
fires, but can determine their exact positions,
activate fire extinguishing systems, close access
points and, of course, sound alarms (Pictures of
the Future, Fall 2005, p.13).
Due to the thick smoke and wind speeds of
up to ten meters per second that characterize
major tunnel fires, conventional fire alarms
often fail. Used instead are heat sensors or,
especially for very long tunnels, laser light via
glass fiber cables. By measuring the intensity of
backscattered light, such a system can commu-
Marine freight transport is becoming safer. Siemens’
Commerce Guard system ensures seamless monitor-
ing of containers, which are equipped with radio fre-
quency identification (RFID) tags.
nicate temperatures along every point on a
glass fiber. Siemens has used such glass fiber
systems in subway systems in Beijing, Bangkok
and Hong Kong, and in tunnel sections on the
high-speed rail route between Madrid and
Barcelona.
Until fire departments arrive on the scene,
the system fights a fire primarily by controlling
it, using fans to remove smoke and cooling the
area with sprinkler systems. This is the only
way to reduce toxic gases, which can be ex-
tremely hazardous.
Safe Harbors. The biggest cities are also the
world’s most important trading centers. To
date, the aspect of security that is most in the
public eye has been the monitoring of people.
Worldwide, however, government security
agencies are working to ensure more thorough
monitoring of freight transport.
Rotterdam, the world’s seventh-largest sea-
port and Europe’s largest container port, is
Security in Liverpool: Smart image analysis.
playing a groundbreaking role in this area with
its nuclear material detection system. Every-
thing that moves through the port — more than
330 million tons of goods per year — passes
through one of 35 isotope detection portals
provided by Siemens Netherlands. There are
also three mobile portals.
Using a system platform, the collected data
is then fed directly into the data processing sys-
tem of the Netherlands customs authorities
and forwarded to other public agencies if
needed. “This clearly makes Rotterdam one of
the world’s safest, most secure ports,” says
Werner Krüdewagen of Siemens Building Tech-
nologies.
Rotterdam will also become the world’s first
port to be equipped with a system that moni-
tors containers in transit — from their loading
sites to the locations where they are emptied.
Plans call for all ports worldwide to have access
to this infrastructure in the near future.
With the "Commerce Guard” solution, which
is marketed worldwide by a joint venture com-
prising Siemens, General Electric, Mitsubishi
and Samsung, a tamper-proof RFID device is
magnetically affixed to the interior of a con-
tainer.
The system sounds an alarm every time
a container door is opened without author-
ization. It also transmits all the data on the
container’s ID, manifest and destination to a
secure server when the container passes a
reading device at the port. The result is a se-
cure corridor for freight transport.
With this technology, today’s big cities actu-
ally have distinguished themselves from their
medieval predecessors. They can protect not
only their citizens and their infrastructure, but
also the cargo that is in transit between urban
trading centers. ■ Katrin Nikolaus
Biometrics — A Quiet Revolution
“Biometrics is quietly revolutionizing everyday life,” says Gerd Hribernig (photo right), head
of the Biometrics Center that Siemens opened last Fall in Graz, Austria. A key reason for establishing
the center came courtesy of the United States, with its requirement that travelers arriving without
visas must have passports with photos and fingerprints in electronic formats. EU member nations
introduced passports with e-photos in 2006, and EU passports will be required to have fingerprints
by 2008. In Switzerland, the Siemens Biometrics Center has been commissioned by the government
to launch a pilot project with 100,000 participants. The binding of the new passport contains a
paper-thin RFID chip with an antenna, and the passport holder’s photo and personal data are stored
on the chip. This data can be remotely registered by special reading devices at minimal distances, for
example by customs authorities when travelers arrive in a foreign country. In these instances, a pass-
port holder can be photographed on the spot, and the new image can be compared to the one stored
on the chip. The advantage of this is that the passport photo displays a specific geometry in which
the position of the eyes, for example, can be carefully checked, making it virtually impossible to
travel on a forged or stolen passport. Companies have joined governments in making the most of
biometric methods. At Frankfurt/Main Airport, for example, Lufthansa and Siemens have started a
pilot project for testing check-in and boarding procedures that utilizes electronically stored finger-
prints. “It saves a lot of time at the airport for passengers taking short-haul flights,” explains
Hribernig. Experts expect biometric forms of identification to also gradually replace passwords and
electronic “keys” in the workplace, which is good news for the absent-minded among us. After all,
code words can be forgotten, and keys will sooner or later be misplaced — but you’re never without
your fingerprint.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 27

Livable Megacities | London
Building a
Better Life in
the City
Bankers, scientists, artists — London attracts skilled
and talented people from all over the world. But
expansion of the city’s infrastructure has not always
kept up with the rapid growth in population. Siemens
technology is now helping Europe’s biggest city make
better use of existing infrastructures.
A lthough she lives in the city with the
world’s oldest and longest (408 kilometers)
subway system, Kiki Fragkou always takes the
bus to the university. “It usually takes a little less
time by bus,” says Fragkou, who is from Greece
and is studying economics. “The subway some-
times gets stuck because of signal problems.
Besides, with the bus I usually get a seat.”
Those who ride the Tube — as the London sub-
way is called — are sure to sweat, as the lack of
air conditioning sometimes pushes tempera-
tures up to more than 40 degrees Celsius in the
summer. Despite a huge increase in London’s
Massive investment program. Transport for London is spending 15 billion euros on the infrastructure over five years.
28 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
population over the last few decades, few new
subway lines have been built. As a result, it can
be hard to find a seat on the train. “London’s in-
frastructure has suffered greatly from three
decades of under-investment,” said city Mayor
Ken Livingstone years ago.
In his most recent urban development
strategy paper, Livingstone warned of the dire
consequences further growth may have for the
city. For example, London’s population is ex-
pected to grow from 7.6 million today to well
over eight million by 2016. And if the suburbs
are included, the population will exceed 15
million. The goal is to manage this growth so as
to avoid a collapse of the transportation infra-
structure while diminishing the city’s impact on
the environment.
Siemens technology is already helping in
many areas. For example, the company has
supplied traffic guidance systems and modern
trains on lines such as the Heathrow Express,
which brings mostly business travelers from
the airport to the city center in just 15 minutes
while they watch BBC news on flat screens.
Siemens has also delivered power supply sys-
tems, including state-of-the-art gas turbine
power plants that provide the government dis-
trict in Whitehall with electricity. In addition,
the company is involved in innovative out-
sourcing projects in the health care sector and
the city’s media industry (see box, page 31).
In other words, Siemens is implementing
solutions to problems whose causes might
make other big cities jealous. For example, the
annoying traffic jams — the worst in Europe —
are to a certain extent nothing more than the
negative side of the growth and success of
Britain’s capital. Bankers consider London to be
the most important and best internationally
networked financial hub anywhere — a city of
even greater significance in this regard than
New York. The crowds of financial professionals
who pour out of the Bank and Canary Wharf
subway stations each day come from all over
the world, as do Kiki Fragkou’s fellow students
at the London School of Economics.
Mayor Livingstone believes London’s suc-
cess is exemplary of a “new era of economic
globalization.” He plans to use the 2012
Olympic Games, which will take place in Lon-
don, as a vehicle for launching some of the
most ambitious infrastructure projects London
has seen in decades. Along with the new
Olympic Park and sports facilities, event organ-
izers plan to expand transport routes and build
a press center for more than 20,000 journal-
ists. They also plan to build apartments to ac-
commodate up to 10,500 athletes, introduce
advanced security systems, and provide state-
of-the-art energy supply systems.
Where’s the Bus? Livingstone wants to fur-
ther improve traffic in London before the 2012
games by encouraging commuters to use pub-
lic transit. Driving is becoming more expensive
in central London, while the public transport
system is being expanded and made more
efficient with the help of initiatives such as the
iBus project. London’s red buses transport
around 1.5 billion people each year — and this
figure is expected to increase by 40 percent
in the period from 2001 to 2011, according to
the city’s transport agency, Transport for Lon-
don (TfL).
To accommodate this growth, Siemens is
now installing a satellite-based bus information
system that will replace the current radio bea-
cons used to track bus positions. The new sys-
tem will enable private bus operators, TfL and
— in emergencies — the police and other secu-
rity agencies to pinpoint the precise location of
each of the 8,000 buses now in service. The key
In around ten years, Greater London will have 15
million inhabitants, making it Europe’s largest
metropolis. To help manage growth, the city plans to
make its transport system more efficient.
here will be a combination of GPS satellite data
and GPRS mobile communications technology,
whereby GPS will roughly determine the loca-
tion of a bus down to 100-meters. Data calcu-
lated by on-boards and transmitted every 30
seconds via GPRS specifies the position of each
bus relative to the bus network. A central com-
puter depicts the overall image derived from
the data provided by all buses.
As a result, drivers will be better informed as
to whether their bus is running on time. Pas-
sengers will ultimately benefit the most, how-
ever, according to Brian Higbee, manager of
the Public Transport business unit at Siemens
VDO, who helped develop the system. “The
more precise data will enable us to intervene
more quickly in the scheduling process, for ex-
ample in the event of traffic jams. This will help
ensure that two buses don’t run more or less
together — one full and the other empty,” he
says. The state-of-the-art technology Siemens
is providing will also help improve the punctu-
ality of buses in coming years and keep fares
down by ensuring optimal capacity utilization
of the fleet. The iBus project is valued at
around €175 million and is part of a huge
investment program for local public transport
in London that will see TfL injecting some €15
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 29

Livable Megacities | London
billion into the system over a five-year period.
Among other things, a new bridge will be built
across the Thames, the light-rail network in the
city’s East End will be expanded, and the exist-
ing Tube network will be modernized.
iBus will also make one of Kiki Fragkou’s
wishes come true, as an increasing number of
bus stops will be equipped with electronic
information boards that use the processed
satellite data to provide more reliable informa-
tion on when the next bus will be pulling in.
“Providing modern and accurate information
systems to our passengers is critical to attract-
ing more people onto London Buses,” says TfL
Commissioner Peter Hendy. And even if all the
Recipe for success: Improve public transport
and invest in safety and comfort
separate bus lanes can’t prevent the red buses
from getting caught in traffic, passengers will
at least know how much longer they’ll have to
wait before they’re picked up.
Coded License Plates. Quality of life in the
center of London is already improving. For in-
stance, since its introduction in 2003, the city’s
Congestion Charge system has resulted in a 21
percent reduction in the number of vehicles
driving into the city center and a 26 percent re-
duction in traffic jams. The toll has cut gasoline
consumption by around 66 million liters and
CO2 emissions by 150,000 tons annually. A trip
into town now costs eight pounds for the day.
Video cameras register the license plates of the
vehicles that enter and compare the numbers
with a database. Anyone who doesn’t pay the
charge via the Internet or by phone is heavily
fined. What’s more, the area covered by the
charge was expanded in February 2007, and
30 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Siemens supplied the technology for the new
section. Siemens will also service the toll sys-
tem until 2016. Video cameras continue to be
employed in the new area. However, instead of
using analog technology to transmit images to
a control center (as was previously done), the
new Siemens solution processes the video data
in the new area on site by transforming images
of license plates into digital certificates. These
are then sent to the control center in encrypted
form via an IP broadband network. The lower
volume of data involved reduces operating
costs, so that more money is left over from the
toll itself. The savings will be used to further
improve the local public transport system.
Taken together, these measures are expect-
ed to improve the attractiveness of life in the
city center — for local residents as well as
tourists, 27 million of whom flock to Europe’s
largest city every year.
One of the first places many visit is the
world-famous theater district in London’s West
End, where Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”
has been running for 55 years — and where
many of the old theater buildings look as if they
haven’t been freshly painted in about as long.
“We need to invest around 250 million pounds
over the next ten years, in order to refurbish our
traditional private theaters,” says Richard Pul-
ford of the Society of London Theatre. Modern
building technology will be used here. Similar
technology has already been used at the Prince
of Wales Theatre near Piccadilly Circus, where
Osram halogen lamps have been putting the
Art Nouveau auditorium in the right light ever
since the building was renovated in 2004.
Automated toll collection (left) has cut traffic jams
by 26 percent. Security cameras (center) monitor
central London, and Siemens building automation
systems enhance safety in office complexes (right).
Siemens also supplies equipment that auto-
mates and controls complex winching and fly-
ing systems for props and actors. West End
shows that have recently used Siemens technol-
ogy include “Sinatra” and “The Sound of Music.”
The Tate Modern gallery on the southern bank
of the Thames also uses lighting technology
from Siemens. Housed in a former power plant,
the gallery has become yet another trademark
of London. At night, the energy-saving, low-
maintenance lights at the tip of its smokestack
have the appearance of a glowing blue space-
ship. Meanwhile, on the inside, Siemens fire-
protection solutions ensure that visitors and art-
work remain safe should a fire break out.
Detecting Suspicious Events Faster. Secu-
rity technology is also becoming increasingly
important — not least due to the terrorist
attacks on London’s subway system and buses
in July 2005. Prior to the attacks, Siemens had
already installed an integrated video monitoring
system for Network Rail, which operates the
city’s biggest train stations (p. 25). That system
has since been upgraded, allowing video
images to be stored on a central server, rather
than on individual tapes. And thanks to its easy-
to-use graphic interface, operators and authori-
ties can analyze data faster when suspicious sit-
uations arise and thus react more rapidly. In
fact, the system helped identify several of the
suspects involved in the 2005 bombings.
Private companies also require comprehen-
sive security solutions, particularly in the City,
which is London’s original financial center, and
at Canary Wharf, where many banks and serv-
ice companies have settled since the 1990s. A
former harbor site, Canary Wharf now boasts an
impressive collection of skyscrapers on the
banks of the Thames. It’s a “sub-center” that
takes the load off the overburdened City. In the
event of a fire, explosion, or similar crisis,
Siemens technology will, for example, exploit
intelligent fire-alarm systems to prevent the
worst from happening. As the technology itself
is extremely reliable, the challenge faced by Ja-
son Matthews, service operations manager at IT
Solutions and Services, is to make sure there are
no false alarms, “which can end up being very
expensive, especially for an investment bank. If
traders have to leave their work stations and
can no longer keep up with international mar-
kets, they might miss the deal of their lives.”
For this reason, if an alarm does goes off in
the roughly 200-meter-high Citibank building,
not all of the 20,000 to 30,000 employees pres-
ent during the daytime will be evacuated imme-
diately. Instead, only those located on the floors
closest to where the event is believed to be will
be evacuated initially. “And if there really is a
fire, firefighters will get everyone else out
through all different exits,” says Matthews. Be-
cause video cameras monitor the movement of
people fleeing from the fire, officials can guide
the people being evacuated away from danger-
ous stairwells by making announcements over
the building’s public address system.
Of course, the customer gets the most value
out of such a system when disastrous events
don’t occur. “In that case, bankers can concen-
trate on making money. As the building man-
ager, we ensure that all the technology func-
tions without a hitch,” says Steve Savage, from
Norland Managed Services at Citigroup, who is
responsible for integrating Siemens solutions at
Citibank in Canary Wharf.
“Siemens is a good partner,” he says,“ and
that’s important because building management
is a long-term business in which reliability is of
paramount importance. Siemens can also quickly
adapt its solutions to changing customer re-
quirements by tapping into knowledge from its
Groups.” This will be the case, for example,
when the Citibank building’s video monitoring
system is upgraded and integrated with its fire-
protection system.
Siemens’ expertise is also sometimes chan- tals, which are now being completely over-
neled directly into the customer’s business hauled. The contract will run for more than 35
processes. This is being done, for instance, with years — from 2009 to 2045. Paul White, CEO of
outsourcing projects carried out for the BBC both hospitals, says that Londoners will benefit
(see box) and public authorities. For example, greatly from the agreement. “The redevelop-
Siemens is converting 250 million paper docu- ment of Barts Hospital and The Royal London
ments into digital files for Britain’s Office for Na- Hospital will deliver world-class medical facili-
tional Statistics. As a result, UK citizens will be ties for the people of East London — and be-
able to trace their ancestors digitally — through yond,” he says. After all, London attracts people
birth, marriage and death certificates — all the from all over the country, who go there to work
way back to 1837. or have fun.
Due to the large contribution the service sec-
Healthy Contract. Municipal authorities and tor makes to gross domestic product in the Lon-
private companies aren’t the only ones to bene- don metropolitan area, many people refer to
fit from outsourcing technological expertise to London as the home of the “knowledge econ-
Siemens. For example, Barts Hospital and The omy.” That’s a fitting description given that it is
Royal London Hospital have decided to let Sie- at the top of the value chains of many interna-
mens handle the procurement and mainte- tional economic sectors in the networked global
nance of their medical equipment. To this end, economy. Who knows, perhaps Kiki Fragkou
they have signed a €445 million contract with will also stay in London after she completes her
Siemens, under the provisions of which the studies. “The city is certainly stressful,” she says,
company will provide state-of-the-art medical “but it offers tremendous opportunities.”
devices tailored to the needs of the two hospi- ■ Andreas Kleinschmidt
Offering BBC Content on Demand
Some people at the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) have nicknamed their Tele-
vision Centre the “Doughnut.” The ring-shaped
structure is the home of BBC Studios and a sym-
bol of the company’s 65-year history. The future
of the BBC is now set to become even brighter
thanks to state-of-the-art technology and cre-
ative programming. A few minute’s walk away
is the company’s Broadcasting Centre. This is
where the BBC’s future is being created. “We are now relying on digital technology instead of ferrying
videos back and forth,” says BBC Digital Media Controller Paul Cheesbrough. Creative teams working at
computers spread over several floors of a light-flooded atrium are responsible for transforming con-
tent produced by their colleagues in the BBC Television Centre or at BBC studios all over the UK into a
variety of BBC products and services. The digital approach also makes it possible to produce news
items for television at a lower cost while also adapting them for the BBC website. These days, media
users are increasingly looking for on-demand content, so the old model where various stations broad-
cast in parallel is looking outdated. That’s why the BBC is working on “BBC iPlayer,” a product that will
enable users to download select programs from the Internet for up to a week after they are broadcast.
“We’re using state-of-the-art technology here to enter a completely new market,” says BBC Internet
Controller Tony Ageh. “Offering BBC content on demand is our response to the changes in consumer
behavior brought about by the Internet.” The one-way street of broadcasters sending out programs to
a mass of consumers is being transformed into a partnership — and Siemens is helping to make it hap-
pen. “Along with the procurement of IT and Telephony, we’ve also outsourced some of our key broad-
cast technology to Siemens,” says Cheesbrough. “Finding the right partner was essential — especially
since we’ve passed on a lot of our expertise in the process. In the end, though, we benefit greatly from
the size and scale of Siemens as well as its experience in other industry sectors.” The most important
thing, however, is that the partnership with Siemens helps to make innovative projects like the BBC
iPlayer a reality. Says Cheesbrough: “By providing us with integrated digital processes, Siemens will
help us to combine our production and distribution processes. And that will enable us to provide
license fee payers with additional value.”
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 31

Livable Megacities | Noise Prevention
The Color of Quiet
Excessive noise is a problem all over the world. Noise in cities not only can lead to
stress, but can actually make people ill. That’s why Siemens strives to keep the noise
levels of its products for cars, trains and even entire power plants as low as possible.
O ne day people will have to battle noise as
bitterly as they did cholera and the plague
in the past,” predicted Robert Koch, who was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine just un-
der a century ago. The fact that he was right is
proven by the existence of professional noise-
reduction experts like Holger Ennes, a member
of a six-person team at Siemens Power Gener-
ation in Erlangen, Germany. Sitting at a large
monitor, Ennes uses special software to simu-
late techniques for toning down the noise gen-
erated by a combined-cycle power plant that
has an output of several hundred megawatts.
Some of the disturbing sounds are created
in the cooling tower by huge fans that con-
dense the steam from the turbine back into
water. Others come from a gas turbine that
screeches like a jet taking off. But despite all
this activity, acoustic experts have succeeded
in turning the roar from such plants into a
whisper. “We could place such a facility in a city
and people around it wouldn’t know it was a
power plant,” says Ennes. “They would hardly
32 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
hear what was going on inside.” Ennes and his
colleagues consider not only nearby residents,
but also the people who work in power plants.
Using a building block approach, they put to-
gether new power plants piece by piece on
computer screens, modeling the cooling tow-
ers, boilers, gas turbines, transformers, pumps
and fans three-dimensionally. Each component
has a precisely measured and calculated noise
output level. “For the simulation, we also need
other data, such as the plant’s distance from
the nearest private residences,” says Ennes.
Red Means Loud. Regulations in Germany
stipulate that the noise level of a new power
plant — measured from the nearest residence
— must be ten decibels lower than the level of
ambient noise measured before the facility was
built. This means that if around 43 dB(A) (com-
parable to light radio music) is measured out-
side someone’s bedroom at night due to street
noise, the noise from a power plant built in the
vicinity may not exceed 33 dB(A) at that loca-
Sound propagation around a power plant. Areas
with the same acoustic pressure have the same
color. Acoustics experts use simulations like this
to develop effective noise-protection measures.
tion. A ten-decibel reduction is perceived as a
roughly 50-percent decrease in noise volume.
Experts in acoustics can achieve this in a
variety of ways. For example, simulations will
show them how well the hall facade should
dampen noise, how powerful the gas turbines’
noise dampeners should be, whether the
pumps will require noise-dampening hoods,
whether low-noise transformers and machines
should be used, and whether heat recovery
steam generators need to be insulated. Such
measures can cost five percent of a power
plant’s contract volume, which often totals
hundreds of millions of euros.
A computer simulation program adds up all
noise sources and calculates the plant’s total
sound propagation. “The calculation can take
up to two days, depending on the size and com-
plexity of the plant,” says Ennes. But in the end,
it produces a “noise map” in which color-coded
sound contours form a ring around the facility
and individual buildings. Areas with the same
acoustic pressure are the same color. The colors
range from dark red for very loud to light green
for very quiet. Parameters are then adjusted un-
til residential areas are in the green zone, which
means that people in nearby residential areas
will be able to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
According to Germany’s Fraunhofer Insti-
tute for Structural Durability (LBF), over 100
million people in Europe are affected by noise.
Road traffic is the biggest culprit, followed by
noisy neighbors, airplanes, trains and noise
from industry and businesses. To help find a
remedy, Prof. Holger Hanselka from the LBF
launched a noise reduction project in 2004 in
cooperation with the Technical University of
Darmstadt. With a budget of 3334 million eu-
ros, the project develops new materials that
will make machines, cars, planes and trains
quieter. A total of 42 partners, including
Siemens Transportation Systems (TS), from 13
European countries are involved. Specialists in
rail systems technology, for instance, are exam-
ining new materials for rail vehicle fans. Espe-
cially in diesel locomotives, cabinet-sized fans
transfer engine heat to the outside, creating
loud vibrations. By stiffening under pressure,
the new materials will reduce vibrations.
“We’ve been working on making trains qui-
eter for a long time,” says TS innovation expert
Friedrich Moninger. One example is the low-
noise Eurorunner locomotive that hit the rails
in 2002. Today, around 180 of the units are in
operation. The 80-ton, two-megawatt diesel
locomotive is significantly quieter than the le-
gal maximum for rail vehicles. This decrease is
due to sidewalls made of an aluminum honey-
comb sandwich structure instead of thin, stiff-
ened sheet steel; large fans with lower speeds;
wheel disk brakes instead of loud shoe brakes;
and an encapsulated engine compartment
with sound insulation.
Europe’s newest and fastest series-produced
passenger railcar, the electric-powered Velaro
will soon be covering the new 625-kilometer
stretch from Madrid to Barcelona at a speed of
350 kilometers per hour. It will make the trip,
which took four hours in its predecessor, in two
and a half hours. Noise emissions — especially
those related to wind resistance from — have
also been reduced by TS developers.
Normally, at high speeds, every crevice and
edge generates whistling sounds. That’s why
the Velaro’s roof, including its pantograph,
have been streamlined. What’s more, aprons
installed between the undercarriage and track
also reduce wind noise, as do wheel coverings
on the chassis. The train’s suspension was
modified as well. Dampers now minimize the
oscillations of the railcar body in the low-
frequency range between five and 400 Hertz,
thereby ensuring maximum comfort in the rail-
car interior.
Quieter vehicles. Because the Velaro
high-speed electric train (above) is very
aerodynamic, it operates more quietly than
other trains. In typical diesel engines, piezo
injection (below) helps to reduce noise levels.
Moninger believes the dampers offer partic-
ular potential. “The trend is toward intelligent
systems,” he says. So-called “yaw” dampers
improve a train’s performance in curves by
mechanically suppressing the oscillations aris-
ing in the curves. Active yaw dampers that use
data from sensors and electronic systems to au-
tonomously adjust to oscillations in curves and
so suppress noise are being developed. These
devices will make it possible to better control
the forces in curves — particularly when heavy
locomotives are involved — and thus optimally
transfer the motor power to the rails.
Compact and Quiet. TS’ latest contribution
to rail noise reduction is its Syntegra system,
which for the first time combines the chassis,
drive system and brakes into one unit that is
smaller, more compact and lighter than a
conventional chassis (Pictures of the Future,
Spring 2006, p. 62). Syntegra trains will make
their commercial debut in the Munich subway
system in summer 2007. The new design has
made it possible to eliminate the transmission,
as the wheels are driven directly by a synchro-
nous motor. The traction motor fan has also
been eliminated, further reducing noise levels.
Siemens VDO automotive is embarking on
a similar noise reduction path by planning the
development of a new type of drive system.
Specialists working on a project called
“eCorner” have combined the engine, brakes
and steering system into a “hub motor” (p. 99)
— a complete, purely electrical powertrain.
Although the system remains a dream for the
future, one part of it — the electronic wedge
brake — should be ready for mass production
by 2010. Electric cars based on eCorner tech-
nology will produce no combustion noises,
making them much quieter than today’s vehi-
cles, even when accelerating rapidly.
The combustion engine itself has also been
significantly improved in recent years. For ex-
ample, the typical diesel knocking noise can
now be heard only in older vehicles. The rea-
son: high-pressure piezo injection systems.
With this piezo technology, more fuel injec-
tions can be used. As a result, the pressure in
the cylinder rises very gradually during com-
bustion, thereby reducing noise levels. In the
past, combustion was essentially explosive.
“For us, the next step will be to use combus-
tion management systems to select up to
seven individual injections that can be pre-
cisely positioned from a total of 11 possible
injections,” says Dr. Klaus Wenzlawski from
Siemens VDO. In this way, it will be possible to
reduce irritating noises step by step and
decibel by decibel — thus making life a little
quieter for everyone. ■ Rolf Sterbak
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 33

Livable Megacities | Lighting
Let There Be Light
Light-emitting diodes and luminescent plastics are changing the way cities are lit.
These innovative sources of light, which are economical, efficient and long-lasting,
will illuminate our days and nights in new ways. For example, they will be used as
guidance elements in sidewalks, as displays, as virtual sunlight in offices, as
transparent room dividers, and as illuminated wallpaper and ceilings in homes.
A truly staggering array of lights more fabu-
lous than anything ever dreamed up in
a fairy tale will light up the big cities of the
future,” predicted art historian and architecture
critic Walter Riezler back in 1928. The long and
successful history of the light bulb had only
just begun at that time. In fact, Osram, with its
famous light bulb logo, had been established
just nine years earlier, on July 1, 1919. The
company’s portfolio eventually included fluo-
rescent lights and halogen and high-pressure
discharge lamps.
Still, the “truly staggering array” of lights
that will illuminate the magacities is yet to
come, says Wolfgang Lex, head of the LED
division at Osram Opto Semiconductors (Osram
OS). According to Lex, light-emitting diodes
34 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
(LEDs) and luminescent plastics (organic light-
emitting diodes — OLEDs) will once again
fundamentally alter lighting as we know it.
“However, instead of a revolution, we’ll be wit-
nessing a slow evolution,” he says.
For years, nobody paid much attention to
LEDs. In fact, it took around 30 years for LEDs
to evolve from the red operation mode displays
of the 1970s to the white diodes of recent
times. Now, however, the mini-lights are set
to become the stars of lighting technology.
LEDs can stand up to light bulbs, fluorescent
tubes, and halogen and xenon lights in every
respect. They are extremely long lasting and
efficient, take up very little space, emit low
levels of heat and can be installed in a very
flexible manner.
LEDs in architecture. The “Seven Screens” obelisk in
front of Osram HQ in Munich (large photo), lighting
for an event at the Stone Bridge in Regensburg (bot-
tom left) and cobblestones in Geneva (right).
The efficiency of LEDs, such as the Ostar
unit from Osram, now stands at 75 lumens per
watt (lm/W). By comparison, an incandescent
bulb achieves only 12 lm/W and energy-saving
lamps manage 50 – 60 lm/W. Moreover, the
price of an LED — once the biggest argument
against the diodes — will fall dramatically when
the units are mass produced. LEDs also recoup
their investment quickly, because an LED has a
lifespan of 50,000 hours, which is around 50
times longer than that of an incandescent
bulb. So, if you bought LEDs that produced the
same amount of light as a 60-watt incandes-
cent bulb, you’d pay about 60 euros (compared
to 40 euros for 50 conventional bulbs). But,
thanks to the LEDs’ higher efficiency and lifetime,
you’d save about 430 euros over 50,000 hours.
Designers and engineers are constantly
coming up with new applications for LEDs.
“The clear trends today are to cut costs and
conserve resources,” says Ulrich Kastner-Jung,
head of Strategic Marketing at Osram OS. “LEDs
can also help an aging population feel safer by
illuminating sidewalks, subway stations and
emergency exits. What’s more, LEDs not only
light things up but can also communicate infor-
mation as displays on interactive walls.”
The future has already begun on the road.
Originally installed as rear-window brake lights,
red LEDs are now being used in more and more
cars for the rear brake lights themselves. One
reason for this development is LEDs’ ability to
light up 150 milliseconds more rapidly than
bulbs, which could mean the difference be-
tween life and death for a driver behind an
abruptly braking vehicle. And inevitably LEDs
will eventually be used in headlights as well. In
2005, for example, the Hella company demon-
strated a bending light that uses LEDs that turn
during curves. Meanwhile, in a pilot project,
Osram has installed LEDs as daytime running
lights in the new Audi R8’s headlights. Thanks
to the economical tiny diodes, daytime running
lights can be used with virtually no increase
fuel consumption. Siemens has also developed
LED headlights for the BR 189 European loco-
motive (Pictures of the Future, Fall 2003, p. 41).
We’ll also be seeing more LEDs on streets,
now that local authorities are increasingly in-
stalling them in traffic lights. San José, Califor-
nia, is a pioneer in this regard. California’s third-
largest city has equipped around 900 traffic
lights with LEDs. As a result, annual associated
costs have been slashed by nearly $1.7 million
to $160,000. Budapest has commissioned
Siemens to replace light bulbs in all of its
33,000 traffic lights with LEDs. The financing
plan for the project is so smart that the Hungar-
ian capital will not incur any additional costs as
a result of the conversion, as the payments re-
quired for installation of the new technology
are lower than the savings achieved through
reduced power consumption and the elimina-
tion of maintenance costs.
LED Sidewalks. “It would even be possible to
set up an entire traffic guidance system using
LEDs, including information displays, illumi-
nated traffic signs and variable lane markings,”
says Lex. “Initial tests are now under way in the
Netherlands to replace white lane markings with
LED strips,” he says. Pedestrians will also bene-
fit from LED beams placed in cobblestones and
illuminated LED strips in sidewalks, both of
which could eventually replace streetlights. “One
of the big advantages is that you could set it
up so that sensors would activate the lights
only when someone passes by,” says Lex.
LEDs are gradually taking over in architec-
tural designs and artwork for public spaces as
well. For example, a fountain that also serves
as an interactive image screen has been built in
Chicago’s Millennium Park. The glass structure,
which is 15 meters high, alternately flashes col-
ored backgrounds and photos of Chicago citi-
zens across its cube-shaped surface. Passersby
are amazed when water shoots out of the
mouth of a giant digital face in the fountain.
The “Seven Screens” obelisks that Osram
built in front of its Munich headquarters are
also attracting a lot of attention. The obelisks
contain more than 750,000 high-performance
LEDs that are controlled by a central computer
via fiber optic cables. Each pixel here is capable
of depicting 16 million colors. People who look
at the first video installation on the Seven
Screens say that the shadows of the men and
women depicted by this work of art seem to
run from obelisk to obelisk.
LEDS are the lighting system of choice for
fast-growing cities, as they also allow com-
pletely new forms of architecture to be real-
ized. The cities of tomorrow are in fact already
on display in Singapore, Shanghai and Mum-
bai. Whereas Europeans tend to favor white
LEDs, skyscrapers in these Asian cities are
bathed in the most colorful tones. “Asian cities
are pioneers in lighting architecture,” says Lex.
“Every highrise has its own individual lighting
decorations, which are increasingly being im-
plemented with LEDs. A particularly successful
example of this trend is the New World Center
in Hong Kong, whose colorful light display
stretches over 15 floors. The light show was
realized using LED strips from Osram. And the
Turning Torso in Malmö, Sweden — at 190
meters, Europe’s second tallest residential
building — illustrates how LEDs are moving
into building interiors. The hallways on every
floor in the tower, which is shaped like a
strand of DNA, are filled with more than
14,000 white LEDs from Osram. The diodes
were chosen because of their longevity and
Twisted tower. Some 14,000 white Osram LEDs
light up the Turning Torso in Malmö, Sweden.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 35
Livable Megacities | Lighting

the flexible design of the modules, which were
easily accommodated by the curved walls.
Supermarkets are next on the list. In a 2006
pilot project, Osram equipped a Migros super-
market in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen with
16,000 high-performance LEDs. Employees
and customers have since reported that they
are thrilled by “the invigorating and motivating
atmosphere” in the store. The LEDs’ clear light
also makes for a better display of merchandise,
including fresh produce and meat, as the
diodes emit neither infrared nor UV light.
Homeowners are now experimenting with
LED modules in kitchens, bathrooms and living
rooms. “LEDs can also improve productivity in
offices by simulating daylight, thus supporting
employees’ biorhythms,” says Lex. “During the
day you have a type of blue light and toward the
evening you move toward red.” The tiny spot-
lights can be installed in furniture, clothing and
even in floors. In 2004, for example, Vorwerk
Teppiche and Infineon demonstrated a “think-
ing carpet.” Such carpets can be equipped with
sensors for alarm and climate control systems
— or LEDs that indicate the fastest route to
emergency exits in office buildings.
But LEDs aren’t the only game in town.
OLEDs — organic light emitting diodes (see Pic-
tures of the Future, Fall 2003, p. 38) — are also
likely to have a huge impact. Unlike LEDs,
OLEDs light up entire surfaces. They consist of
an actively luminescent plastic layer less than
500 nanometers thick — that’s about a hun-
dredth of the diameter of a human hair. Or-
ganic molecules contained in the plastic layer
are exposed to an electric current that causes

Light: A Spectrum of Applications A Day in the Year 2020

In a study entitled “Picture of the Lighting Future,” Osram examined the
trends, technologies and customer requirements that will dominate the lighting
market in ten to 15 years’. Alongside the global trend toward sustainable prod-
ucts, Osram researchers predict the advent of completely new types of light
sources and application areas.
The study employed the “Pictures of the Future” methodology that Siemens
uses for strategic planning. In this case, specialists from Osram and Siemens
conducted around 50 interviews with external experts, defined key technologies
and examined their impact on regional markets. The results were used to create
detailed scenarios for various areas of life, which were then combined to gener-
ate business ideas for Osram.
One of the most important findings from the study is the trend toward energy-
conserving light sources. And there’s good reason for this trend. Lighting con-
sumes 19 percent of all the electricity generated worldwide. In terms of the cur-
rent energy mix, that’s the equivalent of 1.6 billion tons of CO2 emissions per
year, or the emissions produced by 500 million passenger cars traveling 20,000
kilometers per year and emitting 160 grams of CO2 per kilometer. What’s more,
lighting-related electricity consumption can be expected to double over the next
ten years in Asia alone. At present, an average American uses around 30 times
more lighting (expressed as lumens x time) than does an average person in
India and ten times more than a person in China. Probably the best way to limit
this trend is to use energy-saving lamps and light-emitting diodes, which not
only consume 80 percent less electricity
for the same light output, but also last
15 – 50 times longer than conventional
incandescent light bulbs. In other
words, an energy-saving lamp can
reduce CO2 emissions by half a ton
throughout its entire lifespan.
Osram researchers also predict that
more and more complete lighting
systems consisting of lamps or light-
emitting diodes (LEDs), sensors and
electronic systems will be sold in the
future, rather than individual compo-
nents. Such systems could use motion
detectors to adjust to requirements at
a given time, thereby ensuring that en-
ergy savings are optimized. In addition,
solar cell systems, rechargeable batter-
ies and LED lamps could provide light
for the 1.5 billion people who are cur-
rently using gas and petroleum lamps,
which are dangerous to their health.
New technologies are opening up
completely new possibilities and giving
lighting system designers unprecedented
flexibility. Such technologies include point-shaped LEDs and wide-area organic
light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which enable the development of flexible light
sources, transparent light walls, luminescent tiles and adhesive films, as well as
integrated ceiling lights. The new light sources are also ideal for signs, billboards,
lighting effects in clothing, jewelry and furniture, as well as exciting new lighting
architectures. Displays using the new technologies will be on view everywhere
— in cell phones, roll-out electronic newspapers or wallpaper that changes its
design, and Internet, TV and video terminals.
Alongside sustainability, the focus in Europe will be on comfort and safety,
whereby the alteration of lighting colors and moods, combined with a clever
mixture of natural and artificial light, will influence people’s feelings. Intelligent
emergency and exit guidance lighting will improve safety in houses and on
streets, sidewalks and squares. Context-related light sources will create new
applications, one of which will involve the installation of tiny light sources,
linked to temperature sensors, into water faucets. When hot, the water stream
will light up red; when cool it will turn blue. Light will also be used more fre-
quently in health care — for example, in devices that emit “light showers,”
which provide people with more energy by stimulating serotonin production
and suppressing melatonin production. In addition, light can be used to treat
certain types of skin disorders. Doctors and surgeons will also use laser light
more frequently, not only as scalpels and optical tweezers, but also to conduct
fluorescent-optical analyses of cancer cells. ■ Ulrich Eberl
Frank Lee is awakened by a very unusual alarm clock in the form of a light
screen on the ceiling of his hotel room that emits a dawn-like reddish light and
the sound of chirping birds. He gets dressed, has breakfast and drives off in his
rental car to a meeting. It’s still dark and cold outside, and the automated LED
traffic lights on the road stay green as long as there are no other vehicles at the
intersections. Suddenly the warning “Icy road ahead!” appears on the head-up
display on the windshield. This is followed by an infrared image of a pedestrian
who is crossing the road some distance away (left picture). “Wow, if it wasn’t for
that night vision assistant I wouldn’t have seen him,” Frank says to himself, and
slows down a little. The streetlights are out, which is unusual, given that they’re
supposed to switch on whenever someone walks on the sidewalk.
Well, at least the safety lights integrated into the road are working. Frank saw
them turn red when his car approached. In other words, nobody should have
risked walking onto the road. Frank can now see the beautiful city skyline up
ahead. He loves the lighting designs on the skyscrapers and small temples, the
blue laser lights that dance across the peaks of the waves on the beach and the
fabulous 3D effects that can be seen in different parts of the sky. He’s also often
amused by the giant ads that appear on the walls of buildings. Fortunately,
however, the city’s Committee on Light Pollution has limited the number of
such ads to ensure that they don’t become too distracting.
The cameras in Frank’s augmented reality navigation system have found the
building he’s driving to, which Frank can now see marked in green on his wind-
shield — along with the street he has to take
to get there. All he has to do is follow the
glowing light green path superimposed on
the real street that points the way.
Once in the conference room, Frank runs
into two colleagues who are preparing a giant
wall display for a virtual meeting with Canada
and Brazil. Over the next hour, Frank and a
colleague from Canada review the current
status of a development project for a col-
league in Brazil. The project in question in-
volves a personalized interior lighting system
for a new vehicle.
Later he tells his girlfriend, Suzy, about the
conference when they meet at a karaoke bar.
Before doing so, however, he activates a light
wall that separates them from the next table
in order to give them privacy. These transpar-
ent room dividers made of luminescent plas-
tic can also be filled with pictures to make
them opaque. The dazzling lights in the bar
lend a glitter to Suzy’s jewelry and combine
well with the illuminated fibers sewn into her
new dress.
Frank and Suzy then go back to Suzy’s new
apartment, where she shows off its technical highlights (top picture). Ultraviolet
light radiators ensure reliable water disinfection in the kitchen and bathroom, a
perfectly aligned combination of spotlights and area lights illuminate the entire
apartment. There are also tasteful touches of light in the furniture and floor, a
holographic fire in a virtual fireplace and automatic mixing of natural daylight...
Frank has to admit that Suzy’s apartment is surely a lighting designer’s dream
come true.
He finds the remote control and, after several attempts, transforms the transpar-
ent foil in front of the window into a nice hilly landscape complete with horses,
a river and sailboats on a lake. Noticing that Suzy is looking at him, he pulls a
small package out of his pocket and gives it to her. “Here’s a housewarming
present for you,” he says. “It’s one of the first electronic newspapers on the mar-
ket with a roll-up display and Internet connection.” Suzy unfurls the display to
the length of a newspaper. She then pushes the “Refresh” button, after which
the latest news appears. She glances at the main headline and, with a look of
astonishment, turns the display so Frank can see it: “Suzy and Frank on their
honeymoon — automotive designer treats interior decorator to a week in Cali-
fornia’s newest light hotel,” says the headline, below which is a picture of the
two of them. Frank blushes. “My colleagues must have done that as a gag,” he
says. “Great job,” says Suzy dryly, but she then grins mischievously. Frank hesi-
tates a second, and then grabs the remote, which he uses to transform the ceil-
ing into a night sky filled with thousands of stars… ■ Ulrich Eberl

36 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 37
Livable Megacities | Lighting
New application areas for light-emitting diodes include office lighting systems (left) and lighting units that
lend a refined touch to modern kitchens (right). A concept car from Opel is also equipped with LEDs (center).
them to light up. OLEDs can already achieve a
full range of colors if the right molecules and
polymers are used. Developers create white
light by stacking red, green, and blue layers
on top of one another. OLEDs display good
color rendering properties and a high level of
true color, and, like LEDs, they are also very ef-
ficient.
OLEDs’ principal benefit, however, is that
they are thin, flat, transparent and flexible.
They can be made in many shapes and sizes
and applied to glass panels or flexible foils,
thereby opening up completely new applica-
tion possibilities. They can be used, for exam-
ple, in illuminated billboards, emergency signs
and as courtesy lights on stairs. Osram experts
also believe that OLEDs will serve as new deco-
rative lighting elements on walls and windows.
They have potential as transparent and colorful
room dividers, illuminated wallpaper, and flat
luminescent ceiling units that emit the same
color spectrum as the sun.
Today, OLEDs are roughly where LEDs were
at the beginning of the 1990s. Development is
proceeding rapidly, however, thanks to several
cooperative projects, including the European
Union’s OLLA project and the OPAL 2008 proj-
ect, which is funded by the German Ministry of
Education and Research. Osram OS, BASF, Aix-
tron, Applied Materials, Philips, other compa-
nies, universities and research institutes in-
volved in the project plan to cover the entire
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) can be used in a variety of ways — for example, as area lighting units
(left), displays and signs (center) and as emergency lighting systems (right).
38 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
OLED value chain, from materials to complete
OLED lights. The goal is to rapidly develop the
basis for low-cost manufacturing techniques
that will lead to marketable products. Germany
and Europe hope to become the leaders in
OLED lighting systems.
Some 40 experts are working on the devel-
opment and optimization of OLED light sources
and production processes at Osram and
Siemens, especially at Osram OS in Regens-
burg. Although they have already built OLEDs
with a lifespan of 6,000 hours, their target is at
least 10,000. The efficiency of units produced
in the lab is already more than 25 lm/W, a fig-
ure the researchers plan to double. They’ve also
greatly improved OLED luminance, which is
currently 1,000 – 1,500 candelas per square
meter (cd/m2), or ten times higher than that of
a white piece of paper exposed to typical office
lighting. Illuminated signs for emergency exits,
for example, require several hundred cd/m2,
while general lighting requires 1,000 – 2,000
cd/m2.
The biggest challenge at the moment is to
develop production techniques for wide-area
OLED light sources of acceptable quality, relia-
bility and homogeneity. If such low-cost mass
production methods can be achieved, however,
residents of major cities around the globe may
one day be able to enjoy “a truly staggering
array of lights more fabulous than anything
ever dreamed of.” ■ Evdoxia Tsakiridou
| Navigation Systems
M unich, 2016. Tom and Susan from the
U.S. have finally gotten around to taking
that long-planned trip to Germany. They’re
driving a smart car, which is fed with traffic
information in real time. Vehicles ahead have
sent out a warning of a traffic jam, giving Tom
time to follow the navigation system’s advice
and take a detour.
“That will be perfectly normal in the future,”
says Dr. Hans-Gerd Krekels. “Cars will always be
online.” The challenge will be to ensure seam-
less wireless connectivity to external sources
and services. Equally complex is the job of inte-
grating consumer electronics and infotainment
services, because these develop so fast, explains
Krekels, who is in charge of product portfolio
and innovation management for Infotainment
Solutions at Siemens VDO (SV) in Wetzlar,
Germany. That’s why he has opted for open
software architecture with interfaces, which
connects vehicles to mobile navigation and
multimedia applications. “We’re working on a
completely new multimedia development plat-
form that could be ready by 2010,” Krekels adds.
Pocket Navigator
Researchers at Siemens VDO Automotive and Siemens Corporate Technology are
helping people to navigate unfamiliar cities more efficiently, whether by car or on
foot — while providing them with a constant flow of updated information.
Siemens has developed an array of solu-
tions for improving traffic control, including
the “Ruhrpilot” for the Ruhr region and a Traffic
Management Center in Berlin (Pictures of the
Future, Spring 2006, p. 34). Here, computers
analyze data from thousands of traffic sensors;
any data on traffic jams or road repairs is trans-
mitted immediately to drivers via radio, mobile
phone, navigation system and the Internet.
These are the first important steps toward
the 2016 scenario. Also working to realize this
vision is Dr. Christian Schwingenschlögl of
Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) in Munich,
who develops new solutions for efficient com-
munications networks. Radio networks are sub-
jected to new burdens when cars on the road
communicate with one another — collecting,
processing and (without the invention of a cen-
tral computer) swapping data with other vehi-
cles, directly or via nodes. Some applications
demand extremely reliable data transfer, while
for others the priority is fast transmission rates,
to ensure that vehicles following behind are
warned of road hazards in real time.
Electronic guides will provide navigational
assistance and display information on museum
exhibits — here, the pointer telegraph
invented by Werner v. Siemens.
“Right now, we’re working on efficient
broadband wireless Internet connections for
vehicles,” explains Schwingenschlögl. Today’s
prototypes are all based on mobile WLAN tech-
nology (p. 101). Researchers are currently de-
veloping the efficient protocols required to en-
sure reliable data transfer during the narrow
time slot when vehicles drive past one another
or a stationary access point. Another challenge
is to manage the handover when changing
from one WLAN node, which has a range of
less than 200 meters, to the next. “We’re also
looking into enhanced network technology for
the roadside receiver stations and new commu-
nications standards,” Schwingenschlögl adds.
The IEEE international committee is cur-
rently creating a WLAN standard (802.11p) for
cars. From 2008, new vehicles from different
manufacturers should therefore be able to
warn each other of road hazards, opening the
possibility of dynamic self-regulation for road
traffic. SV is already testing prototypes in coop-
eration with Industrial Siemens Solutions and
Services (I&S), according to Schwingenschlögl,
who anticipates very rapid progress to market
maturity. “Downtown areas of major cities, in
particular, are ideal for this technology.”
Digital Pheromones. Also active in the field
of car-to-car communications is Dieter Kolb,
who has been working for the past two years
on software for vehicle-based capture of traffic
data. In partnership with Johannes Kepler Uni-
versity and the Ars Electronica Futurelab, both
in the Austrian city of Linz, Kolb and his team
from CT in Munich have taken the principle of
self-organization employed by ant colonies and
applied it to road traffic. This is because cars can
be made to leave a trail of digital “pheromones”
on the road, just as ants do when they secrete a
special scent to mark routes to food (Pictures of
the Future, Spring 2006, p. 92).
In this case, vehicles record relevant data for
each section of road, such as the time taken to
cover the distance. This is then transmitted to a
computer or via mobile radio to neighboring ve-
hicles, which in turn forward the information to
other vehicles. In this way, each vehicle has an
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 39

Livable Megacities | Navigation Systems
overview of the current traffic situation and can
therefore select an optimal route. “We’re using a
special simulator to look at which data we need
to record, and how best to do it, in order to opti-
mally inform other road users,” Kolb explains.
This involves simulating traffic jams for exam-
ple, to check how many vehicles need to be
equipped with such a system in order to trigger
a self-organizing effect.
“The initial results are very encouraging,” he
reports. “The use of digital pheromones can
substantially reduce the build-up of traffic con-
gestion, because drivers can switch to alterna-
tive routes, with the result that traffic gets
spread across the entire road network.” In Kolb’s
simulation, taking an alternative route or a cal-
culated detour saves time. “But we’ll have to
Like ants, cars could soon be leaving “scent
trails” to help other vehicles avoid traffic.
see whether things pan out in reality,” he says.
The human factor is the great unknown here,
and it plays a decisive role in this type of
system. “We’ll be going to field trials in one or
two years, once the algorithms have been fully
developed.”
“In 100 meters, turn left into parking space
No. 98,” says the voice from the loudspeakers.
The navigation system guides Tom and Susan
to a free space in the parking garage of the
Siemens Forum in the heart of Munich.
“It’ll be another five years or so before we’ll
be able to feed information on vacant parking
spaces directly into navigation systems,” com-
ments Mirko Wendler, Marketing Manager for
Parking Management Systems for South Ger-
many. Using the technical know-how of partner
Setrix, Siemens is now operating its first ever
parking guidance system, in the old part of
Munich. This reference project, which has been
running since May 2006, covers a total of 24
parking garages with 7,400 parking spaces.
40 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Drivers approaching on the ring road
around the old part of the city are able to check
parking availability via variable traffic signs.
Equipped with an aerial and GPRS module, the
displays receive data via mobile radio, with up-
dates every minute in busy periods. “Because
no cables had to be laid, it saved the city a lot
of money,” Wendler explains. The underlying
system is Internet-based, which means, as Jörg
Mortsiefer explains, that “new subscribers such
as other parking garages, the ADAC motorists’
organization and even radio stations can be
connected at minimal cost.” Mortsiefer is Sales
Director at Setrix. His team has developed the
requisite network technology, complete with
control module and gateway, which manages
the communications to the control room and
controls the LCD displays. The software for the
user and web interfaces also come from Setrix,
a startup in which Siemens Venture Capital
holds a 25-percent stake.
“Our vision is that everyone should be able
to check parking via the Internet before they
set off,” says Mortsiefer. Meanwhile, Wendler is
working to launch another system with 13,000
parking spaces in Erlangen. The city is home to
the largest Siemens location worldwide, which
will be connected to the system along with
parking garage operators, the University Clinic
and a local savings bank. An EU directive on
fine particulates is likely to boost the chances
of this innovative parking guidance system,
since 40 percent of traffic in cities is generated
by drivers looking for parking. “Our system can
cut that significantly,” says Mortsiefer.
In the Siemens Forum, Tom and Susan are
given a handheld terminal that serves as a
navigation aid and museum guide. When di-
rected at an object — say the pointer telegraph
Siemens researchers are working on a powerful
network system for car-to-car communications.
Drivers in Munich have access to real-time
information on parking availability (right).
invented by Werner v. Siemens — the terminal
provides them with detailed information re-
garding the device. What’s more, it also dis-
plays digital comments left by other museum
visitors. One such message suggests where
they can get the best sausage and beer…
Whereas routing systems are a way of life for
many drivers, pedestrian navigation is still in its
infancy. Instead of information on interstate
highways and one-way streets, what people on
foot or bicycles really need are digital maps of
much greater detail than are currently available.
That’s because they want to be guided to spe-
cific locations such as restaurants and ATMs.
Digital Graffiti. Dieter Kolb already has a solu-
tion for museums. Together with scientists
from Johannes Kepler University, he has devel-
oped an electronic guide for the State Museum
in Linz, which makes use of “digital graffiti.”
Pocket-format computers, commonly known as
PDAs, steer visitors through the different ex-
hibitions. They also can provide background
information in the form of text, voice, images
and online links. “Data is assigned to specific
locations throughout the museum,” explains
Kolb. In order for the electronic guide to be
able to recognize any particular exhibit, the
museum visitor must first take a picture using a
built-in camera, which the system then recog-
nizes. Further information is then immediately
transmitted to the PDA.
“Visitors can also leave their own graffiti,”
says Kolb. Using this interactive solution, they
can post virtual messages and comments on a
special server via WLAN. “Other visitors can
then view them on their PDAs, superimposed
on a layout plan. These might be comments on
the exhibition or a message to meet in the mu-
seum cafeteria.” Kolb is also looking at industrial
applications. “We’ve already tested the solution
at Hanover Airport with German Air Traffic Con-
trol and Siemens IT Solutions and Services,” he
says. There, digital graffiti was used to guide an
aircraft from the runway across the apron to a
stationary position. ■ Nikola Wohllaib
| e-Government
A Door that’s Always Open
More and more public authorities are providing e-government services. Such
services reduce costs, improve efficiency and make cities and states more
attractive to businesses and citizens. Siemens offers a full range of IT solutions.
W hether it’s dealing with tax authorities or
passport offices, for most citizens a date
with officialdom is a wearisome business. Yet
this is changing radically. Today, more and
more citizens are conducting their business
with public authorities online. This also bene-
fits administrative bodies, because it stream-
lines an entire range of processes, which means
cost savings — and greater transparency. If,
for example, administrative processes can be
inspected online, citizens can find out at any
time what’s holding up, say, a building permit.
In the past, individual desks or depart-
ments would have to wait for their turn to
process an application, but putting this proce-
dure online makes it possible for all of them to
work on it in parallel. “That’s got to make
things at least twice as fast as before,” esti-
mates Dr. Johannes Dotterweich, head of the
Siemens e-government laboratory in Berlin.
And to meet data protection requirements,
the circle of people with authorized access is
defined very carefully and protected by means
of digital signatures.
The countries of the European Union are at
the forefront of this trend. A June 2006 EU Re-
port about online access to the public sector
praises Austria, Malta, Estonia, the Scandinavian
countries and the UK. Germany is likewise cred-
ited with significant progress. German federal
authorities have come a long way in the wake
of the “Government Online 2005” program,
especially on the ministerial level.
Making Communities More Attractive.
Meanwhile, “Government Online 2010,” the
follow-up initiative, is intended to improve the
degree of networking between federal, state
and local governments, and to close any gaps.
In Nuremberg, for example, the introduction of
an open SAP system for citizens has freed up a
greater number of city employees to answer
tax-related inquiries. What’s more, it’s also
reduced the time it takes to get a response to
requests for information. The improvement in
such services also makes a city or federal state
more attractive for businesses in the process of
choosing a location. That’s a major reason why
IT administrators in local government are
increasingly on the lookout for good online
solutions.
One good place to find out about all the
latest technological advances in this field is the
Siemens e-government lab (Pictures of the
Online access to e-government services
offers citizens faster and more direct contact to
information — and helps make many administrative
procedures simpler and more transparent.
Future, Spring 2006, p. 94). A project in Berlin
illustrates the financial benefits that such tech-
nology can bring for public authorities. Back in
2004, the city’s police department changed to
an electronic system for processing traffic-
related fines. This has resulted in more efficient
structures and has yielded considerable cost
savings.
According to Dr. Karl-Heinz Weber, who
heads the project, there is another important
benefit — an enormous saving in filing space.
In the days when each case was printed on
paper, a clerk had to go through the mail each
day and file the documents away. That took up
not only time but also yards and yards of shelf
space. But now that the files are electronic,
fines can be processed and issued more
quickly. “There is less chance that a fine will ex-
pire, which also leads to fewer appeals and bet-
ter payment rates,” explains Weber.
For budgetary reasons, lots of municipal
authorities are working with solutions that are
based on existing processes and services. To
network them, all the departments involved
should be able to automatically read and fully
process all the various data formats. Fre-
quently, however, the software in use today
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 41

Livable Megacities
doesn’t permit this. To get around this problem
authorities are increasingly turning to open for-
mats and standards, such as XML and open-
source software. Using XML-based formats pro-
vides another advantage: The data can also be
exchanged with small, mobile devices such as
cell phones or multimedia devices. “That way,
authorities can provide forms online for a vari-
ety of devices and even for mobile applications,
which also makes it possible to query an incor-
rectly completed form by means of a short text
message to a cell phone,” explains Dr. Jörg
Heuer, who heads Service Infrastructure and
Multimedia Services at Siemens Corporate
Technology.
Chipcard Access. Guaranteeing data protec-
tion requires the use of smartcards and read-
ers. The use of intelligent chipcards is very
much on the increase, as evidenced by the es-
tablishment of a trust center, in compliance
with legislation on the use of digital signatures,
for the German Pension Insurance Fund. Today,
roughly 54,000 employees use the Siemens
system, which features multifunctional chip-
cards for access control, logging working
hours, and the digital signature of documents,
thus enabling fast and efficient electronic busi-
ness processes. And that’s not all. Siemens em-
ployees can log onto the system with their
company ID card and obtain encrypted access
to their personal pension plan. There are also
similar IT solutions available for notary’s of-
fices, the tax authorities, real-estate recording
offices; for passports, ID cards, health insur-
ance and social security; for emergency man-
agement, purchasing rail tickets — even for
paying parking fines.
PPPs (public-private partnerships) are one
option for public-sector agencies that are un-
willing to carry the entire capital expenditure
for the new technology. Examples of this form
of funding in Germany include Herkules, a co-
operation project between the military and a
consortium of Siemens and IBM. The project
has a volume of approximately 7.1 billion euros
and a duration of ten years. Thanks to
Herkules, the armed forces’ computer centers,
PCs, software, applications, telephones, and
voice and data networks will be up to the very
latest technical standards. Siemens is responsi-
ble for the modernization and operation of the
decentralized systems at more than 1,500
army locations in Germany, comprising some
140,000 PCs, 7,000 servers, 300,000 fixed-line
and 15,000 cell phones — as well as the man-
agement of local and national voice and data
networks. It is the largest contract ever secured
by Siemens and also the largest PPP project in
all of Europe. ■ Martin Arnold
42 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
| Telemedicine
Happy Fish —
Healthy Patients
So-called diseases of civilization, such as diabetes and
heart ailments, are on the rise, especially in cities.
Telemedicine solutions and Internet-based information
platforms can help patients stay out of the hospital.
P eople who live in big cities often don’t get
enough exercise. Chronic illnesses are in-
creasing, and health costs are skyrocketing as a
result. “There’s a whole range of measures we
can use to reduce health care costs, while
improving patients’ quality of life,” says Michael
Mankopf from Siemens Medical Solutions.
Such measures include prevention programs
operated by health insurance companies and
medical checkups of chronically ill patients.
Such examinations can be organized on a
broad scale with the help of Siemens’ Soarian
Integrated Care software, for example.
In addition, self-monitoring can reduce
costs, as patients can be continually cared for
at home. “Here, it’s not the individual measure-
ments that are crucial; instead, it’s measure-
ment trends that enable doctors to recognize a
deterioration in a patient’s health at its onset,”
says Alan Barbell, product manager for the
Soarian Disease Management system.
For example, based on Siemens’ telemedi-
cine solution, patients suffering from chronic
heart failure are being cared for at home by
Chester County Hospital, in Pennsylvania. Staff
members can intervene early on if patients re-
port worsening symptoms such as weight gain,
swelling in their feet, or shortness of breath.
Early intervention often prevents the need for
visits to the emergency ward or hospitalization.
Participants in the Fish ’n Steps game carry a
pedometer. The more they move, the healthier
the fish in the virtual aquarium on the computer
screen become.
Every morning, patients call the Soarian
Disease Management System using their home
phones. An interactive voice response system
identifies callers on the basis of a code and
then asks them to provide information on their
weight and overall feeling of well-being. Some
programs may also collect information about
blood pressure, pulse and a patient’s individual
condition. The system software automatically
converts the answers into computer data.
Experienced nurses check the data every day
and pass on advice over the phone. “Patients
really like the system,” says Sandra Garrison,
head of the Chester County Hospital’s Chronic
Heart Failure Initiative. “The system is patient-
friendly, and patients like being able to ask a
nurse questions at any time.”
Keeping an Eye on Patient Health. One of
the fastest-growing chronic illnesses is dia-
betes. To reduce the costs associated with
treatment, the British National Health Services
(NHS) established a national diabetes network
in 1999. The key elements for dealing with dia-
betes are prevention and continual monitoring.
For example, an eye examination can reveal
diabetic retinopathy, which if left untreated can
cause blindness. Siemens established a survey
procedure for diabetics in its EU Tosca project
(Pictures of the Future, Spring 2003, p. 69).
Studies have shown that treatment at an early
stage can prevent 60 to 70 percent of all cases
of blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy.
In Scotland, experts predict that the number
of people with diabetes will double from four
to eight percent of the population between
2006 and 2015, and that more than one in ten
people affected by the illness will contract
diabetic retinopathy.
In response, Scotland assumed a pioneering
role in 2006 by introducing the first-ever test to
determine how many of its diabetics are devel-
oping diabetic retinopathy. Siemens Medical
Solutions acted as a partner in this project,
which involved setting up 72 cameras to per-
form examinations throughout Scotland. The
resulting data was collated by qualified person-
nel and sent to five regional centers for analysis.
The Soarian Integrated Care platform was used
to carry out all processes, from generating and
sending letters to some 300,000 patients to
managing appointments and evaluating the
results. “Without the software we would never
Heart failure patients can send pulse and blood
pressure measurements to a hospital.
have been able to manage so many patients,”
says project manager Andrea Schulz from
Siemens.
Lena Mamykina from Siemens Corporate
Research (SCR) in Princeton, New Jersey, also
plans to use telemedicine to improve diabetics’
quality of life. To help doctors give patients
sensible advice, she pinpoints direct connec-
tions between a diabetic’s lifestyle and his or
her blood sugar levels. In an earlier project
(Pictures of the Future, Spring 2005, p. 58),
Mamykina networked the home appliances of
elderly people using sensors connected to a
laptop. She was thus able to register every trip
to the refrigerator at night, and point out to the
patients the relationship between these snacks
and their high blood sugar levels.
“Today, however, people in their late 30s are
already being diagnosed with Type II diabetes,”
says Mamykina. These people lead active pro-
fessional lives, and they also spend a lot of time
outside the house. To ensure that such patients
receive individualized treatment, Mamykina
worked with Prof. Beth Mynatt from the Geor-
gia Institute of Technology to develop an inte-
grated communication platform. Patients
measure their blood sugar levels before and
after every meal. The data is sent automatically
via Bluetooth to a cell phone the patient
carries, and from there to a central computer.
Patients also use cell phones to take pictures of
their immediate surroundings. They then send
the images, along with a voice message on
how they feel, to the computer.
Both patient and doctor (or nurse) have ac-
cess to the data, which enables participants to
immediately identify any aspect of a patient’s
lifestyle that’s detrimental to his or her health.
The system, which can be seamlessly inte-
grated into software such as Soarian Disease
Management, is being tested for a period of
three months on a group of 80 to 100 patients
at a diabetes center in New Jersey. The system
could also be used to monitor other illnesses,
such as chronic cardiac insufficiency.
Feeding on Movement. One of Mamykina’s
colleagues at SCR, Dr. James Lin, handles the
prevention side of the equation. “Most patients
are not able to change their lifestyles by, for ex-
ample, exercising more,” says Lin. But clinical
studies show that 10,000 steps a day corre-
spond to an active lifestyle. Taking a cue from
the Tamagotchi virtual pets that were popular a
few years ago, Lin developed a computer game
called “Fish ‘n Steps.” The fish in a virtual aquar-
ium are “fed” when their owners move around
regularly. If they walk less, they put their fish at
risk of dying. Lin tested his concept using 19 of
his colleagues from SCR as subjects.
Each participant was given a pedometer
that he or she had to carry around constantly
for 14 weeks. If the participants took more
steps than their preset target, their fish grew. If
they failed to reach their target, their fish
shrank, complained loudly, and in some cases
died. Lin also studied the effects of peer pres-
sure by placing four participants’ fish in the
same aquarium. If one of the fish didn’t grow
for a week, the water got murky. “This enabled
us to get more people moving than was the
case with other studies — and our success was
independent of age or gender,” says Lin, who is
sure that Fish ’n Steps can become a successful
product. “It’s an interesting approach that we’re
observing closely,” says Nicole Detambel, head
of the “10,000 Steps” project at Siemens Health
Insurance in Munich. More than 30,000 of the
insurance company’s customers have already
been given pedometers and are taking part in
the project. Unlike Fish ‘n Steps, the number of
steps taken here is translated into a virtual dis-
tance that the participant covers on a map on
the Internet. ■ Michael Lang
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 43

Livable Megacities | Household Appliances
Home Smart Home
Even with rapidly advancing technology, housework will still be part of everyday life
in the future. With smart appliances, however, household chores will be much
easier. Innovations from Siemens help to save energy and protect the environment.
B uyers of new household appliances expect
their purchases to be effective, user-
friendly and to have innovative features. En-
ergy efficiency is also an increasingly important
factor. In response to this demand, manufac-
turers are now offering a growing array of
resource-saving products. Bosch und Siemens
Hausgeräte GmbH (BSH), for example, has
developed a dishwasher fitted with the aqua-
Sensor III, which regularly monitors water tur-
bidity and adjusts the amount of water and the
washing time accordingly. That gets dishes
sparkling and saves water at the same time.
Many other appliances also have smart
functions. A number of washing machines
from Siemens feature load sensors that use
two opposing magnets to weigh the laundry in
the drum, and then recommend an appropriate
amount of water and detergent. Back in 1970,
a washing machine used 200 liters of water —
enough to fill a bathtub — for a single laundry
load of five kilograms. Today that figure is just
43 liters for six kilograms.
Now, major savings can be realized in the
kitchen. Induction cooking surfaces heat up
cookware without becoming hot themselves,
which means they’re much quicker and more
efficient than conventional ranges. They can
44 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
heat two liters of water from 15 to 90 degrees
Celsius in 4.7 minutes, compared to the 9.9
minutes taken by a glass-ceramic cooktop. And
thanks in part to new insulation technology
and more effective compressors, the power
consumption of modern refrigerators has been
cut by as much as 75 percent since 1990.
Elevator Oven. Other innovations are design-
ed with ergonomics in mind. The glass-ceramic
floor of the wall-mounted liftMatic oven
launched by Siemens in 2006, for example,
serves as a combination oven door and a bak-
ing tray. It opens downward, giving users easy
access to roasts or cakes from three sides. The
liftMatic also efficiently exploits the fact that
hot air rises, so the oven interior stays warm
longer. Household chores are also becoming
easier thanks to oven models that break down
organic residues into water and carbon dioxide
at temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius.
Inorganic residues are turned to ash that can
simply be wiped away with a cloth. Kitchen
surroundings are protected from high tempera-
tures by means of multiple layers of glass,
special insulation mats and a locking system.
Even though the number of senior citizens
living in their own homes is expected to rise in
In the Siemens User Interface Design Center, experts
from Corporate Technology test the user-friendliness
of household appliances. Ideally, the appliances
should be simple to operate for users of any age.
the future, demographic development is not
the only reason why household appliances are
becoming more user-friendly. Klaus Wissmann
and his team at the User Interface Design Cen-
ter at Siemens Corporate Technology create
easy-to-use products and test their ease of op-
eration. “Younger people also appreciate things
that make their lives easier,” Wissmann reports.
“A household appliance needs to be efficient
and user-friendly for consumers of any age.”
Washing machines, to name one example, will
in the future be able to read RFID labels on
clothing to determine what kind of garments,
and how many, are in the drum. A black sock in
a load of white laundry will be recognized im-
mediately, and the machine will alert the user.
If all items are compatible, the machine auto-
matically selects a suitable program and the
right amounts of water and detergent.
Many home appliances already communi-
cate with users, some via the Internet. With a
cell phone, it’s now possible to find out if a
range has been left on accidentally. And,
thanks to serve@Home technology (Pictures of
the Future, Spring 2004, p. 31), it can even
be switched off remotely. The resource-con-
serving networking of home appliances will be
standard in the future. With the help of an inte-
grated household management system, a user
will, for instance, be able to turn down the
heating and switch off the lights and stove
with a single command when leaving the
house. The technology is likely to be used in
very different ways from country to country,
however. “In the U.S., systems like this will be
marketed mainly with convenience in mind,
whereas the focus in Germany is more likely to
be on safety aspects,” explains Wissmann.
Meanwhile, a new refrigerator from Siemens
offers performance that benefits all users. It
stores perishable food items at temperatures
near zero degrees Celsius, so food items such
as fish, meat and dairy products stay fresh for
up to three times longer. Siemens’ vitaFresh
technology delays chemical decomposition
processes and more effectively preserves
nutrients and aromas. And for temperature-
sensitive foods like fruits and vegetables, the
fridge has compartments that are kept at
higher temperatures and a higher humidity
level. In a few years, it could also be possible
to keep food in a special protective interior at-
mosphere — which will preserve food vitamin
content while requiring fewer shopping trips.
In the past, the kitchen mainly served a
practical purpose. Today it is increasingly seen
as a place of social interaction. But when
friends and families meet to cook, eat and
spend time together in the kitchen, they don’t
want the dishwasher droning for hours like an
old fashioned air conditioner. In response to
the importance of low noise levels, developers
have come up with dishwashers with quiet-
closing doors that run at a volume of only 42
decibels — hardly above a whisper. And if the
household appliances of tomorrow are so effi-
cient, energy-saving and user-friendly, then
why not make them fun to operate, too? A
visionary idea — a refrigerator equipped with
an LCD monitor and loudspeakers for watching
movies and listening to music in the kitchen —
is already reality. ■ Dagmar Braun
In Brief
■ Cities are attractive because they provide PEOPLE:
inhabitants with a wealth of opportunities for Urban Development:
realizing their dreams. The criteria that make a Dr. Willfried Wienholt
city worth living in include: low levels of crime willfried.wienholt@siemens.com
and pollution, plenty of job opportunities and Brazil:
good public transport for high mobility. Sie- Wagner Lotito, wagner.lotito@siemens.com
mens is implementing solutions for cities on Russia:
all continents, including London, São Paulo, Alexey Grigoriev
Moscow, St. Petersburg and Chicago. (p. 11, alexey.grigoriev@siemens.com
13, 14, 16, 20, 22) London:
Rob Simpson, rob.simpson@siemens.com
■ In a research project backed by Siemens, Security:
522 decision-makers from 25 of world’s largest Urs Boller, SBT, urs.boller@siemens.com
cities provided detailed information on the Biometrics:
greatest challenges they face. Solving traffic Gerd Hribernig, SIS
problems has by far the top priority. Although gerd.hribernig@siemens.com
environmental issues also play a major role, Noise:
they sometimes take a back seat to economic Holger Ennes, PG
growth in expanding cities. (p. 14) holger.ennes@siemens.com
Friedrich Moninger, TS
■ Security is a major factor affecting the sub- friedrich.moninger@siemens.com
jective quality of life in cities. Siemens offers Light:
video surveillance solutions for train stations, Markus Rademacher, Osram
airports and streets. Siemens technology has,
for example, made the port of Rotterdam one
of the world’s safest. (p. 25)
m.rademacher@osram.de
Navigation:
Dr. Hans-Gerd Krekels, SV
gerd.krekels@siemens.com
■ Noise is irritating and can easily make life in Dieter Kolb, CT, kolb.dieter@siemens.com
cities unbearable. Not only does Siemens re- Homecare:
duce the noise emissions of power plants to a Michael Mankopf, Med
tolerable level, it also uses various techniques michael.mankopf@siemens.com
to make subways, diesel locomotives and high- Lena Mamykina, SCR
speed trains very quiet. (p. 32) lena.mamykina@siemens.com
Household appliances:
■ In the future, electric light in cities will Monica Krenz
increasingly be provided by light-emitting monica.krenz@bshg.com
diodes (LED) that are particularly energy-
efficient and durable. Osram is also develop- Prof. George Hazel, MRC McLean Hazel:
ing organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), and george.hazel@mrcmcleanhazel.com
both technologies could one day revolutionize
general lighting. (p. 34) LINKS:
LED technology and applications:
■ Navigation systems are becoming a part of www.osram-os.com/showroom
everyday life. Not only do they steer drivers to Megacity report:
unoccupied parking spaces, they also guide www.siemens.com/megacities
visitors through museums. (p. 39)
LITERATURE:
■ e-government can simplify public adminis- George Hazel, Roger Parry,
tration and make it more citizen-friendly. Making Cities Work, Academy Press (2004)
Siemens is implementing numerous solutions Peter Hall, Cities of Tomorrow,
for authorities and municipalities. (p. 41) Blackwell Publishers (2002)
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 45

Research Cooperation | Functional MR Imaging
Watching Thoughts
Siemens researcher Robert Rauschenberger is looking into the brains of test subjects.
In cooperation with Harvard University and the University of Utrecht, he’s using an
MR tomograph to monitor cognitive phenomena. Although his work is limited to
basic research today, it could have practical applications in the not-too-distant future.
U ntil recently, the human brain, with its
complex matrix of billions of nerve cells,
was largely inaccessible for scientific inquiry,
and researchers had no alternative but to use
indirect means to determine how human be-
ings are able to perceive their surroundings,
think and learn.
A new method introduced a few years ago,
however, is making it possible to show how the
brain works while it is processing our sensory
impressions. Known as functional magnetic
resonance imaging, fMRI “enables us to liter-
ally watch the brain while it’s thinking,” reports
Dr. Robert Rauschenberger, a cognitive psy-
chologist at Siemens Corporate Research in
Princeton, New Jersey. Rauschenberger is part
of a team that also includes Prof. Frans Ver-
straten of the Helmholtz Institute at the Univer-
46 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
A 3D image of the brain. The orange area is the lateral
occipital complex (LOC), which is important for recog-
nizing shapes. Robert Rauschenberger (right) and his
partners are using MR imaging to study the LOC.
sity of Utrecht, which funds the project, and
Tom Carlson of Harvard University in Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging tech-
nology examines brain metabolism and super-
imposes the results on MR images to map areas
of increased brain activity. Firing neurons need
more oxygen, which is why more blood flows
into areas that are active. In contrast to blood
with low oxygen content, the increased con-
centration of oxygen-rich blood triggers a
change in the signal of the tomograph’s mag-
netic field. The value actually being measured
is the amount of iron in the hemoglobin of the
red blood cells.
“With a resolution of about one cubic mil-
limeter, we can precisely delineate areas of ac-
tivity,” Carlson explains. “Not only were we able
to show for the first time which areas of the
brain are active during which cognitive
processes, but also how they function.”
“The results are quite amazing,” adds
Rauschenberger. “We have demonstrated, for
instance, that there is an unconscious flow of
information between brain cells and the eyes.”
The findings of this basic research could lead to
the development of new technologies and sys-
tems that would help make people aware of
things they might otherwise fail to notice.
Several American companies are planning
to market new kinds of lie detectors that use
functional magnetic resonance imaging to de-
termine the veracity of statements by measur-
ing brain activity. However, experts doubt that
this method will be ready for practical use in
the next few years. It is unclear, for example, if
functional MRI can accurately identify suspi-
cious persons who are not aware of having
committed any wrongdoing or who are patho-
logical liars. Furthermore, lie detector tests are
influenced by a large number of factors. “Al-
though our experiments are similarly complex,
they are conducted under controlled condi-
tions and are therefore reliable,” explains
Rauschenberger.
Visual Feedback. Using a Siemens tomo-
graph with a magnetic field strength of three
Teslas, Rauschenberger and Carlson viewed
test subjects’ brain reactions to a variety of im-
ages. Previous tests with words that flashed for
30 milliseconds showed that these not con-
sciously perceived stimuli are in fact registered
by the brain. This is proved by a measurable
signal that the brain returns to the eye.
These results led scientists to believe that it
might be possible to use subliminal messages to
manipulate cinema audiences to buy certain
products. “But it doesn’t work that way,” says
Rauschenberger. Only under very specific con-
ditions can such messages trigger desires, and
it’s almost impossible to steer those desires to-
ward a specific brand. “Instead of words, we
showed our test subjects squares with a corner
missing,” says Rauschenberger. Such shapes
generate simpler patterns in the brain than is
the case with words, which also create associa-
tions and bring back memories that can set off
a veritable shower of sparks in a functional MRI.
As with the experiment using words, test
subjects viewing a square were shown an im-
age for about 30 milliseconds. After a pause,
this was followed by a stimulus that lasted for
30 to 100 milliseconds and masked the first
impression. Because the subjects were lying in-
side an MR tomograph for the entire duration of
the test, “we were able to measure their brain
activity at the same time,” says Carlson. Al-
though it takes several seconds for the blood to
flow through the brain, the process can be pre-
cisely tracked if the chronological sequence of
the images is known.
Researchers asked the test subjects to say
which of the square’s corners was missing. They
couldn’t provide the answer, though, because
the image was masked too quickly. “That proves
they weren’t consciously aware of the square,”
Rauschenberger explains. “As we can see from
the signal, the sensory impression is first trans-
mitted to the brain. The brain then asks for con-
firmation — which it doesn’t receive, because
the image has already been masked by a new
sensory impression.”
In the fMRI the signals for the square and
the masking stimulus are usually distinct. But
why does the masking impression cause the
square to vanish from people’s memories?
“That was the question we wanted to find
answers to,” recalls Rauschenberger. Is it be-
cause the masking stimulus deletes the impres-
sion of the square, or because this information
is no longer accessible to the conscious mind
— even though it’s still stored in the brain?
To find the answer to the puzzle, Rauschen-
berger and Carlson decided to change the ex-
periment. Following the masking stimulus,
they once again showed the square with the
same corner missing. If the first sensory im-
pression was still stored in the brain, the sec-
ond signal would be weaker because the nerve
stimulus would be repeated. “But the signal re-
mains undiminished, as if the first square had
never existed in the first place,” Rauschen-
berger says. According to currently accepted
theory, the brain processes the second signal
completely independently from the first, which
means the masking stimulus entirely deletes
the first sensory impression from the brain.
Psychological Science will soon publish new
findings from the experiments Rauschenberger
conducted together with Carlson and Dutch psy-
chologist Verstraten. The results demonstrate
that the brain can’t be fooled. Although the
conscious mind can be deceived, neurological
processes are objectively displayed by the fMRI.
“I myself was one of the test subjects,” reveals
Rauschenberger. “And although I knew exactly
how the test would proceed, my fMRI values are
exactly the same as those of all the other test
subjects. Even I couldn’t manipulate the result.”
Better Hearing Aids. While Rauschenberger’s
research is still at a very basic stage, it’s opening
up prospects for concrete applications. Because
fMRI can be used to determine which decisions
people make — and yield insights into how they
feel while making them — the technology could
be used to conduct studies of people’s brand
awareness. This could be done, for example, by
imaging the amygdaloid nucleus, which is re-
sponsible for emotional reactions.
Comparisons of fMRI images would also pro-
vide an objective means of determining
whether test subjects are consciously making
false statements. And Siemens would stand to
benefit from the precise brain-visualization
method in a variety of ways.
Hearing aids are a good example. Elderly
people often find it difficult to adjust to the sen-
sory impressions that are created by a new
hearing aid, whereas younger people usually
have fewer problems in this regard. fMRI could
be used in the future to discover if this is a result
of cognitive phenomena — or of physiological
factors that change with age. “The results of
such a study could help us with the develop-
ment of improved hearing aids for older peo-
ple,” explains Rauschenberger.
■ Norbert Aschenbrenner
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 47
Molecular Medicine | Scenario 2020

Highlights
50 The Disease Machine
Molecular medicine holds the
promise of early disease detection
and personalized treatment.

54 The Right Mix

Siemens is bringing together the
previously separate worlds of lab-
oratory data and clinical imaging.

57 Nipping Disease in the Bud

Biomarkers and increasingly sensi-
tive imaging methods are detecting
diseases before symptoms occur.

62 Zeroing in on Cancer
Aided by magnetic fields,
nanoparticles zero in on tumors,
delivering drugs or lethal heat.

68 Detecting Diseases
Interview with Prof. Detlev
Ganten, Chairman of the Board
of Charité Hospital in Berlin.

70 Digging out the Data

New knowledge portals are
providing doctors with individual
therapy recommendations.

74 Tomorrow’s Treatments
Interview with Prof. Ralph
Weissleder, director of the Center
for Molecular Imaging Research at
Massachusetts General Hospital.

2020
Genetic predisposition testing and a protein-
based blood test have shown that Eduardo
might have colon cancer. During a scan, mol-
ecules that bind only to cancer cells reveal
a small growth. An endoscope equipped
with microscopic sensors performs a virtual
biopsy, confirming that the growth is can-
cerous. Fluorescent molecules in the tumor
indicate exactly which cells are cancerous,
allowing a specialist to safely remove them.
Microscopic Miracles
Eduardo has colon cancer. But in 2020 such a diagnosis is
far from threatening. Genetic screening has encouraged
frequent blood testing, which has resulted in early identi-
fication of his tumor. Molecular imaging agents allow the
tiny tumor to be perfectly visualized on a scanner. Minia-
turization and knowledge-based diagnostics make a
virtual biopsy possible. And on-the-spot micro-surgical
intervention ensures that no cancer cells are left behind.
I
’m lucky. I won’t die. In fact, I won’t even
have to miss a single episode of my favorite
shows.
It all started with an automatically-gener-
ated priority e-mail that appeared in the mar-
gin of my 3D virtual immersion TV. As usual, I
was slouching in my media room shoveling
down a bowl of my favorite vanilla ice cream
and feeling like the star of the evening inter-
active quiz shows, when I paused to open the
message.

48 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 49

Molecular Medicine | Scenario 2020
“Dear Eduardo,” it read, “A recently estab-
lished national healthcare database has match-
ed your family history of colon cancer with
your lifetime Electronic Patient Record. The
National Health Service suggests a visit to one
of the following practitioners in your area.
These healthcare professionals are authorized
to offer a newly approved genetic predis-
position test for colon cancer. For your conven-
ience, their addresses have already been down-
loaded into your vehicle’s navigation system.
For details, click…Thank you.”
I didn’t need any directions to find Dr.
Shackleton’s office. He’s my GP and he lives just
a few blocks from my high-rise. “Yes, Ed,” he
was saying, “This is one heck of a nifty test.
They managed to squeeze the ‘quivalent of an
entire diagnostic lab into this little cartridge.
We’ll have ya profiled in just a sec.”
Pretty cool, I thought, as I watched a tiny lab
card loaded with a few drops of my blood dis-
appear into the reader on the spotless counter-
top beneath a restored oil painting of a
schooner breaking dramatically through wind-
swept waves. Shackleton brushed my Health-e-
Card against the machine, allowing the reader
to access my EPR. After a few minutes he gave
me the news.
“Ed,” he said, “No cause for alarm. But the
DNA test shows that you have a colon cancer
predisposition gene. The test compared your
personal medical data — lab tests, family his-
tory — with data from millions of other pa-
tients, and based on the outcomes of their
files, it calculated your lifetime risk. All in all,
the test suggests that you should be screened
for colon cancer. So with your permission I’ll
draw a little more blood and we’ll do a mass
spectrometric test.”
I’ve since done a little research on these
tests and found that what they do is to analyze
the levels of disease-related proteins in blood
— in this case proteins specifically produced by
colon cancer cells.
A few days later an e-mail from Shackleton’s
office confirmed that my spectroscopic profile
had “revealed an expression level indicative of
colon cancer.” It said that the data, which had
been added to my EPR, had been compared to
a population database, and that it correlated
with a high probability of cancer. “Dr. Shackle-
ton recommends an MR/PET molecular imaging
scan. We have scheduled an appointment for
you at…”
“O.K. No need to worry,” I told myself as I
turned down the volume on a late night quiz
show and scooped out the final, delectable
spoonful of vanilla-flavored ice cream from a
carton. “All they’ve found so far are probability
levels. Keep cool.”
50 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Molecular medicine will open the door to early
| Trends
detection of diseases and individualized treatment
based on each person’s unique genetic fingerprint.
People of all ages will benefit.
But when the date for the imaging test
rolled around, I have to admit that I was more
than a little nervous. The scan was to take
place at a major hospital, and my interven-
tional radiologist, Dr. Hyde, told me that if they
found “any immediately resectable tumor, they
would take it out on the spot.”
Before going into the scanner, a technician
gave me an injection of a PET tracer — a short-
lived radioactive substance attached to a
molecule that binds only to cancer cells. The
molecule also had a fluorescent element. “If
you have any cancer cells anywhere in your
body, this tracer will be absorbed by them and
the scanner will see where they are,” she
explained. “Then, if you need surgery, we’ll get
an endoscope in there. A microscope at the tip
of the endoscope will be able to see every last
cancer cell because they’ll fluoresce, and Dr.
Hyde is an expert in getting them out.”
After that I lay down and tried not to think
about what was going on as the big scanner
hummed along the length of my entire body.
From that point on my memories are
sketchy to say the least. I understand that, as
expected, the scan detected a small tumor in
my upper colon, at which point I was given a
powerful sedative. A computer-aided diagnos-
tic program then quantified the precise dimen-
sions of the lesion and passed them on to
another program to support Dr. Hyde during
treatment.
Dr. Hyde explained later that a remotely
controlled endoscope was threaded into my
colon and guided to the tumor using real time The potential benefits of
magnetic resonance. Equipped with a recently-
approved combination of molecular sensors
molecular medicine are
and tools, the endoscope used multiple wave- immense. At the top of
lengths of light as well as a protein array “lab-
on-the-tip-of-a-needle” to conduct an in vivo
biopsy of the tumor.
Finally, guided by Dr. Hyde, a microscopic
the list is the promise of
early disease detection
and treatments opti-
Dissecting the Disease
Machine
visual attachment sensitive to the infrared glow
of the cancer cells directed a laser at the tip of
mized for each patient.
the catheter to remove the lesion down to the Getting from here to
last cancer cell with the help of an aspirator. there will take us on
When I swam up out of sedation, Dr. Hyde
a journey through the
was all smiles. He explained that the in vivo
biopsy had provided information on my tumor’s
characteristics and that the prognosis, particu-
genome and require the I magine traveling down a moonless highway
with no way of knowing what was on either
side of the road. Out there, in the distance,
The “towns” in such a journey might be the
base pairs of adenine and thymine, or guanine
and cytosine, for instance, that connect the
“Understanding the human genome — find-
ing out the names of all of those towns and
what they mean for us — will open the door to
integration of colossal
larly because of early detection and treatment, would be some three billion towns and roadside sugar phosphate backbones of the double helix personalized medicine,” says Tony Bihl, Chief
looked great. amounts of data as we crossings; yet only a few of them would have out of which our 46 chromosomes are made. Or Executive Officer of Siemens Medical Solutions
“For all practical purposes, you’re cured,” he seek to understand and names. The rest would be too silent and face- they could be “cities” — groups of base pairs Diagnostics in Tarrytown, New York. “It will
said. “All you’ll have to do is participate in a less to even notice. If your job was to find all the otherwise known as genes — capable of form- mean early detection of disease, treatment with
follow-up screening program and watch what
manage the mechanisms nameless towns and figure out what was going ing proteins. Today, most of the towns and drugs that match a patient’s individual needs,
you eat!” of disease. on in each of them, you would be confronting cities that have been identified look like rough follow-up with imaging systems that track —
“Sure, doc,” I said with genuine gratitude. an information challenge equivalent to under- neighborhoods — places where tough guys like and help to adjust — treatment response over
But I was already dreaming about my next standing the human genome — the compre- cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia hang out. time, and advanced information technology
carton of vanilla-flavored ice cream. hensive genetic instruction manual found in Yet they are the ones we can see as we drive that optimizes in vitro and in vivo technologies
■ Arthur F. Pease each cell of our bodies. along. The rest are yet to be discovered. every step of the way.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 51

Molecular Medicine | Trends
Assembling a Vision. And that’s exactly what
Siemens has. As of January 1, Diagnostic Prod-
ucts Corporation (DPC), based in Los Angeles,
California, and Bayer Diagnostics, based in Tarry-
town, New York, merged into a vast new, 5.7-
billion-euro vision called Siemens Medical Solu-
tions Diagnostics that employs about 8,000
people. As this happened, Siemens became,
according to Bihl, “The first company anywhere
to bring in vitro laboratory diagnostics together
with in vivo medical imaging.” (For more, see
page 54). Since then, General Electric, with its
purchase of Abbott Laboratories’ Diagnostics
Business, has endorsed this vision as well.
Coming on the heels of the $1 billion, 2005
purchase of Knoxville, Tennessee-based CTI Mo-
lecular Imaging, Inc. (see p. 58), the formation
of the Diagnostics unit marks a turning point for
Siemens toward becoming what Prof. Dr. Erich
R. Reinhardt, President and CEO of Siemens Med-
ical Solutions Group, calls “the world’s first full-
service diagnostics company.” Indeed, Siemens
now combines a vast value chain that stretches
from molecular diagnostics and immunoassays,
to blood, urine and tissue tests, to imaging
modalities ranging from pre-clinical research
1 2
52 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
systems (see p. 62) to clinical ultrasound CT,
MR and positron emission tomography (PET)
scanning. Furthermore, through its Soarian in-
tegrated hospital software platform, syngo uni-
versal interface, and collective idea machine
populated by thousands of scientists and soft-
ware specialists, Siemens offers the IT capabili-
ties to merge the in vitro world of lab tests with
the in vivo world of imaging in medically
meaningful and synergistic ways that are set to
improve workflows and cut healthcare costs.
Fundamental to Siemens’ vision of a full spec-
trum of synergistic diagnostic services is a focus
on the biology of disease. “Understanding what
is happening on a molecular level, how disease
actually starts, how genes commence a muta-
tion process, express certain proteins, influence
other cells, and initiate a tumor or trigger an-
other disease will allow us to develop in vitro
diagnostic tests and molecular imaging proce-
dures to manage these processes,” says Michael
Reitermann, President of Siemens Medical
Solutions’ Molecular Imaging (MI) Division, in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Like Bihl, Reinhardt
and others, he shares the view that what is
most exciting about this process is the promise
Iron nanoparticles are being used in combination
with MR to determine if cancer has spread
to lymph nodes: Red/cancerous, green/normal.
Only normal nodes absorb the particles.
of earlier and earlier disease detection “The
sooner we detect disease, the easier and less
costly it is to treat,” he says.
Blood-Based Cancer Tests. For experts in
molecular imaging like Reitermann, the process
of early disease detection begins in places such
as Med MI’s recently expanded R&D facility in
Los Angeles, which has received FDA approval
to start clinical trials on a new imaging bio-
marker for Alzheimer’s disease. A biomarker is a
protein found in blood, urine or tissue samples
that can be used to develop diagnostic tests for
specific diseases. The biomarker’s location and
activity can be tracked using PET scanning.
Developments in early disease detection are
also in full swing at the new Diagnostics unit’s
Oncogene Science Biomarker Group, in Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, where researchers are
zeroing in on a biomarker called Serum HER-
2/neu, which is excreted into the blood by
breast tumor cells. “The marker is present at
extremely low levels in normal female blood,”
explains Diagnostics unit Vice President for
Global Molecular R&D Dr. Norbert Piel. “But
when breast cancer arises, it reaches higher
3 4
levels than normal, and we have developed an
FDA-approved test that detects these.” The
Oncogene Science Group has also developed
tests to measure three other cancer-related
proteins, making Siemens Medical Solutions
Diagnostics the only company to have a panel
of four oncoproteins. Several pharmaceutical
companies are developing targeted therapies
to address these oncoproteins, thus opening
the door to personalized medicine for cancer
patients.
Such tests exemplify the promise of molecu-
lar medicine. Although still lacking the sensitivity
to detect early-stage breast tumors — a develop-
ment that is now in the pipeline — the HER-2
test provides a simple, painless way of detect-
ing whether therapy is working. “This is very
important, both from a medical as well as an
economic point of view, because until recently,
the best feedback came from biopsies,” says
David Hickey, Diagnostics unit Vice President for
Global Strategic Marketing. “Using simple blood-
based biomarkers to help clinicians guide ex-
pensive therapy can make a real difference in
optimizing the economics of healthcare.”
The direct result of our knowledge of what a
normal human genome looks like — and the
proteins its 30,000 to 40,000 genes express
and do not express — the HER-2 test is one of
the first of a new class of products that will
help to avoid expensive biopsies while provid-
ing feedback as to whether medical treatment
— which can run to tens of thousands of dol-
lars per year per patient — is working or not.
What’s more, the HER-2 biomarker is on the
cusp of the nascent connection between in vivo
and in vitro molecular diagnostics. At Massachu-
setts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, for in-
stance, researchers are working with Siemens to
image HER-2 levels in mice by labeling Herceptin
— the medication often used in treating HER-2-
related breast cancer — with a fluorochrome
label. The labeled Herceptin binds to the HER-2,
allowing its level and location to be visually
tracked in vivo since it is produced by the tumor
and is therefore found at its highest concentra-
A combination of ultrasound and laboratory
tests may obviate liver biopsies in the future.
tion there. “The technology is potentially trans-
ferable to humans and could be valuable in
monitoring the adequacy of therapy,” says Dr.
Umar Mahmood, associate professor of radiol-
ogy at Harvard Medical School and director of
the Mouse Imaging Program at MGH’s Center for
Molecular Imaging.
Other molecular tests that join in vitro with
in vivo technologies are also on the horizon.
For instance, Diagnostics unit researchers are
excited about the potential for a revolutionary
convergence between the company’s in vitro
biomarkers that assess the status of the liver
with regard to the hepatitis B and C viruses
(HBV and HCV) and the use of ultrasound.
Worldwide, hundreds of millions of people are
infected with HBV and HCV, which can be life
threatening because chronic infection can lead
to liver fibrosis and cancer.
Furthermore, fatty liver disease, an increas-
ingly common diet-related illness, has many of
the same disease characteristics. Yet today, the
only way of monitoring these conditions is by
means of biopsies. “But,” says David Okrongly,
PhD, Global Head of the Diagnostics unit’s Mol-
ecular Diagnostics Business, “we’ve developed
three tests that measure different markers of
liver fibrosis. We’ve found that ultrasound tech-
niques can be useful in evaluating liver elastic-
Outline of tomorrow’s
molecular-based health-
care. (1) Fluid analysis.
(2) In vitro tests indicate
disease markers.
(3) PET/CT scan localizes and characterizes
the abnormality. (4) Data integration. Thanks
to knowledge-based IT, doctors determine
the ideal combination of medical treatment.
(5, 6) Follow-up with in vitro and in vivo tests
indicating steadily diminishing concentrations
of disease biomarkers and shrinking tumors.
5 6
ity, which changes as liver disease progresses.
Our initial studies have shown that in the near
future, physicians may be able to use a combi-
nation of ultrasound and biochemical staging
to monitor patients with liver disease, and
thereby decrease or eliminate the need for a
biopsy.” Okrongly adds that the liver fibrosis
markers, which are now being clinically evalu-
ated, are not yet commercially available.
Disease monitoring and staging are also
advancing rapidly through the use of magnetic
resonance (MR) imaging, positron emission to-
mography (PET), and single photon emission
computed tomography (SPECT), all of which
are being used to visualize molecular processes
through the use of agents that zero in on disease
mechanisms. In MR, scientists are concentrat-
ing on the development of iron oxide nanopar-
ticles — and are opening up remarkable new
areas of medicine in the process. For instance,
researchers have capitalized on the fact that
iron oxide molecules (which return a signal in a
magnetic field) are naturally absorbed by mono-
cytes — white blood cells that are part of the
immune system.
With this in mind, the researchers have de-
termined that in some cases of narrowing of
the arteries, the major problem is an inflamma-
tion. “We can see this with MR because mag-
netically labeled monocytes are clearly homing
in on these areas,” says Dr. Robert Krieg, direc-
tor of molecular magnetic imaging at Siemens
Med. “This is a huge new area that could have
tremendous importance in terms of the selec-
tion of medications used in the treatment of
cardiovascular disease.”
Magnetic nanoparticles are also being used
to determine if cancers have spread beyond an
initial site — one of the primary questions
doctors want to answer before deciding on a
course of treatment. For instance, in breast and
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 53
 Lab automation systems maximize throughput and
Molecular Medicine | Trends | In Vitro Diagnostics
accuracy as they read bar codes on blood samples
(left) to determine which tests to perform. Informa-
tion technology (below) prioritizes tests and results.
prostate cancers, metastases first occur in signed to provide a platform for the integration
nearby lymph nodes. Because macrophages in of pre-clinical, clinical, genetic, proteomic and
normal nodes clear impurities from the blood medical imaging data, the Portal represents the
efficiently, any circulating magnetic nano parti- first step toward what may eventually become
cles wind up inside these nodes. Cancerous a universal decision support tool for everyone
nodes, on the other hand, absorb few if any of in the medical sciences. “It’s a fantastic, new
the particles. The result, thanks to close collab- research tool,” says Digby. Adds MGH’s Mah-
The
oration between Krieg’s team, researchers at mood, “The long-range idea behind the project
Massachusetts General Hospital, and imaging is that as genetic information on patients be-
and data integration specialists from Siemens comes more affordable, doctors will be able to
Corporate Research in Princeton, New Jersey, is combine it with lab tests and imaging data to
Right
a new MR imaging technology that simplifies optimize and personalize therapy and make
identification and classification of lymph nodes better predictions as to outcome.”
by producing a color-coded map showing those Working along similar lines, researchers from
nodes that are healthy (green), questionable Siemens Corporate Technology and Siemens
(yellow), and cancerous (red) in a 3D anatomical Medical Solutions are researching analytical
Mix
image. The technology, according to MGH’s Dr. tools for a 16.7 million euros, four-year, EU-
Mahmood, is now being tested in a clinical trial. sponsored program called Health-e-Child (see
“Because of its ease of use,” says Mahmood, p. 72). The project will integrate genetic, clinical
“this will help to accelerate the introduction of and epidemiological information on a number The acquisitions of
nanoparticle imaging into community practice of pediatric diseases with a view to developing
once the agent is approved by the FDA.” clinical decision support systems (CDSS).
Diagnostic Products
Working with a completely different class of Meanwhile, Siemens is also expanding its Corporation and Bayer
biomarkers, Siemens scientists involved in posi- REMIND (Reliable Extraction and Meaningful Diagnostics have brought
tron emission tomography research have added Inference from Nonstructured Data) medical
a fluorine-18 label to a subtly altered decision support system. The system exciting new technologies
thymidine molecule (a close develops personalized knowl- to Siemens — opening
relation to thymine, which is edge models by mining large
one of the four structural amounts of patient data,
the door to a revolutionary
units of DNA) as a funda- including imaging, clinical, symbiosis of the previous-
mental vehicle for study- and genetic information, ly separate worlds of
ing the mechanism of and combining these
cell growth in cancer. with medical knowledge.
laboratory data and
Since the substance — These models can then be clinical imaging.
now known as FLT — is used to develop personal-
nearly a perfect copy of the ized therapy plans at the point
naturally-occurring molecule Ligend (left) and iron oxide particle of care. Furthermore, Siemens
“it is absorbed by cells — par- continues to improve its Gene-
ticularly cancer cells because of their higher Sim genetic knowledge, physician-support
growth rates — in proportion to normal thymi- portal (see p. 70).
dine, but doesn’t actually get incorporated into The outlines of where such systems — as
A vision of a radically different healthcare
future is transforming Siemens Medical
Solutions (Med). That vision, which is based on
and $481 million in 2005 sales, DPC is known
for its IMMULITE series of analyzers, wide range
of immunoassays, and spectrum of allergy pan-
Valued at a total of 5.7 billion euros, the
acquisitions have turned Siemens into a major
player in the $32 billion in vitro diagnostics
nection between in vitro (lab) tests and in vivo
(imaging) goes well beyond economics. Tomor-
row’s lab tests will move increasingly to a mo-
the cells’ DNA,” explains Ward Digby, PhD, well as the broader trends in molecular medi- linking the data that comes from lab tests — in els. The company includes an assay R&D center (IVD) market (see page 73). “Siemens Medical lecular level of analysis. If indications of cancer,
Director of Biomarker Product Management at cine — will take us are gradually taking shape. vitro diagnostics — with in vivo data from in Los Angeles and a systems and software R&D Solutions Diagnostics competes in about two- for instance, are detected in an initial test,
Siemens’ Molecular Imaging Division in Knox- Like a vast funnel, information from countless medical imaging, took a giant step toward center in Flanders, New Jersey. thirds of that market,” says Chief Executive Offi- more detailed lab tests could identify the can-
ville, Tennessee. “FLT has become a powerful sources will gradually be distilled into decision realization on January 1, 2007. On that date, Bayer Diagnostics, on the other hand, which cer Tony Bihl. “The merger creates synergies cer cells’ genetic qualities, thus indicating the
pre-clinical research tool in determining how support tools that will be available wherever Diagnostic Products Corporation (DPC), head- had sales in 2005 of 1.4 billion euros, adds some that will allow us to be much faster than our best medication for controlling it. Imaging would
cancer cells grow, and could be used in moni- and whenever they are needed through inte- quartered in Los Angeles, California, joined 5,400 employees (more than 600 in R&D) to competitors in meeting customer needs. It also then be ordered to precisely track the tumor’s
toring therapies in humans,” he adds. grated hospital software platforms such as with Bayer Diagnostics, headquartered in Tarry- Siemens, as well as a number of R&D centers, coincides with the growing need for conven- response over time. (see p. 57). “I think there’s
Soarian, and with key information and decision town, New York, to form Siemens Medical Solu- including instrument and reagent development tional and genetic testing, which is driven by great potential for linking in vitro and in vivo
IT: Putting the Picture Together. If there is documentation being recorded in an electronic tions Diagnostics. The new unit — a subsidiary in Tarrytown, New York; Molecular R&D in an aging population and steadily increasing information on patients,” says David Okrongly,
one challenge that towers above all others in patient file. Furthermore, just as imaging of Siemens Medical Solutions USA — employs Berkeley, California; basic research in cancer demand for improved healthcare in developing PhD, who heads the Diagnostics unit’s new
creating a full service diagnostics company, it is modalities such as PET and CT have been inte- about 8,000 people, approximately 1,000 of prognostic biomarkers in Leverkusen, Germany; countries.” Molecular Business. “This will drive workflow
how to integrate the vast and growing bodies grated, the information from such systems will whom are involved in R&D. and oncology testing development in Walpole, on each patient around a combination of labo-
of data from the worlds of in vivo and in vitro be combined with a torrent of data generated Thanks to the addition of this new unit, Massachusetts. The company offers a wide range Healthy Synergies. To understand what the ratory and in vivo imaging results that will help
diagnostics — two fields that have historically from armies of yet-to-be-developed molecular Siemens Med has become the world’s second of lab automation systems, including its ADVIA new diagnostics subsidiary means for Med, to move patients through the healthcare sys-
been miles apart. Already, however, a practical tests that will, in turn, be derived from our ex- largest immunodiagnostics company. With a families of clinical chemistry and immunoassay consider this: Seventy percent of all medical tem with increasing efficiency.”
solution is taking shape at Massachusetts ploration of the human genome — a drive total of 41,000 people worldwide and sales of systems, as well as hematology, urinalysis, diagnoses are based on the results of lab tests. As in vitro and in vivo diagnostics come
General Hospital, where a major Siemens-MGH down a moonless highway where many, many 8.23 billion euros in 2006, Med is one of the blood gas, diabetes, and molecular testing Lab tests play a crucial role in determining closer together, a third element — knowledge-
project called the Molecular Imaging Portal is towns are yet to be named. major players in the worldwide healthcare mar- systems for hospital and dedicated laboratories whether imaging tests, which are much more based information technology — will become
being developed (for more, see page 70). De- ■ Arthur F. Pease ket. With over 2,500 employees (440 in R&D) and physicians’ offices. costly, should be ordered or not. But the con- the key to new applications in molecular medi-

54 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 55
 Automated labs use high volume analytical systems
Molecular Medicine | In Vitro Diagnostics
such as Siemens’ ADVIA LabCell to test samples.
Analysis can identify viruses such as HIV (below)
and seamlessly connect with IT systems (right).
With the help of PET/CT images and marker
| In Vivo Diagnostics
substances, physicians can determine if and
where metastases have formed in the body
of a cancer patient.

cine (see p. 70). For instance, diagnostic medi-
cine is already benefiting from a growing popu-
lation of computer-aided diagnostic in vivo im-
age screening systems — systems that can sift
through thousands of lung or intestinal CT or
MR slices in minutes and draw a radiologist’s
attention to the one image that may in-
dicate the presence of a cancerous
node or polyp. “What all these sys-
tems have in common is the need
for pattern-matching algorithms
and data integration,” says Lance
Ladic, PhD, strategic development
manager at SCR. “That will be all the
more so as we integrate biomarker pat-
tern signatures and genetic information into
the larger clinical picture.”
Molecular Future. Considering the breadth of
activities at Siemens Medical Solutions Diag-
nostics, it’s interesting that its molecular busi-
ness segment, which accounts for just a few
Europe and are in the approval process in the
U.S. About the size of a professional desktop
copier and designed to process dozens of sam-
ples simultaneously, the Versant 440 uses a
technique called branched DNA (bDNA) — so
called because chemical branches attach to the
sample, thus allowing probes (think of
ornaments on a Christmas tree) to
fasten themselves in enormous
numbers to the original nucleic
acid target. The result: amplifica-
tion of the signal from the viral
RNA or DNA with an unparalleled
level of accuracy and automation.
Of particular interest for large labora-
tories is the unit’s new Phoenix technology. The
Phoenix system is designed to process two sep-
arate targets of up to 96 samples simultane-
ously in about three hours. Currently in develop-
ment and expected to enter the market in 2008,
Phoenix will not only offer industry-leading auto-
mation, sensitivity and speed, but is also design-
self because, according to Piel, “the same tech-
nology that will be used for the detection of in-
fectious diseases can also be applied in oncology
and cardiology, as well as to emergency condi-
tions, such as septic shock, and hematological
conditions such as leukemia. In short, Phoenix
will open up entirely new lines of business.”
Emerging Markets. And that takes us to the
second, but most exciting segment of the Diag-
nostics unit’s molecular business, which is the
emerging oncology and cardiovascular testing
market. “This is a market that represents only
about $400 million worldwide today. But it’s
growing at 20 to 25 percent per year,” says Bihl.
“As more and more new disease markers are
identified, demand for reliable tests to detect
them is growing. And as those tests come to
market, they create tremendous growth.” In-
deed, the Diagnostics unit has already discov-
ered a handful of biomarkers unique to breast
cancer, and has patented associated tests that

percentage points in sales, happens to be
where about 20 percent of its R&D employees
have landed. But although gene analysis and
molecular diagnostics represent a mere $1.5
billion market within the vast IVD spectrum,
they clearly represent one of the most exciting
growth opportunities in the entire field. “Want
to know where the future is?” asks Okrongly,
“Genomics. Advances in gene analysis will give
us the ability to identify each person’s predis-
positions to disease; and advances in molecular
diagnostics will give us the tools with which to
identify the presence of disease and decide
which medications a patient will respond to.”
The Diagnostics unit’s Molecular Business
segment is divided into two major areas. The
first, infectious disease testing, enjoys a five to
six percent annual growth rate and is currently
the biggest part of the molecular market. Here,
the Diagnostics unit focuses on monitoring ma-
jor infectious diseases, such as human immuno-
deficiency virus (HIV, see image right) and the
hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV). In this
area, exciting monitoring systems, such as the
Versant 440, have recently been released in
ed to allow customers to run assays they them-
selves develop. As with bDNA, Phoenix isolates
viral RNA and DNA from a serum sample using
chemicals that open the target cells. “But in-
stead of amplifying the target’s signal, Phoenix
uses an established process called quantitative
real-time polymerase chain reaction to amplify
either the RNA or DNA target,” says Dr. Norbert
Piel, Vice President for Global Molecular R&D at
Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics. For RNA
targets, it does so by ‘transcribing’ a section of
viral RNA into so-called complementary
DNA (cDNA). “Here, the DNA is ex-
posed to an enzyme that makes
millions of copies, and a probe
that includes a fluorescent
dye is added,” explains Piel.
“Then, if you excite the dye
with light, you get a fluo-
rescent signal that can tell
you the concentration of
the virus in the blood.”
The new level of flexibility
created by Phoenix is particularly
important for the Diagnostics unit it-
Nipping Deadly
are planned to run on the Phoenix platform.
“What we propose to do,” says Okrongly, “is to
take a small tissue sample, process it on a mo-
lecular instrument like Phoenix, and provide an
assessment of low, medium, or high risk for a
particular tumor.”
“The vision is clear,” sums up Bihl. “As we
move toward improved understanding of the
human genome, we will be able to identify
people with a predisposition to certain dis-
Diseases in the Bud
eases. Regular monitoring of those potential Researchers are developing biomarkers that bind to key substances associated
conditions will follow. Then, if a condition with Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease. As they learn to visualize these bio-
does arise, it can be quickly identi-
fied through specialized in vitro
markers with refined imaging technologies, they are discovering how to identify
and in vivo tests and associ- initial changes in cell metabolism, and opening the door to new therapies.
ated, targeted therapeutics.
The entire process will be
integrated and brought to-
gether in a workflow-op-
timized electronic patient
record. What we’re talking
about — if we can do it
D angerous diseases often develop slowly,
and can take several years before their first
symptoms appear. Long before that happens,
improving the probability of successful treat-
ment, experts from a variety of clinical and re-
search fields have been working together for
indications of plaques deposits in blood vessels
before coronary vessels are compromised. The
key to early disease detection is molecular
cost-effectively — would be however, the body’s metabolism begins to several years to, for instance, identify and detect medicine, a field that is rapidly gaining in im-
revolutionary.” change. With a view to detecting illnesses when biomarkers produced by cancers before tumors portance due to the evolving convergence of
■ Arthur F. Pease metabolic changes begin to occur — and thus develop and spread, and to identify the earliest three previously separate fields. These fields

56 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 57

Molecular Medicine | In Vivo Diagnostics
are in vitro diagnostics (lab-based analysis of
liquids and tissues, see page 54), knowledge-
based information technology (see p. 70) and,
above all, in vivo diagnostics imaging.
Two Technologies, One Image. One of the
most established molecular imaging technolo-
gies is positron emission tomography (PET).
Here, a marker such as radioactively tagged
sugar 2-deoxy-2[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG)
is injected. Because cancer cells have a higher
metabolism than other cells, and thus consume
more glucose, the marker tends to accumulate
in such cells, which thus light up in a PET image
as the marker decays, thus releasing its gamma
rays. PET detectors absorb these rays and con-
vert them into weak flashes of light that a com-
PET/CT images reveal the development of metastasizing lymph nodes in an anatomical context.
puter converts into images. Starting in the mid
1980s, researchers began using PET to track
sugar metabolism in the brain. Since the mid-
1990s PET has been used clinically to locate
primary tumors and metastases and to indicate
— depending on tumor size — whether cancer
therapies are effective.
But used alone, PET is insufficient because it
merely shows the presence of abnormal meta-
bolism without revealing the exact position of
the tumor within the body. Anatomical infor-
mation, the location of internal organs, and
even the body’s outlines are often missing from
PET images. Considering these limitations, in
58 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
the late 1990s, Siemens Medical Solutions (Med)
developed a device consisting of a PET unit and
a computer tomograph (CT). Known as the bio-
graph, the new device was presented at the
RSNA 2000. The device directly links PET and CT,
which it uses to examine the same body
segment (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2005,
p. 73). The result is an anatomically high-resolu-
tion CT image produced in one imaging sweep,
which precisely displays a tumor and its meta-
bolic activity (through PET) in its exact position.
Such an image makes it easier for surgeons to,
Researchers have developed nanoparticles that
home in on vulnerable plaques in blood vessels.
for example, plan operations. The combined
technology has been dramatically successful.
“We now almost exclusively sell PET units with
CT functionality,” says Dr. Hartwig Newiger, who
is responsible for Molecular Imaging Collabora-
tions and Product Support in Europe at Med.
In spite of the biograph’s success, research-
ers want to achieve more. For instance, they
would like to improve the biograph’s operating
speed. They are also working on more efficient
algorithms in order to improve contrast resolu-
tion and recognition of specific details. Such al-
gorithms are important “because the resolution
of whole-body PET systems is physically limited
to two to four millimeters,” says Newiger. That
level of resolution has more or less already
been achieved. Because of these limitations,
small structures may appear as larger spots in
PET images. But thanks to CT, with its resolution
of up to 150 micrometers, fine substructures
and their relationship to surrounding tissues
can be exactly visualized.
A Picture of Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, med-
ical specialists want to be able to make more
precise statements regarding certain metabolic
processes that cannot be identified with FDG.
Med is therefore working with renowned re-
search institutes around the world to develop
new marker substances that will be able to pin-
point and make visible even very small meta-
stases and individual tumors, while at the same
time identifying the type of tumor in question.
In 2005, following years of collaborative de-
velopment work, Siemens acquired CTI Molec-
ular Imaging, Inc., one of the world’s leading
manufacturers of PET devices and PET marker
substances. Experts from the resulting hybrid
organization — Siemens Medical Solutions
Molecular Imaging (MI) — are now developing
technologies that make the most of recent
hardware developments to better visualize
new, radioactively-tagged biomarkers.
Siemens is also working closely with inde-
pendent molecular imaging specialists such as
Prof. Michael Phelps from the Department of
Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the Uni-
versity of California in Los Angeles, and Prof.
Ralph Weissleder, Director of the Center for
Molecular Imaging Research at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston (p. 74). In the De-
cember 2006 issue of the renowned New Eng-
land Journal of Medicine, scientists working
with Phelps reported on a new Alzheimer’s
marker developed in cooperation with Siemens.
Siemens holds an exclusive license for the
new marker, which binds specifically with pro-
teins called amyloid plaques that build up in the
brains of Alzheimer’s patients. When tagged
with a short-lived radioactive substance, the
markers can be clearly visualized in PET scans,
thus indicating damaged areas (p. 60). Thanks
to this evolving technology, patients suspected
of having Alzheimer’s can be clearly distin-
guished from patients with other types of de-
mentia and from healthy subjects, thus open-
ing the door to future targeted treatments.
Researchers believe that such markers will make
it possible in the future to identify Alzheimer’s
several years before the onset of symptoms.
Understanding Metabolism. Ralph Weiss-
leder has been working with Siemens since
2003. He is involved in the development of
markers and preclinical contrast media for test-
ing with animals, and also works on integrating
different imaging technologies, such as mag-
netic resonance tomography (MR) and iron
nanoparticles. Weissleder believes that molecu-
lar imaging is one of the most promising re-
search areas in medicine today, offering the po-
tential not only of early identification of many
diseases, but also of improved diagnostic and
therapeutic accuracy. “Molecular imaging can
help to significantly reduce unnecessary treat-
ments and surgery,” Weissleder explains. What’s
more, he points out that in the future, fluores-
cent probes will be available that will be able to
zero in on cancer cells, allowing surgeons to de-
tect and eliminate cancer cells that might other-
wise have been left behind, thus significantly
improving the probability of long-term recovery.
With an eye on the vast field of biomarkers,
Siemens is expanding its molecular imaging
R&D center in Los Angeles. The center has al-
ready received FDA approval to start clinical trials
on a new imaging biomarker for Alzheimer’s dis-
ease. One of the challenges in developing new
biomarkers is how to gain an understanding of
underlying metabolic processes in order to
identify substances that will bind to key ele-
ments of such processes. Such substances can
then be synthesized with the help of specific
chemical reactions (click chemistry), after which
they can be marked with a radioactive isotope.
FL-thymidine (FLT) is a very promising new bio-
marker candidate that is now being studied by
Siemens researchers. FLT penetrates into the
Pre-clinical research. CT (left, center) and PET/CT
are used for imaging mice. The results can reveal
the precise progress of tumor growth and the
destruction of bones (right).
Helping Customers with MI LifeNet
The Molecular Imaging division at Siemens
Medical Solutions has set up an extensive Web-
based information and learning portal known as
“MI LifeNet” (www.mi-lifenet.com).
“MI LifeNet is particularly helpful for customers
who are using a PET/CT or SPECT/CT device for
the first time and wish to begin working in the
area of molecular imaging,” says Barry Scott, MI
LifeNet project manager in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Users also receive on-site assistance, of course,
but MI LifeNet enables doctors and technicians
to become acquainted with the systems even
before they’re installed. The portal continues to
provide assistance if questions come up later on.
It also supports oncologists and others who
don’t use the devices themselves, but send
patients on to specialists who do. MI LifeNet
provides them with information on the possibilities offered by MI, as well as its clinical significance,
thereby making it easier for them to work with MI specialists. One of the portal’s most important
features is MI University, which went online in mid-2006 and has already been used by around 300
customers. Every month, MI University presents new case studies that highlight the potential offered
by PET/CT, SPECT/CT and MI.
The detailed case studies, of which there are currently more than 130, contain a description of the
illness in question, possible differential diagnoses, and information on treatments and follow-up
examinations. They are placed on the portal by experienced users of advanced imaging devices, who
provide their own comments as well.
MI University also posts more than 30 lectures that present and explain imaging devices, the physics
they’re based on, possible sources of errors, special indications, and aspects of molecular imaging
that are subject to controversy. Several lectures take the form of videos as well. “We want our custom-
ers to use MI LifeNet as an everyday tool, a reference system and a resource for learning, marketing
and communicating,” says Scott.
Users in the U.S., for example, can utilize MI LifeNet to directly access PETNET, where they can order
PET biomarkers for delivery on a specified date for use in an examination. Scott stresses the fact that
MI LifeNet is unique at the moment: “In terms of the PET market, this Internet platform represents a
service that clearly sets us apart from our competitors,” he says.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 59

Molecular Medicine | In Vivo Diagnostics
interior of a cell and works at the molecular level.
The FLT molecule is similar to thymidine, one
of the building blocks of DNA. It accumulates
particularly in those areas where DNA is produ-
ced in large quantities, in other words, in tumors.
FLT is also better than FDG at identifying cell
growth and distinguishing it from infections.
Fluorine-18 (18-F) is a key isotope used in
conjunction with PET scanning. But like other
PET isotopes, it requires the use of particle ac-
celerator (cyclotron) to produce it — devices
that are beyond the capabilities of many hospi-
tals. With this in mind, Siemens has spent years
building up an order and supply network for
PET isotopes. Known as PETNET, the network is
well established in the United States, the UK
and South Korea. Naturally, Siemens also sells
cyclotrons to hospitals and laboratories. These
units from Siemens’ Eclipse product family are
connected to Explora biomarker production
machines, which automatically attach the iso-
tope generated in the cyclotron to a carrier sub-
stance. Radioactive markers are also used with
A prototype MR/PET unit combines MR (left) and PET (right) images of the human brain in a single image (center) that describes both anatomy and physiology.
60 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Siemens has received FDA approval to start
clinical trials on a new biomarker for Alzheimer’s.
another imaging method known as single pho-
ton emission computed tomography, or SPECT.
The advantage of such markers is that they do
not require a cyclotron for their production, as
the radioactive isotope most frequently used
with SPECT — technetium-99m (99mTc) — can
be produced with a relatively small “generator.”
Research on Animal Models. New markers
and molecular imaging technologies require
preclinical research. That’s why Med also fo-
cuses on the development of imaging tech-
niques that are tailored for use with rodents
and primates. These methods make it possible
to monitor the course a disease takes in an an-
imal over a long period, enabling new and even
more specific marker substances to be tested
and later used in human patients. Use of these
imaging techniques does not mean that ani-
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s with PET. A new marker
structure (inset) binds to plaques (yellow and red on
right) typical of Alzheimer’s. At left: a healthy brain;
center image: initial cognitive disturbances.
mals must be killed in order to gain detailed
information regarding their physiological
processes. On the contrary, MI makes it possi-
ble to study test animals, which may represent
years of research, over extended periods of
time in order to determine the effect of med-
ications and the course of therapy.
Until recently, Siemens supplied separate
“microPET” and “microCAT” devices for PET and
CT examinations of animals. However, as has
already occurred with respect to human med-
ical applications, these devices have been
merged into a single, combined machine
known as “Inveon.” Depending on a research
project’s requirements, animal PET and CT capa-
bilities can now be linked, and even supple-
mented by a SPECT unit.
Such flexibility makes it possible to choose
the best imaging technique for the examina-
tion in question. The advantage offered by
Siemens PET scanners is that they use a
unique, ultra-sensitive detector material devel-
oped and manufactured by MI in Knoxville that
efficiently transforms extremely weak radiation
into visible light, which in turn results in im-
ages that enable scientists to precisely observe
the effects that substances under study have
on test animals.
Increasingly sensitive detectors even make
it possible to view the interaction between
immune cells and their target organs (lymph
nodes, thymus), or the activities of animal
brain receptors, in real time. Inveon SPECT de-
livers even better spatial resolution, albeit with
lower sensitivity than PET. This drawback is par-
tially offset, however, by the fact that SPECT ex-
aminations do not require cyclotrons. The CT
portion of a scan, for its part, provides precise
anatomical information for measuring bone
density during osteoporosis examinations, for
example. Depending on the type of study in
question, medical researchers can use any
combination of SPECT, CT and PET from a work
station. They can even conduct scans utilizing
all three procedures, which in turn enables sev-
eral parameters to be studied simultaneously.
Pinpointing Effective Medications. In vivo
diagnostics and devices such as Inveon are suit-
able for diverse preclinical research applica-
tions, “because many basic biochemical
processes in humans and mice are very similar,”
explains Dr. Antje Schulte, who is responsible
for Product Support at Med in Erlangen. Among
the phenomena studied are brain structures
that give rise to Alzheimer’s disease, receptors
for addictive drugs and the effectiveness of
new cancer medications. “In the past, PET,
SPECT and CT were mostly used by research in-
stitutes as basic research tools; today, more and
more pharmaceutical companies are employ-
ing the devices for product-related research
purposes,” explains Schulte. Pharmaceutical
companies also want to find out if a substance
is suitable for use as a medication, or if it would
be better to abandon it immediately. That’s be-
cause the sooner a substance can be excluded,
the more money can be made available for the
study of more promising candidates.
Revolutionary Combination. Siemens works
closely with external experts in order to ensure
that its medical equipment and related soft-
ware meets the practical requirements of its
customers. One such expert is Dr. Bernd Pichler
from the University of Tübingen, Germany,
who was responsible for setting up Siemens’
European Training and Reference Lab at Tübin-
gen. The lab specializes in training new users in
Detecting Cancer with Ultrasound
Along with PET and SPECT, ultrasound is also
becoming established as a molecular imaging
modality. Here too, research is focused on the
development of new contrast media that can
help to detect diseased structures at an early
stage. Cadence CPS technology in particular is
mostly used here, as it significantly improves the
quality of the images recorded when contrast
media are used. A patented Siemens technology,
Cadence CPS can be found in the ACUSON
Sequoia ultrasound device (top), among others.
Microbubbles filled with air or gas are generally
used as the contrast medium for ultrasound
images, as they stand out very clearly. Special mi-
crobubbles outfitted with designer molecules on
their surfaces will be used in the future for mo-
lecular imaging. These molecules will dock to the
structures in the body — such as the fine blood
vessels of a tumor — that need to be examined,
for example, making them visible as red areas in
an ultrasound image (bottom). At the moment,
Siemens is working with Oregon Health and
Science University on the development of micro-
bubbles that attach to target cells on the walls of
the coronary vessels and finer coronary blood
vessels. In the event of a heart attack or circula-
tory problems, certain types of protein structures,
such as the antigen P-selectin, form on these cells. Over the last two years, the Oregon researchers
have succeeded in creating microbubbles with P-selectin antibodies. When these microbubbles dock to
cells in the walls of coronary vessels, and in the even finer blood vessels in the heart, they make the
damaged areas visible. This method makes it possible for the first time to determine at an early stage
whether a patient complaining of chest pains actually has heart trouble. The affected vessel segment
appears in the ultrasound image as a luminous structure. The new contrast medium is now being
tested on mice and monkeys at Oregon Health and Science University. The same principle can be ap-
plied to detecting tumors, as fast-growing tumors greatly stimulate the growth of new blood vessels
(angiogenesis), upon whose surface the antigen ανβ3 can be found. In animal testing, tumors have
already been detected with the help of microbubbles containing ανβ3 antibodies. “The advantage of
ultrasound is that patients generally do not respond negatively to the contrast media used with it, and
the media also don’t emit any radiation, which is not the case with PET and SPECT,” says Jens Fehre,
head of Urology Product Life Cycle Management at Siemens Medical Solutions in Erlangen. “In addi-
tion, ultrasound examinations can be performed right at the hospital bed.” Ultrasound also offers
another benefit: The microbubbles can be used to transport medication. This can be accomplished by
using a powerful ultrasound pulse to burst them once they’ve docked to the target tissue, releasing
angiogenesis inhibitors directly in the tumor, for example. This medication transport procedure is
being tested with animals. Another procedure in which microbubbles dissolve dangerous thromboses
will enter the clinical testing phase in just a few weeks. Here, bubbles collect at a clot and are then
made to oscillate by means of short ultrasound pulses; the oscillation destroys the clot. An initial ap-
plication of this technique will be the destruction of clots that form in the catheters used with dialysis
patients. In the future, the method will also be used to help treat the effects of strokes. A group of
researchers headed by Prof. Ferdinand Frauscher at the Medical University Innsbruck, Austria recently
proved that conventional contrast media can also be used to detect cancer. Researchers employed a
conventional contrast medium and the ACUSON Sequoia to visualize a prostate carcinoma that could
barely be seen in a normal ultrasound image taken without a contrast medium. Frauscher showed
that this technique can greatly increase the accuracy of biopsies, as normal prostate biopsies often
fail to detect a tumor, which in many cases means that the procedure must be repeated.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 61

Molecular Medicine | In Vivo Diagnostics
Is it cancer? An arrow indicates a suspicious point in the pancreas, left PET, center CT, right combined image.
small animal imaging as well as in assessing
new devices to determine their suitability for
everyday use — microCAT, microPET and Inveon
are among the machines it has tested.
Molecular imaging is one focus of Pichler’s
work, and with it he has examined phenomena
such as oxygen-starved tumors, which are known
as hypoxic tumors. “Remarkably, tissue areas sub-
ject to poor circulation like these are especially
resistant to radiation treatment and chemo-
therapy,” says Pichler. The goal here is to locate
hypoxic areas using specific markers so as to be
able to combat tumors with a more targeted
approach. Such an approach would also ensure
that healthy tissues, and the patient’s body as a
whole, would be exposed to the least possible
amount of medical treatment. With this in mind,
Siemens, together with Pichler, is currently
developing entirely new, combined devices for
small animal imaging that will put MR and PET
scanning into a single device.
In addition to visualizing soft tissues, MR
can be used for imaging the circulatory system
when employed in conjunction with a contrast
medium. This can, among other things, facili-
tate identification of otherwise hard-to-detect
hypoxic tumors. Considering these benefits,
Siemens and the University of Tübingen plan to
begin testing a prototype MR/PET scanner this
Spring that will be used exclusively for studies
of the human brain.
MR is also becoming more and more impor-
tant in molecular imaging. “The great thing about
MR is that it can be used to pinpoint disease
markers,” says Dr. Robert Krieg, head of Molec-
ular MRI at Med in Erlangen. For instance, a pa-
tient can be injected with a contrast medium
that is designed to accumulate only in tumor
tissue, while producing a clear signal that is
captured in an MR image. New types of con-
trast media are much more specific, however,
because they deliver images of the patient’s
entire anatomy as well as the target tissue’s
physiological activity after just one sweep of
the body by the imaging device. Known as
mMRI (molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging),
the development of specific molecular markers
is expected to open up a range of new diagnos-
tic and therapeutic possibilities. “However,”
62 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
cautions Dr. Arne Hengerer, mMRI project man-
ager at Med, “It will definitely take at least eight
years for the first mMRI markers to reach the
market.”
Iron Nanoparticles. There are already several
promising approaches. For example, an mMRI
marker consisting of an iron nanoparticle that’s
absorbed by macrophages is now being clini-
cally tested. Macrophages are immune cells
found primarily in lymph nodes. But if a node
harbors cancer cells, the number of immune
cells in it declines. Thus, if injected nanoparti-
cles fail to be absorbed by a lymph node, it is an
indication of metastatic cancer, since cancers
spread primarily via the lymph nodes.
Another mMRI contrast medium is being de-
veloped by Nano AG, a consortium led by
Siemens’ Hengerer. Nano AG is working closely
with Charité Hospital, Ferropharm, Schering
and Mevis, the University of Freiburg, and the
German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.
The consortium’s project is also being funded
by the German Ministry of Education and Re-
search. Under development is a new medium
that contains iron oxide nanoparticles de-
signed to specifically home in on so-called
“vulnerable plaques” in blood vessels. These
plaques deposits are unstable and thus capable
of triggering clotting that can suddenly block a
vessel, resulting in heart attack or stroke.
If doctors could recognize vulnerable pla-
ques at an early stage and distinguish such de-
posits from relatively harmless stable plaques,
patients could be treated with special medica-
tions and might be able to avoid life-threatening
clotting incidents. And that’s precisely the goal
set by Nano AG. In view of such possibilities,
Robert Krieg believes that the future belongs to
mMRI. Iron oxide contrast media now being stud-
ied already indicate just how valuable the com-
bination of advanced imaging and targeted con-
trast media promises to be in terms of under-
standing disease pathology, accurately diag-
nosing conditions, and ultimately developing
treatments that stop diseases before they pose
a life-threatening risk. Thanks to all of this, it
may indeed one day be possible to nip deadly
diseases in the bud. ■ Tim Schröder
| Molecular Therapy
Zeroing
in on
Cancer
Researchers have devel-
oped iron nanoparticles
that zero in on tumors.
The particles can be used
as drug delivery vehicles
or can be exposed to
focused magnetic fields,
thus delivering lethal heat
to hard-to-reach lesions.
C ancer is the second leading cause of death
after heart disease. Each year, on a world-
wide basis, almost seven million people die of
the consequences of cancer, according to the
Globocan 2002 database of the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (www-dep.
iarc.fr). “In Germany alone, 425,000 people per
year are newly diagnosed with cancer,” says
Dr. Christoph Alexiou, chief physician and
director of the Laboratory for Nanotechnology
and Local Tumor Therapy at the Ear, Nose and
Throat Clinic of the Erlangen University Hospi-
tal in Germany.
Conventional cancer treatment today usu-
ally calls for the surgical removal of malignant
tumors and then, if necessary, administration
of radiotherapy or chemotherapy. These meth-
ods cure approximately half of all cancers.
But the other half involve tumors that are lo-
cated in sensitive areas, such as near an impor-
tant nerve or blood vessel. Here, chemotherapy
and radiotherapy remain the treatments of
choice. However, these treatment have frequent-
ly been associated with serious side effects.
“The goal is to find the best possible balance
between therapeutic benefit and toxic effect,”
says Alexiou. “Physicians and medical research-
ers have therefore focused on the development
of drug targeting methods that are designed to
increase the concentration of the active ingre-
dient in a cytotoxic medication on the target
while limiting its effects on surrounding,
healthy tissues.”
With this in mind, Alexiou has been work-
ing on a new, localized chemotherapeutic
methodology since 1996 (for details, see box,
p. 64). Known as magnetic drug targeting
(MDT), the method is based on the application
of a magnetic field to guide iron particles
loaded with a therapeutic agent to a tumor
and hold them there.
“In order to expose the particles to the
highest possible traction force, MDT uses mag-
nets with inhomogeneous fields,” explains Dr.
Wolfgang Schmidt, an expert in magnet
design at Siemens Corporate Technology in
Erlangen. “The goal of MDT is to concentrate
the active ingredient specifically in the tumor
region while at the same time minimizing the
side effects of chemotherapy.”
From Heavyweight to Featherweight.
From December 2003 through December
2006, Alexiou, Siemens Corporate Technology,
Siemens Medical Solutions, and others have
participated in a nanomagnetic medicine proj-
ect sponsored by the German Federal Ministry
of Education and Research (BMBF). The project
is designed to advance MDT technologies.
“Until now, MDT studies have been con-
ducted worldwide with permanent magnets or
large electromagnets, the latter being as large
as 1.5 tons,” says Schmidt. “Because of their
weight, however, such magnets are in a fixed
position, which means that the patient must
be repositioned frequently during treatment.”
Considering these limitations, Siemens re-
searchers have tried a different approach.
They designed and built a unique pivotable
electromagnet that has a readily accessible
pole tip and weighs in at a mere 47 kilograms,
yet maintains a high field gradient.
Iron-bearing nanoparticles could be injected
directly into a brain tumor and then heated using
a focused magnetic field. The heat can weaken
and even kill cancer cells.
The new, ultra-light-weight magnet bene-
fits from the use of advanced materials and
simulation-based design optimization. It is also
the product of years of experience in magnet
engineering. In fact, its developers drew on
experience developing magnetic systems for
various Siemens Groups, such as a supporting
magnet for the maglev train and a magnet for
improving traction between a locomotive and
the track. Now they have achieved what Alex-
iou calls “a true quantum leap, like that from
the first portable telephone to the cell phone,”
in the medical engineering field.
“Thanks to its light weight and optimized
pole tip, a physician can handle the new
magnet easily and can position it exactly over
a tumor. This makes it possible to reliably treat
even small lesions,” says Alexiou. Adds Wolf-
gang Schmidt: “Our new magnet could easily
be integrated into a hybrid clinical device con-
sisting of a C-arm, the magnet and a magnetic
resonance tomograph.”
Findings developed on animal models
(squamous epithelial carcinoma in a rabbit) in-
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 63

Molecular Medicine | Molecular Therapy
dicate that chemotherapy without side effects
is achievable with MDT. “We have not found
any side effects in either the experimental ani-
mals themselves or in their blood workups,”
reports Alexiou.
Complete Remission with a Single Dose.
But there’s more. In contrast to traditional
chemotherapies, which involve multiple appli-
cations, researchers have achieved a complete
remission of tumors after only a single dose of
the nanoparticle-medication combination. “In
addition, we’ve found evidence of much better
Magnetic Fields Tackle Tumors
Pole tip
Tumor
Nanoparticles
with medical
agent
efficacy with only one-fifth the medication
that would otherwise conventionally be used,”
says Alexiou.
At the moment, research is concentrating
on tumors near the surface, such as head, neck
and skin carcinomas, as well as some breast
cancers. In the future, however, deeper tumors
will also be treated with this new method. “In
order to accomplish that, we will have to build
a magnet that delivers its maximum field a few
centimeters away from the tip,” says Schmidt,
who has already developed concepts along
these lines.
Magnet
Patient
Magnetic
field gradient
Weighing only 47 kilograms, a unique new elec-
tromagnetic system is being used to focus iron
particles containing medical agents on cancers
in animal studies at the University of Erlangen.
Alexiou also has ambitious plans. “Depend-
ing on funding, we hope to conduct prelimi-
nary clinical trials on humans in two to three
years. In the future, we will also be able to cou-
ple various other therapeutic agents with mag-
netic nanoparticles, such as radioactive sub-
stances for radiotherapy or genes for gene
therapy. In each case, the therapeutic agents
will be introduced into the tumor in a targeted
manner. In addition, we would like to combine
MDT with hyperthermia because each addi-
A 7 tesla magnet being delivered to the Atomic
| Research Cooperation
Energy Commission’s NeuroSpin Center near Paris,
France (top), and an architect’s model of what
the completed center will look like.
To prepare a treatment, a radiologist takes
three-dimensional images of the position and
properties of a tumor using conventional imag-
ing methods. Next, the patient receives an in-
jection — directly into the tumor — of a liquid
containing tiny particles of iron oxide. The par-
ticles are then heated by an externally applied
magnetic field for about 70 minutes.
Cooking Cancers. “Depending on the type
and position of a tumor, nanotechnological
cancer therapy can be used as a supplementary
or stand-alone therapeutic method,” says Mag-
Force Nanotechnologies CEO Jordan. He ex-
plains that when cancer cells are heated to
46 degrees Celsius (hyperthermia), their repair
mechanisms are inactivated, thus enhancing
the cytotoxic effect of an accompanying radio-
therapy or chemotherapy. “Furthermore,” adds
Jordan, “If the tumor is not situated directly
next to major blood vessels or nerves, we heat
its cancer cells to more than 70 degrees (ther-
moablation), which causes irreparable damage
to the cell structure. In essence, its cells are
cooked.”
The special advantage here is that the

Artery
tional effect improves patient outcome,” says
Alexiou.

Human Trials. In local hyperthermia, mag-

netic nanoparticles are heated by an external
magnetic field, which weakens the tumor and
enhances the cytotoxic effect of the
Chemotherapeutic chemotherapeutic drugs. In contrast to MDT, in
agent (in this case)
mitoxantrone which an inhomogeneous magnetic field is
156 nm
+
used, a homogeneous alternating field is
Reversible binding of mitoxantrone to phosphoric acid ester needed for hyperthermia. This is the only way
to induce motion in the nanoparticles contain-
Image at lower left shows tumor tissue imbued with magnetic nanoparticles.
ing iron, which ultimately generate heat.
Magnetic drug targeting is a new therapeutic method in the field of local chemotherapy. The trans- Berlin-based MagForce Nanotechnologies is
port vehicle for the drugs in this therapy consists of magnetic particles approximately 100 nanometers currently conducting research in this field.
in size — about 500 times smaller than the diameter of a hair. They consist of an iron core (10 to 15 na- “With our method, we can reach any tumor in
nometers) surrounded by a polysaccharide (starch) shell. The medication — in this case mitoxantrone, the body and heat it,” explains CEO and re-
a chemotherapeutic drug that is well established in clinical practice — is reversibly bound to the nano- searcher Dr. Andreas Jordan. “Our treatment
particles by a chemical bond that is easy to break. Mitoxantrone works by inducing strand breakage in methodology involves two components: a ther-
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), thus causing tumor cells to die. As long as the mitoxantrone is in bound apeutic system at the core of which is a mag-
form, it is inactive and does not destroy any healthy cells en route to its destination. But once the nano- netic field applicator developed specially for the
magnetic delivery particles have colonized their target the bond between mitoxantrone and the mag- purpose, and nanoparticles.”
netic particles begins to dissolve, thus initiating a slow process of drug release. The two components have been tested on
First the physician injects an aqueous solution containing the nanoparticle-medication combination humans in several clinical trials since March
through a catheter into an artery of the patient. Next, the external magnetic field is applied so that the 2003 in Europe. In July 2006, MagForce Nan-
particles are carried through the blood stream to the target destination and held there. The field is otechnologies and Siemens signed a declara-
strongest at the pole tip of the magnet, i.e., close to the skin surface, but it is still strong enough at a
depth of around two centimeters to counteract the internal forces of the blood stream or cell walls. Af-
ter one hour, during which the patient must remain in the magnetic field, the chemotherapeutic drug
tion of intent with the goal of jointly develop-
ing MagForce therapeutic systems and
cooperating in the production and distribution
is almost completely released from its magnetic delivery vehicle. The team working with Dr. Christoph of these systems. “We expect to save a lot of
Alexiou has demonstrated in an animal model that nanoparticles and medication remain in the tumor time by taking advantage of Siemens’ extensive
region for more than six hours after the magnetic field is shut down. After that, they accumulate mainly experience and contacts. This will allow us to
in the spleen and liver, where they are broken down and then eliminated from the body via the kidneys. concentrate even more intensely on the devel-
opment of our nanoparticles,” says Jordan.
nanoparticles are surrounded by a shell of
silane — a hydrogen-silicon compound — and
certain biomolecules. “Rapidly dividing cancer
cells like to eat this shell, so to speak, and ac-
Focusing on
Single Cells
tively incorporate it into their own structure,
whereas healthy cells do not do this. This strat-
egy allows us, for the first time, to very selec-
tively attack cancer cells,” says Jordan.
Since no side effects have occurred in clinical
trials, the procedure can be repeated several Ultra-high field magnetic resonance tomographs
times. In the case of a glioblastoma, for exam- and new types of MR-PET scanners will detect
ple, which is an extremely malignant brain
tumor, treatment has prolonged survival time
pathological processes at the cellular level.
by half a year. This type of tumor cannot gen-
erally be cured, and even when the tumor is
completely removed, new lesions develop
rapidly because individual tumor cells have
already migrated through healthy brain tissue
prior to surgery.
Jordan is convinced that, “In less than ten
years, our nanoparticle therapy will be as sig-
nificant as radiotherapy is today — but without
the radiation exposure.” What’s more, he ex-
pects that in the future “we will be able to load
nanoparticles with drugs that are activated on
site by heat. This would greatly increase the
tolerability and efficacy of chemotherapy,” he
says.
Although MagForce Nanotechnologies and
T hanks to constant improvements in imag-
ing methods such as ultra-high field
magnetic resonance tomography (UHF-MRT),
Commission (CEA), Guerbet, Alstom and Bruker
BioSpin MRI, and with the University of Freiburg.
It is also part of a German-French research proj-
the ENT Clinic in Erlangen have taken two dif- physicians are getting closer to deciphering ect known as INUMAC (Imaging of neuro dis-
ferent approaches, they are nevertheless reach- defective biological processes at the molecular ease using high-field MR and contrastophores)
ing for the same goal: effective, life-saving level and tailoring treatments to disease even that began in mid-2006. The project focuses on
therapies for many people who have cancer. before the onset of symptoms. Siemens is developing the world’s first 11.7 tesla UHF-MRT
■ Ulrike Zechbauer working in this field with the Atomic Energy for studies on humans. At 11.7 tesla, the mag-

64 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 65

Molecular Medicine | Research Cooperation
netic field is 235,000 times stronger than that
of the Earth. By comparison, the most powerful
clinical UHF-MRTs available today have only 7
tesla (Pictures of the Future, Fall 2005, p. 86).
Image quality can improve significantly with
higher field strength. Whereas today’s mag-
netic resonance images have a resolution of
0.1 times 0.1 times 0.5 millimeters, the 11.7
tesla system will yield images that have ten
times higher resolution.
“In addition to improved image quality, this
method will also have a much higher sensitiv-
ity. The new UHF-MRT will actually visualize
molecular processes that take place only spo-
radically in the body,” explains Dr. Robert Krieg,
director of Molecular MRI at Siemens Medical
Solutions in Erlangen, Germany. “INUMAC’s
Ultra-high field MR enables physicians to
observe the functioning of individual cells.
partners hope to use this new technology to
research basic functions in the brain, and also
study neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis,” says Krieg.
With the help of targeted contrast agents,
scientists hope to label individual cells, and
thereby be able to visualize their behavior in a
living organism.
European Joint Venture. The UHF-MRT will be
built at NeuroSpin — the new CEA center for im-
aging methods — in Saclay near Paris, France,
and is expected to be ready in 2011. Siemens
will provide expertise for its partners and will
supply components such as gradient coils, high-
frequency electronic systems, computers and
software for visualization and analysis of image
data. On the French side, Guerbet is bringing
66 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
new molecular contrast agents into the joint
effort, while Alstom is building the magnet
according to CEA specifications and input from
Siemens. Bruker BioSpin MRI is developing new
MR components and applications similar to
Siemens’ but for use with small animals —
at CEA there will also be a 17 tesla MRT for pre-
clinical research.
Siemens is building another UHF-MRT unit
for research on humans in collaboration with
the Jülich Research Center. And the new
machine, which is scheduled to be ready for
operation in approximately three years, won’t
just be supplying detailed images of the brain.
That’s because plans call for a combination MR-
PET (positron emission tomography) 9.4 tesla
scanner with which researchers will be able to
visualize metabolic processes in detail. These
processes are often altered in diseased cells.
For example, fast-growing tumors have in-
creased energy consumption. “PET images alone
are anatomically vague and therefore cannot be
used to precisely localize the sites of elevated
metabolic activity,” says Professor Jon Shah, proj-
ect head of the MRT group at the Jülich Institute
for Medicine. “But with a combined, high-
resolution MR-PET scanner we will be able to
investigate metabolic processes even in the
brain with a high degree of precision.”
Fluorescent Plaques. In addition to these
partnerships, Siemens will be supporting the
European Institute of Molecular Imaging (EIMI)
at the Westphalian Wilhelm University of Mün-
ster for a period of five years. The EIMI, which
Today’s most powerful clinical MR scanners (left)
operate at 7 tesla. Combined MR-PET imaging (right)
offers anatomical and physiological information.
Future scanners will offer much higher resolution.
was established in 2006, is focusing its scien-
tific work on researching molecular processes
in the heart and blood vessels.
Building on this foundation, the institute in-
tends to develop novel biomarkers with which
arteriosclerotic plaques can be visualized with
an MR-PET or by using fluorescence methods.
Siemens will supply medical equipment and in-
strument-specific expertise. In return, it will
gain access to state-of-the-art knowledge in
the area of cardiovascular diseases as well as
new EIMI developments such as biomarkers
and algorithms.
“Thanks to this cooperation, we will be able
to access innovative imaging techniques and
thus strengthen our technological expertise in
molecular imaging,” says Professor Otmar
Schober, who is both the principal investigator
of the EIMI and the director of the Clinic and
Polyclinic for Nuclear Medicine at the Univer-
sity of Münster.
Schober’s aim can be subdivided into three
objectives. “First, we want to better understand
biology on the basis of animal models,” he
says. “Second, we must recognize biomarkers
and synthesize the corresponding ligands — in
other words, substances that dock onto specific
cells or molecules — and label them. Third is
imaging in animals and ultimately in patients.
We also want to compare the data sets of PET
and MR to be able to recognize the probability
of a disease at an early point in time.”
Schober is certain about one thing: “In the
future, we will concentrate more on preventive
screening tests and early detection. Reacting to
symptoms often late in the disease process
with treatments that are invasive and subject
to side effects will be slowly abandoned. The
advantages for patients will include very early
diagnosis of disease, and treatments that are
tailored to the individual.”
■ Evdoxia Tsakiridou, Ulrike Zechbauer
| Research Cooperation
Visualizing Tumor Growth
Software now under development promises to help specialists identify malignant
tumors more accurately than ever before. A new graphic interface is the key.
T he earlier a tumor is detected, the greater
the chances of a patient’s survival. Better
imaging diagnostics can help here. One promis-
ing approach uses “dynamic contrast medium-
enhanced magnetic resonance imaging” (DCE-
MRI), a method that allows radiologists to
detect the fine network of blood vessels whose
growth is triggered by a growing tumor in a
process known as angiogenesis. These blood
vessels, which are just a few thousandths of a
millimeter thick, supply the tumor with oxygen
and nutrients. Unfortunately, they are too small
to be detected by conventional imaging meth-
ods. To circumvent this problem, researchers in
the field of DCE-MRI use a contrast medium to
measure the microcirculation of blood within
these minute vessel networks.
Molecules known as growth factors are in-
volved in causing tumor blood vessels to grow.
These factors also enlarge the pores in vessel
walls, allowing greater quantities of a contrast
medium to flow from normal blood vessels into
the surrounding tumor tissue, where it accumu-
lates. Before undergoing a magnetic resonance
scan, the patient is injected with a conventional
contrast medium. The MR scanner then records
a succession of cross-sectional images of the
suspect area for a period of, say, five minutes,
providing the physician with MR signals of a
high temporal resolution.
The intensity of these signals indicates the
rate of flow, or “dynamic,” of the contrast
medium. However, this method doesn’t deter-
mine how much contrast medium flows
through the pores. This is where DCE-MRI evalu-
ation software comes in. Using modeling tech-
niques, it generates a curve that a radiologist
can use to determine whether the tumor is
malignant or benign. With a benign tumor, the
curve rises less steeply and falls at a later point
than is the case with a malignant growth.
Up to now, there has been no commercially
available software solution to differentiate be-
tween the curves produced by benign and ma-
lignant tissue. “Because researchers used their
own evaluation methods, the results weren’t
directly comparable,” says Dr. Martin Büchert of
the MR Development and Application Center at
the University Hospital in Freiburg, Germany.
“That’s why we have developed, in cooperation
with Siemens, a standardized software solution
— the DCE-MRI Task Card. This will improve and
speed up the evaluation of clinical studies
based on data from different sources.”
Siemens plans to market the DCE-MRI Task
Card in conjunction with its MR scanners.
Thanks to its integration with Siemens’ syngo
medical interface (see Pictures of the Future,
Fall 2006, p. 56), the software will be much eas-
ier to use than the programs currently available.
At present, the DCE-MRI Task Card is still under
development, but a demo package is already
being tested. “Using feedback from tests, we can
make the software more user-friendly,” says Dr.
Together with Siemens, researchers at the Univer-
sity Hospital of Freiburg, Germany (right) have de-
veloped a uniform user interface for differentiating
malignant from benign tumors (left).
Ralph Strecker, who heads development of the
DCE-MRI Task Card at Siemens Medical Solutions.
One person who is testing the software is
Dr. Anwar Padhani, an expert in the field of
DCE-MRI at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in
London. Padhani uses the technique in clinical
research and in standard radiological examina-
tions. The radiologist rates the dynamic MR
process highly, because it enables detection of
many different types of cancer, including breast
cancer, cervical cancer and prostate carcino-
mas. “I particularly like the new Siemens soft-
ware’s ability to display the curves in addition
to the MR images within a standardized user
interface,” he says. “Our system can’t do that
because it requires the use of a separate com-
puter. And that wastes valuable time.”
Researchers are also using DCE-MRI to look
for substances that block the growth factors
involved in the angiogenesis process. For exam-
ple, neuroradiologist Dr. Gregory Sorensen of
the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston
has tested one such inhibitor against glioblas-
toma, an extremely malignant form of brain
tumor. “The DCE-MRI showed that the test sub-
stance actually inhibits the growth factor and
therefore angiogenesis,” says Sorensen. “From
the shape of the measurement curves, we can
deduce the quality of the active substance and
then estimate what dosage a patient requires
and which therapy combination promises the
best results.” ■ Michael Lang, Ulrike Zechbauer
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 67
Molecular Medicine | Interview

Nevertheless, there are physicians who to determine which kinds of radiological disease. Initially, a physician simply doesn’t hemorrhage, a tumor, or breast cancer. It’s
question established medical traditions check-ups are useful and are formulating know if a tumor or an alteration in a blood inconceivable that a physician would decide
Prof. Detlev and try out new methods. recommendations for physicians accordingly. vessel is clinically significant, or if the patient’s on a specific therapy — whether it’s a coronary
Ganten, 65, is Ganten: That’s primarily the realm of univer- One research focus is the development of cus- symptoms are caused by what can be seen in bypass operation, neurosurgery, a mastectomy
sity hospitals and their doctors, who ideally tomized molecular contrast agents complete the image. To know that, he or she must know or radiation therapy — without knowing the
Chairman of the approach a topic with the commitment and with MR technology for the field of cardiology. the clinical course of disease. A snapshot of precise location and extent of the problem.
Board of Charité – enthusiasm — and in some cases the obses- this sort is important, and in certain cases it That’s why it’s the combination of molecular
Universitätsmedizin siveness — of medical researchers. Of course, What kind of progress do you expect to can be a lifesaver, but in the field of medicine imaging and IVD that will produce clear
they too focus primarily on the patient’s well- see in this area? we assign particularly high priority to observ- progress. The relative prominence of the two
Berlin, one of the being. They don’t regard patients as research Ganten: In the future, molecular imaging will ing the course of disease and knowing the will be determined by the special indications
largest university objects; instead, they implement procedures provide information about the level of risk dynamics of a process. And it’s here that the of each case and their respective costs and
that only they can take responsibility for as diseases pose to a patient’s health. For exam- advantages of molecular imaging processes cost-efficiency.
medical centers in physicians, human beings, and physical and ple, in patients with cardiovascular disease it once again play a key role, because they allow
Europe. The center emotional caregivers. This is the kind of out- could show the level of inflammation around us to look into the interior of cells at regular Could IVD serve as an early warning sys-
has 15,000 employ- standing physician we need at the university. plaques, and thus help us to distinguish so- intervals. They are also non-invasive, cause tem for cardiovascular diseases — perhaps
called vulnerable plaques from the more stable minimal discomfort and are relatively fast, in the form of blood tests to identify risk
ees, 3,200 beds and The Imaging Science Institute (ISI) ones. Innovative contrast agents will dock which enables us to serve many patients in a factors for vulnerable plaques? The patient
an annual budget of opened by the Charité and Siemens in directly on individual cells and show the meta- short period of time. They will also become would then be able to take medications
1 billion euros. From 2004 is the second center for radiological bolic activities that are taking place at the mo- less and less expensive in the future. before plaques form or even before arte-
research in Germany that is jointly oper- lecular level. That way it will be possible to see, riosclerosis develops...
1991 until 2004 ated by an instrument supplier and a for example, whether plaques are shedding In vitro diagnostics (IVD) is moving in the Ganten: I don’t think that kind of an early
Ganten was founding university hospital in a public-private particles that could cause lethal blockage of direction of identifying diseases at the warning system would work, because an
blood vessels. Our contrast agents are not yet cellular level. Could this ever evolve to abstract lab report with various parameters
director of the Max targeted with sufficient precision to do this, the point that it would become more im- doesn’t convince the patient. For example,
Delbrück Center for
Molecular Medicine Detecting Diseases but that could change in a few years. At that
point, catheter-based examinations of the
heart for diagnostic purposes may become a
portant than in vivo diagnostics? Would
we then need imaging processes only for
examining accident victims, for example
a man who has high cholesterol levels and
knows it doesn’t necessarily feel it’s urgent to
change his lifestyle. But an image of the inte-
(MDC) in Berlin. As a
research scientist,
he has elucidated
by Combining Images thing of the past. They would then be used
only in connection with an intervention, such
as the dilatation of a blood vessel. In addition,
to identify complicated bone fractures?
Ganten: No, I don’t think that will ever hap-
pen. In vitro diagnostics will continue to de-
rior of his body, which might for example
show his damaged blood vessels, is far more
convincing than any presentation of the lab

fundamental mecha-
nisms in the develop-
and Lab Results
ment of high blood Molecular medicine, particularly the
pressure. He has re- combined application of in vitro and in
ceived many honors vivo knowledge, is on the horizon. In
what ways will we benefit from the
for his work, includ- advent of this new, hybrid science?
ing the Max Planck Ganten: In the near future, diagnostics will
Research Prize, the see the first real benefits. One important prin-
ciple in medicine is “diagnosis comes before
Okamoto Prize, Japan, therapy.” That explains why the major research
and the CIBA Prize institutes all over the world are currently focus-
ing on the development and establishment
of the Council for of new diagnostic methods. Despite all the
High Blood Pressure enthusiasm about new types of therapy, physi-
Research, American cians must begin by making a clear diagnosis;
and that is possible only if they understand
Heart Association. the pathophysiology of disease — in other
Ganten is also Editor words, how pathological changes alter the
of the Journal of body’s normal functions, and what causes
these changes. Only then can they provide
Molecular Medicine. their patients with optimal therapy. Because
of their sense of responsibility for patients,
good physicians tend to be conservative with
regard to therapy options and don’t auto-
matically choose the latest innovations. The
preferred methods are those with a proven
track record.
partnership. Has this business model
proved to be successful?
Ganten: Definitely. I’ve heard only positive re-
ports from Siemens and colleagues at ISI. The
ISI is a good, future-oriented project that the
Charité would like to continue to work with for
a long time to come. In general, I believe pub-
lic-private partnerships are a matter of course.
After all, any separation of public and private
funding is an artificial one — all of this money
is earned by members of society and it’s merely
channeled in different directions. What’s
crucial is that the interfaces be clearly defined,
because there are always problems in the
start-up phase of a new cooperative project.
And of course the interests of both sides have
to be taken into account.
What are ISI researchers focusing on?
Ganten: They’re focusing primarily on three
areas: the cardiovascular system, oncology and
neurology. The aim is to develop innovative
future technologies on the basis of molecular
imaging, optimize existing imaging processes,
and investigate the efficacy of medications. ISI
researchers are also conducting investigations
physicians will be able to use molecular imag-
ing to observe the development of tumors,
their growth and the effects of therapy. And
velop rapidly, and it will increasingly make a
valuable contribution to specific sensitive
types of diagnostics. It will also be very helpful
parameters can be. Of course, we can’t call
this an early warning system, because visible
changes are, by definition, signs of massive
this will be far more precise than the conven- when it comes to monitoring the course of damage. But physicians can often use images
tional imaging processes in use today. disease. But it’s not enough simply to know to encourage patients to care for their health.
the patient has had a heart attack, a cerebral ■ Interview conducted by Ulrike Zechbauer.
In your opinion, how specific will
molecular markers be?
Ganten: Basically, just as specific as medica-
tions. Only in very rare cases will we have a
marker that specifically responds to a certain
type of tumor or a pathophysiological process.
Assuming we succeed, it will take a long time
before we can use a single method to make a
diagnosis that is so clear that further examina-
tion becomes unnecessary. That’s why molec-
ular imaging must always be accompanied
by a thorough traditional anamnesis and a
careful clinical examination of the patient.
Relying on one method as a medical cure-all
isn’t realistic.
Will molecular imaging open the door to
earlier detection of metastases than is
possible today?
Ganten: That’s what we’re hoping, of course.
But even when the tiniest metastases are visi-
ble in an image as minuscule dots, that doesn’t
provide us with any absolutely reliable infor-
mation about the severity or the cause of the The Charité, which was founded in 1710, is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe.

68 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 69

Molecular Medicine | Knowledge-Based IT
Digging Out the Data
Our knowledge of the human genome is stored in gigantic databases. New
software is now capable of mining this vast mass of data to uncover the key
connections, such as which genes play a role in cancer and how such genes
interact. The resulting information makes it easier to develop new medications.
J ohn’s diagnosis is stomach cancer. At first he’s
shocked. Will part of his stomach have to be
removed? But there’s also some good news. His
doctor is very experienced and was therefore
able to diagnose the cancer while it was still in
70 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
an early stage. In order to offer his patient the
best therapy available, John’s doctor looks for
additional information on the Internet and in
medical literature. There are many public data-
bases for molecular medicine all over the world
Decoding the human genome. A gel electrophoresis
pattern reveals widely varying DNA fragments. This
information can be used to establish, for example,
the genetic basis of a disease.
that store the results of gene expression analy-
ses and other processes — for example, the
new ArrayExpress and PubMed portals. The
National Center for Biotechnology Information
in the U.S. alone maintains approximately 40
databases with various search and service func-
tions. However, it’s extremely difficult to find
the information that fits this particular patient
in this mass of data.
But in the future, specialists like John’s doc-
tor will have an assistant — the new GeneSim
Internet-based knowledge portal. Equipped
with all the available information on a patient,
his case history, a description of his tumor and
lab results, GeneSim dives into the whole
world’s medical databases on the Internet. Just
a mouse click later, the program presents its
results: John has a suspicious gene known as
PSMD11 that is particularly active.
GeneSim also provides information on a re-
lated protein that is involved in the genesis of
stomach cancer. But that’s not all. The program
also tells John’s doctor that there’s already a
medication on the market that blocks the sus-
picious protein and thus leads to the death of
associated tumor cells. The program also refers
him to a medical journal in which there’s an
article about a therapy that has already been
successful. Out of an ocean of data, GeneSim
has extracted exactly the right information.
Revealing the Right Data. This story may
sound like pie in the sky, and indeed the med-
ication in question has not yet been officially
approved — but GeneSim already exists as a
prototype at Siemens Corporate Technology
(CT) research center in Munich. “What still
remains to be accomplished, however,” says
GeneSim developer Dr. Martin Stetter, “is a sys-
tem that effectively brings together the
immense mass of data in the Internet and can
assess it in a targeted way.”
GeneSim’s mission is to bring order into the
worldwide flood of data from the fields of
genetics and molecular biology. In the future,
it will help doctors in their search for the right
therapy and researchers in their efforts to
develop new medications. The GeneSim plat-
form interfaces with syngo, Siemens’ uniform
software for the operation of imaging process-
es such as MR and CT (see Pictures of the
Future, Fall 2006, p.56), including Siemens’
PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication
System).
The link to such systems takes place in Gene-
Sim’s central knowledge base module. This is in
effect the brain of the system, which creates
connections between individual information
pools. GeneSim performs several tasks. It col-
lects knowledge, creates links between the data
with the help of mathematical processes, and
then determines which genes and proteins are
directly connected with a certain disease. Final-
ly, it provides an extract of the knowledge avail-
able on the Internet regarding a disease.
Whether it’s a PET/CT image (bottom), tissue sec-
tions (2nd and 3rd from top) or microtiter plates
(4th from top), the MIPortal (top) links all data
from pre-clinical and clinical research.
The way this works was recently demon-
strated using stomach cancer as an example, by
the development team led by Stetter and Dr.
Mathäus Dejori. For this purpose, they took on
the role of a researcher who is initially unaware
of the significance of the PSMD11 gene. The
GeneSim research process begins with a com-
parative examination of sick and healthy test
subjects. Gene expression analysis is used to ex-
amine the activity of more than 7,000 selected
genes — i.e. protein synthesis — in 30 patients.
Because in most cases different genes are
active depending on whether a subject is sick
or healthy, GeneSim compares the data from
individual patients to find out which genes
differ most in terms of their levels of activity.
The program uses statistical tests and mathe-
matical models for this purpose. “These tests
and models look for conspicuous connections
between individual genes — for example,
whether certain genes are always particularly
active in combination,” says Stetter.
The result is an image that appears if you
click on the display: a network that depicts the
100 most conspicuous genes as spheres con-
nected by lines. The more strongly the gene
seems to be implicated in the genesis of the
disease, the larger is its sphere, and the more
important the relationship between two genes
seems to be, the thicker is the line that
connects them. At this point, things get really
exciting. If the viewer clicks on one of the
genes — such as PSMD11 — the search func-
tion of GeneSim swings into action and brings
together the most important information
contained in databases from all over the world.
The program is self-learning and remembers
in which databases relevant information can be
found. If GeneSim were only a search engine, it
would probably display thousands of hits for the
search term “PSMD11.” However, it can also as
sess the information it finds. Its knowledge base
compares items to find out which items of infor-
mation or medical articles best match its own
data, i.e. the patient’s age, the stage of his or
her illness and other aspects. What finally ap-
pears on the display is a text window containing
the most important information and the five to
ten most relevant links to articles in scientific
publications.
Mathematics and Medications. Of course
GeneSim addresses not only the needs of physi-
cians but also — and especially — those of re-
searchers who are developing new medications
or markers for molecular imaging. Researchers
also benefit from the fact that the gene network
on the display can be actively altered. For exam-
ple, a simple mouse click is all it takes to sup-
press or intensify the activity of individual genes.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 71

Molecular Medicine | Knowledge-Based IT
The mathematical models then once again re-
view the relationships between individual genes
in the network and automatically change the
activity of the other genes that are influenced
by the change. The crucial factor here is that the
A mathematical model, BioSim identifies genes
| Facts and Forecasts
such as those responsible for cancers, and sup-
plies decisive information for the development
of perfectly matched medications.
have been offering this GeneSim function on the
market for two years as a consulting service un-
der the name BioSim, in particular to pharma-
ceutical companies (Pictures of the Future, Spring
2005, p.14). This way, manufacturers can con-
Molecular Medicine: World Market for In Vitro
Diagnostics in 2010
China + India Other countries North America

display also shows whether this changes the siderably narrow their focus to a smaller number
Market of the Future 6.4% 12.6% 42.3%

Source: Kalorama Information — A division of

course of the illness, intensifies it or makes it of potentially pathogenic genes and possible
disappear altogether. GeneSim now operates as points of attack for medications and markers.
a support system for decision-making. It pro- The complete GeneSim package is not yet

MarketResearch.com (April 2006)

vides crucial recommendations concerning the
areas that should be addressed by new medica-
tions in order to stop a disease. The same ap-
plies to marker substances. If the gene or protein
associated with a disease is found, it is possible
to create marker substances that dock onto it,
thus making it visible. Stetter and his colleagues
Health-e-Child Takes Shape
Health-e-Child is an EU-funded, four-year, 16.7 million euros project designed to develop a prototype
integrated healthcare platform for European pediatrics, providing seamless integration of traditional
available, but various parts of it are in operation
at partner institutions. For example, the Molec-
ular Imaging (MI) Portal at the Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston was developed on the
basis of GeneSim in cooperation with the hospi-
tal’s Center for Molecular Imaging Research
(CMIR). The MIPortal is currently used primarily
in preclinical research — that is, on animal
models. The Portal manages the data generated
by gene expression analyses and various labora-
tory tests or imaging processes, organizes it ac-
cording to projects, and link it together. All in
all, the Portal processes information from a total
of 15 sources within CMIR. The volume of the
data processed quickly reaches hundreds of
terabytes (1 terabyte equals 1,000 gigabytes).
MIPortal is used for many purposes at CMIR,
including the development of new markers for
molecular imaging. (Interview, p. 74).
Custom Cancer Therapy. Doctors at the
Maastro-Klinik in Maastricht, Netherlands, which
specializes in radiation therapy, want to be able
to identify tumors more accurately in the future
— especially in order to optimize radiation ther-
apy planning. That’s why they are using the
MIPortal to link images from PET, CT and MR
scans with the genetic or molecular analysis of
tumor tissues. One especially interesting appli-
cation is the differentiation of hypoxic (oxygen-
starved) tumors from non-hypoxic ones with
the help of genetic testing. Hypoxic tumors are
resistant to radiation and must be treated using
more intensive methods. Thousands of results
from preclinical and clinical research are accu-
M olecular medicine is — almost by definition — an
interdisciplinary area of research. Its goal is to
understand the processes that occur on the cellular and
in vitro diagnostics is generated in the industrialized
countries of North America and Europe, as well as in
Japan.
Japan
9.4%
molecular levels in healthy and sick people. The knowl- The share of total sales in these fields accounted for Latin America European Union
edge gained here is used to develop procedures to keep by the aforementioned regions was approximately 85 3.1% 26.2%
people healthy, prevent diseases, and diagnose, treat and percent in 2005, with this proportion expected to
cure illnesses. Examples range from DNA-based genetic decrease only slightly — to 78 percent — by 2010. How-
tests for epidemiological studies to the development of ever, if sales in China and India continue to grow at the biggest market share is still held by the radioactively
vaccines and genetic therapies. current high rate, experts estimate that they could marked sugar FDG, 18F-fluordeoxyglucose.
The molecular medicine market includes the follow- surpass the figure for Japan by 2013. The development of other combined procedures —
ing segments: disease prevention, diagnostics, treatment, The second pillar of diagnostic procedures in molecu- such as PET/MR — and of more specialized contrast mate-
and patient care. This report examines the market lar medicine includes a variety of imaging techniques, all rials (e.g. with hyperpolarized isotopes for MR) can be
segments that form the three pillars of diagnostic proce- of which have a common objective. That objective is to expected to lead to further progress in this field. The ulti-
dures: in vitro diagnostics, in vivo diagnostics and IT depict biological processes in living organisms (in vivo) on mate goal of all activities here will always be to identify
solutions that support the first two pillars. the cellular and molecular level, in high quality and in the diseases in their early and thus most reversible stages
Laboratory medical applications involve taking sam- most extensive manner possible. Traditional imaging with the help of screening examinations, in order to be
ples of blood, urine and saliva and then examining them techniques, on the other hand, depict morphological and able to treat them before symptoms occur.
outside the body “in a glass” — i.e. in vitro. Global market functional changes that are not visible until the late All of these imaging techniques are also used in animal
volume for in vitro diagnostics totaled $32.2 billion in stages of specific illnesses. studies. It is estimated that several thousand labs world-
2005, according to the Kalorama market research insti- The most widely used techniques for molecular imag- wide are conducting small animal imaging. Some of these
tute, which also forecasts that this volume will increase to ing at the moment rely on positron emission tomography labs are operated by pharmaceutical companies as a means
$45.6 billion in 2010 — representing annual growth of (PET), single photon emission computed tomography of accelerating the development of new medications.
7.2 percent. (SPECT), magnetic resonance tomography (MRT), optical The third pillar of molecular diagnostics consists of
Kalorama expects the biggest annual growth — more devices such as endoscopes, and high-frequency (more knowledge-based information technology (IT) systems.
than 16 percent — to occur in the sector for nucleic acid than 20 megahertz) ultrasound units. These bring together information from in vitro diagnos-
assays. Such tests are used to identify infections, as well PET is the most commonly used molecular imaging tics and molecular imaging techniques and then use
as for cytologic examinations and the diagnosis of genetic technique for humans. However, in more than 90 extensive databases to form conclusions that assist
diseases. They are also utilized in the field of pharma- percent of cases, it is used in combination with computer doctors in deciding which procedures should best be used
cogenomics, which examines how hereditary factors tomography (PET/CT) because PET alone does not clearly in individual cases. According to Frost & Sullivan, the mar-
influence the effectiveness of different medications. show the specific location of pathology, whereas CT does. ket segment for these clinical decision support systems
In terms of general regional distribution of sales, Various approaches are currently utilized with regard to (CDSS) had a volume of approximately $240 million in
the lion’s share of business in molecular diagnostics and contrast materials. According to Bio-Tech Systems, the the European Union alone in 2005 — and it’s still in the
very early stages of its development. It is therefore not
possible at the moment to identify the portion of the
Global In Vitro In Vivo Diagnostic Market for CDSS segment that is based solely on information from
Diagnostics Market Humans and Small Animals the field of molecular medicine.

Source: Kalorama Information – A division of MarketResearch.com, April 2006

sources of biomedical information, as well as emerging sources, such as genetic and proteomic data. Personalized medicine can be expected to signifi-

Sources: Bio-Tech Systems (2004); Frost & Sullivan (2006); Siemens (2007)
Billions of US $ Millions of US $
“The idea is to gain a comprehensive view of a child’s health by integrating biomedical data from ge- mulating in the clinic’s laboratories. But thanks 50
cantly gain in importance in the future. An individualized
2,500
netic to clinical to epidemiological information,” says Project Coordinator Dr. Jörg Freund from Siemens to the MIPortal, all of the data can be systemat- 45.6 approach will involve identifying illness and disease at a
45 ■ Others
Image and Knowledge Management, a division of Siemens Medical Solutions. Plans call for the result- ically combined and organized according to ■ Point-of-care 2,000
1,969 very early stage, as well as taking into account the pa-
40 All data worldwide, includ-
ing biomedical information platform to be supported by robust search and optimization techniques individual projects. + 7.2% p.a. (tests that can be ing CDSS: Europe tient’s medical and family health history in order to deter-
empowered by grid computing, integrated disease models, database-guided biomedical decision sup- Cancer, neurodegenerative diseases such as 35 carried out close to 1,500 mine the best possible treatment. Molecular medicine
32.2
the patient)
port systems, and data mining for biomedical knowledge discovery. Focusing on individualized disease Alzheimer’s, and diseases of the heart and the 30 ■ Nucleic acid tests 1,075 ■ 2005 ■ 2010 will play a key role here, as will scientific results and cost-
prevention, screening, early diagnosis, therapy and follow-up of pediatric heart diseases, inflammatory circulatory system are currently the most impor- 25 ■ Histology / cytology 1,000
813 benefit analyses.
■ Microbiology
diseases and brain tumors, the program, which is coordinated by Siemens, merges the information tant potential areas of application for GeneSim. 20 ■ Hematology 522 Nevertheless, in spite of steadily growing knowledge
500 345
technology talents of a consortium of companies, universities and research centers with the clinical ex- Stetter’s top objective for the coming years is to ■ Immunity tests 284 288 239 in the in vitro area and constantly improving medical
15 ■ Clinical chemistry
pertise and biomedical skills of three major children’s hospitals and collaborating research groups. Now make this software the standard tool for therapy 0
imaging technologies, it will most likely be a long time
10 PET systems FDG Mol. imaging CDSS (EU)
in its first year, the project is already taking shape as researchers from Siemens Corporate Technology planning and the support of decision-making. before the ultimate promise of molecular medicine —
of small animals
and Siemens Medical Solutions are researching analytical tools aimed at supporting clinicians in their Stetter has already taken the initial promising 5 catching and eliminating diseases before the onset of
CDSS EU = clinical decision support systems in Europe
decision making. Further information is available at: www.Health-e-Child.org ■ Arthur F. Pease steps in this direction through GeneSim. 0 FDG = biomarker FDG (18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose) symptoms — is realized.
2005 2010
■ Tim Schröder ■ Karsten Hiltawsky

72 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 73
Molecular Medicine | Interview

peritoneum or lungs, and get pathology-grade
images without having to resect anything.
Ralph Weissleder
M.D., PhD, is Pro-
How does that work?
Weissleder: It functions essentially like a
fessor of Radiology microscope at the tip of a fiber optic catheter.
The device sees cells based on the application
at the Harvard
of a fluorescent imaging agent that differen-
Medical School, tiates cancer cells from normal cells. Such
and Director of the generic imaging agents bind to whatever
makes a cancer cell different from a normal
Center for Molecular cell — things like growth factor receptors or
Imaging Research signaling molecules on the cell surface. The
at Massachusetts good news is that these compounds already
exist. The bad news is that it may take years
General Hospital in for them to reach clinical practice.
Boston. A leader in
A minute ago you mentioned the ability
the emerging field
to do in vivo pathology. Will there
of molecular eventually be probes that will be able
imaging research, to deliver the kind of information now
available only with a biopsy?
Weissleder has
developed methods
diagnostic sensitivity. One of the most exciting
projects is a fluorescent probe that could be
used in combination with an intraoperative
imaging system that Siemens has developed.
This could help surgeons to detect cancer cells
that might otherwise be left behind. The probe
is a molecule that is taken up exclusively by
cancer cells. It appears to be generic and
therefore does not need to be designed for a
specific cancer cell type. Once the probe has
been injected, it basically lights up any cancer
cells. The surgeon then uses a handheld device
that allows him to see the area of interest at a
different wavelength, which shows any residual
cancer cells. The resolution is close to a milli-
meter — good enough for brain surgery. It is
still a year or two from clinical trials, but it’s
revolutionary.
What will molecular imaging and treat-
ment look like by 2025?
Weissleder: Number one, we will be able to
detect diseases much, much earlier than is
possible today. For example, with Alzheimer’s,
In Brief
■ The field of molecular medicine deals with PEOPLE:
health and disease on the cellular and molec- Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics:
ular levels. It helps to improve diagnoses and Tina Johne, Med
treatments, while cutting healthcare costs at tina.johne@siemens.com
the same time. The three pillars of molecular David Hickey, Med
medicine — in vitro and in vivo diagnostics, davidhickey@siemens.com
and knowledge-based IT — influence all Computer-Aided Diagnosis:
stages of healthcare, from disease prevention Dr. Lance Ladic, SCR
and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare. lance.ladic@siemens.com
Through the acquisition of Diagnostic Products PET-CT:
Corporation and Bayer Diagnostics, Siemens Dr. Hartwig Newiger, Med
has brought these three pillars of molecular hartwig.newiger@siemens.com
medicine together under one roof, making it Molecular MR:
the first company in the world to offer inte- Dr. Arne Hengerer, Med
grated diagnostics. (p. 50, 54) arne.hengerer@siemens.com

Tomorrow’s
for detecting cancer we will be able to detect it when the first signs
of memory loss occur, and be able to slow its
cells using magnetic progression. With type 1 diabetes, we will be
resonance imaging, able to detect it when the initial inflammation
occurs and before loss of islet cells takes place.
Pre-Clinical Research, Inveon:
■ In vitro diagnostics: In the future, lab tests Dr. Antje Schulte, Med
will increasingly rely on analyses of the antje.schulte@siemens.com
human genome, making it possible to deter- MI LifeNet:

positron emission
tomography, and
new, optical
technologies.
What are the major trends behind
advances in molecular medicine?
Weissleder: The primary trend is that as
imaging and in vitro technologies improve,
we will detect diseases earlier and ensure that
they won’t turn into something life threatening
further down the line. Other major trends are
that diagnostics and therapeutics will gradually
be combined and that therapies will become
less and less invasive. Much of this is in turn
being driven by what we call systems biology.
This is an emerging research field that aims at
understanding how cells work together in
complex environments.
In other words, analyzing the molecular
mechanisms that drive them?
Weissleder: Yes. If you were a cancer re-
searcher and you wanted to know what makes
a cancer cell different from a normal cell, you
would look at differences in molecules. But
cancers are much more complex than that.
Treatments
Their constituent molecules change over time
and are related to each other. So what systems
biology attempts to do is to understand all
of the 20,000 to 30,000 types of molecules
related to a cancer cell — in other words, its
entire physiology. By the way, this approach
has implications for cardiovascular diseases,
neurological conditions, degenerative diseases,
autoimmune diseases, and of course cancers.
The bottom line is that eventually this field
will allow us to develop drugs much more
efficiently.
What are the most promising fields of
R&D in molecular medicine?
Weissleder: Nanotechnology and related im-
aging agents and diagnostic agents and sen-
sors. Many new compounds and applications
are in the pipeline. Optical imaging and sens-
ing are also really hot because we can now
do in vivo pathology. So, for example, we can
now put a fiber optic line into a mouse colon,
Weissleder: Yes. In the future, an option will
be to insert a needle into a cancer. The needle
will have 20 or so multiplexed sensors on it.
The sensors will be able to describe the molec-
ular makeup of the cancer in terms of multiple
channels. We’ve all heard of the lab-on-a-chip
concept; but this is a lab-on-the-point-of-a-
needle concept. The sensors will tell you
things like whether the cancer will respond
best to therapy X or Y.
What are you working on with Siemens?
Weissleder: One project is a data mining
product called the Molecular Imaging Portal.
It is a platform to archive, integrate, and ulti-
mately make optimal use of experimental and
clinical data, including gene expression data.
We are also working on next-generation mo-
lecular markers for combined PET/CT imaging.
On the MR side, we are working on refinements
— in particular the detection of magnetic nano-
particles with improved spatial resolution and
With cancers, we will be able to detect them
when they are less than five millimeters — in
other words when they are still curable. There
will be a shift toward earlier detection and
much more successful treatment. Number
two, we will be able to tailor treatments to the
patient. We will be able to determine if a given
drug works for a given patient, and if so, at
what dose level. Today, we do one size fits all.
The capability to personalize treatment will
result from a growing body of genetic and
imaging knowledge. Tests will be developed
to figure out whether a certain drug actually
inhibits a certain target.
Will all of this add up to a healthcare
revolution?
Weissleder: Over the last ten years we fo-
cused on the development of the technology
that allows us to profile the entire genome.
Now we need to create an atlas of what the
genome looks like in different cohorts of pa-
tients and with different diseases — that’s
where our Molecular Imaging Portal fits in.
And then we will have to figure out what all
of it means clinically. But somewhere down
the road we will see a healthcare revolution,
and it will be characterized by early detection,
personalized care, and some pretty amazing
new treatments.
■ Interview conducted by Arthur F. Pease.
mine a person’s genetic predisposition Barry Scott, Med
toward many diseases. Diseases could then barry.a.scott@siemens.com
be averted by treating patients with a cus- Microbubbles, Ultrasound:
tomized disease-prevention programs. With Jens Fehre, Med
the help of biomarkers, lab tests will, for jens.fehre@siemens.com
example, discover cancers, infections and Magnet Construction MDT:
cardiovascular diseases at an early stage. Dr. Wolfgang Schmidt, CT PS
In addition, biopsies may be replaced by wolfgang.schmidt@siemens.com
“needle-tip labs” (p. 50, 54, 74). Ultra-High-Field MR, MR-PET:
Dr. Robert Krieg, Med
■ In vivo diagnostics: New types of bio- robert.krieg@siemens.com
markers, contrast agents, and ultra-high-field DCE-MRI Task Card:
MR and MR-PET tomographs make it possible Dr. Ralph Strecker, Med
to detect initial changes in cell metabolism. ralph.strecker@siemens.com
It may be possible, for example, to identify Knowledge-Based IT, GeneSim, MlPortal:
and treat Alzheimer’s years before any Dr. Martin Stetter, CT IC
memory loss occurs. In addition, the effects stetter@siemens.com
of medications on the human body could be
viewed in greater detail than is the case today, Magnetic Drug Targeting:
and treatment adapted accordingly. (p. 57, Dr. Christoph Alexiou, c.alexiou@web.de
65, 68, 74) Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin:
Prof. Detlev Ganten, ganten@charite.de
■ Knowledge-based IT: Among other things, Center for Molecular Imaging Research:
Siemens’ GeneSim platform is designed to Prof. Ralph Weissleder
help uncover key relationships in databases weissleder@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
throughout the world. Examples include find- Prof. Umar Mahmood
ing out which genes play a role in cancer and mahmood@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
how they interact, thereby simplifying the
development of effective medications. Re- LINKS:
searchers will also benefit from the Molecular Health-e-Child: www.health-e-Child.org
Imaging Portal, which links all pre-clinical and MI LifeNet: www.mi-lifenet.com
clinical data. (p. 70) CMIR: http://cmir.mgh.harvard.edu

74 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 75

Emerging Technologies | Wave Power Plants
Tapping the Sun and Moon
Voith Siemens Hydro has years of experience with hydroelectric power. Now the
Siemens and Voith joint venture is developing another alternative energy source: the
sea. Commercial introduction of wave and tidal power plants is already under way.
D r. Jochen Weilepp has a vision: anywhere
from 10,000 to 100,000 wave power
plants operating worldwide. Weilepp, head of
the Wave Energy department at Voith Siemens
Hydro Power Generation (VSH), is working with
his team on exploiting the power of waves,
which is still nearly untapped. The team identi-
fies, assesses, develops and markets promising
new hydropower technologies.
World energy demand continues to be met
mainly by non-renewable resources such as oil,
coal, gas and nuclear power. These natural
sources will be exhausted in the foreseeable
future, however. The available alternatives are
energy from water, wind, the sun, and bio-
mass, as well as geothermal power. Hydroelec-
tric power plants now generate about 18 per-
cent of the world’s electricity. More than a third
of that hydroelectric power is produced with
turbines and generators from VSH.
Hydropower offers many advantages. It’s
renewable, it’s generated without producing
greenhouse gas emissions, and the reservoirs
created by dams can be used for recreation.
The reservoirs also provide drinking water and
irrigation, while the dams help to prevent
flooding and facilitate navigation of rivers.
There are drawbacks, however. One is that
building big hydroelectric plants often disrupts
76 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
the natural environment, in some cases having
a major impact on residents nearby. “We’re
very aware of our obligations in this regard.
That’s why we consistently work to achieve so-
lutions that are socially and environmentally
responsible,” says Dr. Hubert Lienhard, VSH
board spokesperson and a member of the
board of management of Voith AG.
Everything from Dams to Waves. Voith
Siemens Hydro’s core business is mechanical
and electrical equipment for hydroelectric
plants. Established in 2000, VSH is headquar-
tered in Heidenheim, Germany and employs
2,500 people worldwide. Voith holds 65 per-
cent of the joint venture, and Siemens controls
the remaining 35 percent. “We don’t just manu-
facture equipment; we’re also engaged in re-
search, development, and consulting services,”
says Dr. Siegbert Etter, head of VSH Corporate
Technology. “In other words, we’re a full-range
supplier that does everything but dam construc-
tion, which is handled by civil engineers.”
Roughly ten companies operate in the same
sector as VSH, which holds approximately 20
percent of the global hydroelectric market.
New orders in 2006 totaled 720 million euros,
which makes the company number two in the
market.
Although everyone associates hydroelectric
power with dams, few think of it in terms of
generating energy from the sea. “In theory, the
potential of the sea is around 1.8 terawatts,
with one terawatt of that from wave energy
alone,” Weilepp says. “By way of comparison,
one terawatt equals the output of 700 major
nuclear power plants.”
The wider a wave power plant is, the great-
er its output will be. Indeed, a good location
can yield an annual average of about 30 kilo-
watts per meter. No commercial wave power
plants have been built yet, but there are
roughly 100 concepts for their realization. “Less
than ten of these will reach the market within
three years,” Etter predicts. That’s because
making a new form of energy feasible on a
large scale is a very complex undertaking.
Still, Weilepp is confident that “our break-
water technology will be among those systems
that make it to market.” Opting for oscillating
water column technology, VSH acquired the
Scottish company Wavegen in May 2005. The
company has operated the world’s first oscillat-
ing water column power plant on the island of
Islay (see box) since 2000. A key component of
the facility is the Wells turbine, which always
turns in the same direction, regardless of the
direction of flow. This eliminates the constant
acceleration and braking (and resulting energy
loss) that occurs when the direction is
changed. It’s like birds flapping their wings to
achieve constant forward motion — and it’s
said that birds even inspired Alan Wells, the
turbine’s inventor.
The Islay facility provides electricity to about
50 households on the island. That may not be
much, but the Scottish wave power plant is still
the only one in the world that’s continuously
supplying power to the grid. “It’s the ideal envi-
ronment for us to gain a better understanding
of the technology and processes involved, and
to test them under everyday conditions,” says
David Gibb, managing director of Wavegen.
This testing has enabled Wavegen experts to
improve the unit’s efficiency. Now they’re plan-
ning the first major application of the technol-
ogy, by studying the possibilities for a project in
Scotland in cooperation with RWE’s British
subsidiary, npower. VSH and energy supplier
EnBW are also currently searching for a suitable
location for a wave power plant on Germany’s
North Sea coast. The facility is to have a rated
output of around 250 kilowatts.
Power Plants that Protect Harbors. Wave-
gen’s facility is also known as a “Limpet.” The
reason for this is that like limpets (mollusks),
the wave power plant also “sticks” to rocks. The
name also stands for “Land Installed Marine
Powered Energy Transformer.” The facility’s lo-
cation on the coast offers many benefits. It’s
easily accessible, easy to service and can be
linked to the power grid without difficulty.
What’s more, wave power plants can be incor-
porated into breakwaters, which harbors are al-
ready equipped with, thus substantially cutting
costs. A single structure could therefore per-
form two functions, and the costs could be
split. The harbor walls would include small air
chambers containing several small turbines,
which the team at Wavegen is currently testing
Wave tank: VSH engineers carry out various tests
here (left). Their work focuses on the Wells turbine
(center, right), which always turns in the same
direction, regardless of the direction of flow.
at the Limpet facility in Scotland. Plans have is planning to develop and test such a power
also been developed for a new harbor to be plant for a major project in Korea that will in-
built in northern Spain. clude between 500 and 1,000 turbines. The
“We also recently began tapping energy project is still in the planning stage, however.
from the moon, along with energy from the Power generation from the sea has ad-
sun,” says Etter. “Energy from the sea is divided vanced dramatically in the last five years, but
into wave and tidal energy,” he explains. “The many issues remain to be clarified, such as
first is created by the power of the sun, the sec- which approach for harnessing wave and tidal
ond comes from the moon.” There are several energy is most effective and least costly.
technological approaches for harnessing tidal There’s also the question of how other power
energy. Conventional tidal plants require a generation technologies will develop. One
dam, but tidal-flow power plants use several thing is certain, however. It will be a long time
underwater machines placed under a bridge. before Weilepp’s vision of 10,000 to 100,000
“You could say it’s something like an ‘underwa- wave power plants becomes reality. Neverthe-
ter wind park’,” Etter says. In a joint venture
with a Korean company, Voith Siemens Hydro
less, the first steps in this direction have now
been taken. ■ Gitta Rohling
How to Turn Waves into Watts
Voith Siemens Hydro fa-
vors Wavegen’s oscillating
water column principle
over competing technolo-
gies. With this system, the
water surface is covered
with a funnel-shaped roof
(top graphics). As waves
rise and fall inside this
One turbine per chamber
structure, air captured
inside is compressed and
Air flow
decompressed. The energy
Wave
motion from the pressure differ-
ence is converted into elec-
Decompression tricity by means of a Wells
Compression turbine and a generator. A
power plant like this could
also be integrated into a
harbor’s breakwater (bottom graphics). The output of such a facility directly depends on its width,
with an annual average of approximately 30 kilowatts generated per linear meter (at good locations).
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 77
Technology for the Environment | Scenario 2020

Highlights
84 Cutting Emissions in Half
Climate researcher and advisor
to the German government
Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber
explains the dangers of global
warming — and what can be
done to minimize climate change.

86 Urban Potential
A comparison of energy savings
and CO2 emissions — in a hypo-
thetical ideal city equipped with
the most efficient state-of-the-art
technology, and a major city today.

90 Built Clean
Siemens’ new Chinese head-
quarters is being built in Beijing.
Equipped with state-of-the-art
technology, it is a model of effi-
ciency and ecology.

91 Zero Emission Power Plants

A look at a broad spectrum of
environmentally friendly solutions
ranging from CO2-free power
plants, to hybrid fuel cell and gas
turbine plants, energy from house-
hold waste, and tomorrow’s elec-
tric vehicles. Pages 91, 94, 96, 98

102 Going Greener

At Siemens, the environmental
soundness of a product begins
with the development of the initial
product concept. Examples from
Siemens’ Eco Excellence Program.

The Power of Persuasion

June 2020. At the head-
quarters of CO2NTRACT,

2020 a research institute that

The head of a research institute shows his
family the results of ten years of work on the
development of processes and measures to
protect the environment. Thanks to exten-
sive cooperation between research institutes
and private companies, energy consumption
and pollutant emissions in buildings, power
plants, and motor vehicles have been sub-
stantially reduced through the utilization
of new technologies.
develops environmentally
friendly processes and solu-
tions, the institute’s director
and energy expert Leonard
Grossman is showing his
family the building. They
stop at a special place…
W here are we now?” asks Sophie, Leonard’s
13-year-old daughter. “This is our new
hologram room,” her father replies. “This is
where we show our guests the different solu-
tions that the institute and its industrial part-
ners worldwide have implemented to reduce
the burden on the environment from green-
house gases like carbon dioxide. Wait a second,
I’m going to turn on the unit...” “Which guests
do you mean,” Leonard’s father growls impa-
tiently, “the clients who give you the project as-
signments?” “Exactly,” Leonard replies. “That
could be operators of industrial facilities, or ur-
ban planners from cities that are experiencing
very rapid growth in many countries. Electricity
consumption is increasing in those cities, traf-
fic is getting out of control, and industries have
to produce more and more goods to meet the

78 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 79

Technology for the Environment | Scenario 2020
rising demand. Our job is to come up with
intelligent solutions to make sure the environ-
ment doesn’t suffer as a result.” Sophie seems
to be getting a little restless. “When’s that thing
going to start up?” she says.
Leonard types a few commands into a panel
integrated in a desk in the middle of the room.
Instantly, small flashes of light begin dancing
over the top of the desk, before transforming
themselves into large colorful light beams that
join to create an image of the earth with its
temperature chart, something Sophie is quite
familiar with. Suddenly, three holograms appear
before the group in a triangular formation.
Sophie recognizes one of the images imme-
diately. “Hey, that looks like our house!” she
calls out. “You’re right, Sophie,” her father says.
“And I’m going to use this image to explain to
you our first assignment, which we carried out
right after we established the institute in
2010.” “I remember,” says Leonard’s father.
“CO2NTRACT was given the job to reduce ener-
gy consumption in office buildings. That was
really a great beginning.”
“Looking back, it wasn’t even all that diffi-
Global warming is leading to storms,
| Trends
droughts, melting glaciers and dwindling
ice caps. Together, these changes threaten
the existence of hundreds of species.
diesel, which were refined from oil and very
expensive. The work we did with fuels is part of
the reason why today we mostly use biofuels
and clean SynFuel from natural gas, tar sand,
and coal — and also more and more hydrogen.
The big breakthrough that dramatically reduced
CO2 emissions from private vehicles came after
we partnered with the automotive industry on
the market launch of eDrive systems with elec-
tric drive units integrated into vehicle wheels.”
“But,” Leonard’s father cuts in, “you never
would have succeeded were it not for the intro-
duction of emission certificates and the tax
system changes discouraging the emission of
greenhouse gases.” Leonard has to grin as he
recalls his father’s days working at the tax de-
partment. “Yes, you’re right — you tax people
also played a part in that,” Leonard says, turning
his hand in the air to bring the third hologram,
that of a power plant, into the foreground.
“This is one of our new projects,” he says.
“It’s a fuel cell-hybrid power plant that directly
converts natural gas into electricity, at an effi-
ciency level of more than 70 percent. That’s
currently the world record for a commercial

Our Vanishing Options

cult,” says Leonard. “All you need are the right
analysis programs to quickly identify the
biggest energy consumers in the buildings —
like heating and hot water systems, household
and electrical appliances, lighting, IT networks,
and the like. Then, with the appropriate soft-
ware, you can determine which levers you
need to pull in each building to get the optimal
result. In some buildings, you might focus on
heat insulation and more efficient refrigera-
tors, while in others you can install energy-
saving lamps, waste-heat utilization systems
and building management systems that use
sensors. There are all kinds of possibilities. If
you do things right, you can reduce energy
consumption by 30, 40, or 50 percent — or
even more. The same applies to private houses,
which is why we decided to build a ‘passive
house’ for ourselves that would ensure minimal
energy consumption.” All Sophie can say as she
stares at the hologram is: “Cool!”
Her father is pleased. “Yes, we were very
successful,” he continues. “Now I’ll show you
what we did about traffic.” The three holo-
grams begin to regroup and an image appears
that everyone in the room recognizes right
away. “Wow, a gas station,” says Leonard’s
father with a hint of sarcasm, which his son
ignores. “It’s not the ‘gas’ station — or in this
case, the filling station — that’s important,
Dad, but what’s in the tanks: synthetic fuel, or
SynFuel.” Sophie is unimpressed: “So? We al-
ways fill up with that.” “That’s right Sophie,”
Leonard says patiently, “but before you were
born, people used other fuels like gasoline and
plant — and also 20 percent higher than what
was possible with a conventional gas and
steam turbine plant back around the time you
were born, Sophie. So, per unit of electricity,
we’ve reduced CO2 emissions by nearly 30 per-
cent, and we can separate the remaining CO2
and store it underground. What’s more, we’re
launching the 10-megawatt hybrid power plant
ten years sooner than originally expected, and
our researchers are working on a biomass plant
that uses a CO2 separation process, which will
enable us to achieve a net reduction of green-
house gases in the atmosphere.”
“And how will you pay for that?” asks Leo-
nard’s father. Leonard smiles. “Why do you think
we’re called CO2NTRACT? The financing will be
done through CO2 contracting. We’ll guarantee
our customers a set level of CO2 savings, and
they’ll be able to purchase emission certificates
— and also save on taxes. They’ll put part of
the savings toward installments running for a
period of ten to 15 years to pay us, and our in-
dustrial partners, for the services we perform.”
Sophie clears her throat: “Uh, Dad?” Leonard
looks down at his daughter. Suddenly, his tone
somewhat suspicious, he asks: “Sophie, was
there a reason why you wanted to visit me here,
specifically?” Sophie grins sheepishly. “Yeah,
uh, I have to write a school paper about global
warming and what we at school can do to help
stop it… I thought — and Grandpa also said —
that maybe you…” From the corner of his eye,
Leonard sees his father’s devilish grin, then
sighs, resigned to the fact that he’s been
tricked. ■ Sebastian Webel
Global warming is already
a reality. What remains M ore frequent storms, flooding in Jakarta,
and the warmest winter in over 100 years
— the last few months’ weather has provided
uncertain is how it will clear indications of the consequences of climate
play out over the next change. The gravity of the situation was put in
few decades. Will we face writing in February 2007, when the UN’s Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
a climate disaster,or will published its fourth report (the others were
we be able to somehow in 1990, 1995, and 2001). This document
summed up all scientific knowledge on the
master the situation? issue to date, in a consensus view from 130
We still have a chance to countries. The report makes clearer than ever
determine our destiny by before that we’re already in the initial stages of
climate change, and that humans are the main
developing and imple- cause of these developments. According to the
menting efficient, study, “It is considered a definite fact that
energy-saving human actions have led to an increase in aver-
age global temperature since 1750, primarily
technologies. through the burning of fossil fuels, agricultural
activities and changes in land utilization.” The
predicted consequences will be extreme
weather events including heat waves, heavy
rains and rising sea levels. The key question
here is: How intense will the impact of these
changes be? The answer, according to scien-
tists, depends on which actions people take
now and in the future.
The EU has set itself the goal of reducing
CO2 emissions (a main cause of global warm-
ing) from 1990 levels by at least 20 percent by
2020. One method used here will be to reduce
emissions of newly registered vehicles in Europe
to 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven, be-
ginning in 2012 (the current level is about 160
g/km). California is already the first U.S. state to
pledge to reduce its CO2 emissions by 2020,
aiming for a 25-percent cut. China has also
begun to recognize the need to take such
steps. The government plans to budget the
equivalent of $175 billion for environmental
protection measures in its next five-year plan.
Meanwhile, Australia is looking to ban the sale
of conventional light bulbs beginning in 2010.
Redefining the Energy System. In an inter-
view with Pictures of the Future (see p. 84), the
director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research, Prof. Hans Joachim Schelln-
huber, points out that such measures will not
suffice over the long term to prevent sustained
environmental damage. “There’s simply no es-
caping the fact that we need to cut global CO2
emissions by 2050 to half of 1990 levels.” And
at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the end
of January this year in Davos, top executives
and politicians from around the world called for
stepped-up efforts to stop climate change.
A big eye-opener here was a report pub-
lished in late October last year by Sir Nicholas
Stern, an advisor to the British government.
The experts who wrote the report addressed for
the first time the economic costs of climate
change. The results were sobering. According
to the study, a further increase in CO2 emis-
sions could push the cost of climate-related
damages to as much as 20 percent of global
domestic product per year (see p. 85). At the
same time, however, implementing measures
that would limit the global temperature
increase to less than two degrees would lead to
costs totaling only around one percent of glob-
al economic output. “This, in turn, would
require converting to a new, low-carbon global
energy system,” says Schellnhuber.
“If actions geared toward the long term are
taken in a timely manner, the shock of imple-
menting such a low-carbon-based system could
be absorbed by the world economy,” says
Dr. Georg Rosenbauer, CO2 expert at Siemens
Power Generation in Erlangen. “Last year’s ris-
ing oil prices alone cost more than the total

80 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 81
 Many low-carbon technologies such as
Technology for the Environment | Trends | Facts and Forecasts Top 10 CO2 Emitters
fuel cells (left), offshore wind parks (center),
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
and hybrid motors for automobiles (right)
are already being used today.

U.S.

The Sources of China

Greenhouse Gases Russia

Source: IEA, Germanwatch — Klimaschutzindex 2007. Reference value: energy-related CO2 emissions
A bout one third of the approximately 40 billion tons of
CO2e that are emitted annually around the world as
greenhouse gases comes from agriculture, forestry, land
two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions (currently
about 27 billion tons of CO2e) are energy-related, meaning
they are caused by people’s energy consumption. The
Japan

sum that would have been necessary to mini-
mize damage from climate change worldwide
over the same period. Furthermore, we already
have many of the solutions.”
Examples abound in areas such as building
systems. Completely renovating an old build-
ing, for example, reduces by up to 56 percent
the amount of heat required for keeping rooms
warm, which itself accounts for 80 percent of
energy consumption in private households.
New houses built using the passive house stan-
dard can reduce energy requirements by more
than 90 percent. And the promotion of hybrid
motors, the recovering of braking energy, and
other related measures, could help reduce a
large share of emissions from vehicle traffic.
There are also ways to save energy by conserv-
man Industries) Climate Protection Initiative.
Looking to the future, Kleinfeld adds that, “if
we factor in separation technologies, we could
reduce emissions by 80 percent.” Siemens is al-
ready developing procedures for separating and
storing CO2. An important step here was the ac-
quisition of the Swiss Sustec Group’s coal gasi-
fication and synthesis operations in 2006. The
processes developed by Sustec convert coal
into synthesis gas, which is then transformed
into CO2 and hydrogen. The latter produces few
pollutants when burned, and the CO2 can be
separated and sequestered underground (p. 91).
Technology for the Environment Prof.
Hermann Requardt, head of Siemens Corporate
Technology, describes the company’s range of
advantages of a fuel cell and a gas turbine. clearing measures and waste. “CO2e” refers to CO2 equiva- emissions result from electricity generation in power
India
Researchers working on this technology hope lents. Other greenhouse gases — including methane, plants, generation of heat, and fuel combustion by trans-
to achieve an electrical efficiency of approxi- laughing gas, fluorocarbons and industrial gases (e.g. sul- port vehicles. In Germany, about 87 percent of green-
mately 70 percent, which would be a new fur hexafluoride) — are converted into these equivalents house gases result from energy use, while the remaining
Germany
world record (see p. 96). to show their global warming potential compared to car- 13 percent come from other sources, including agriculture
Renewable energy is also essential. Vast bon dioxide (CO2). Methane’s global warming potential, and the chemicals industry.
wind parks already provide millions of house- for example, is 21 times that of CO2, with one ton of Power plants are the source of nearly 25 percent of
holds with electricity — and Siemens is the methane corresponding to 21 tons of CO2e. More than the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The largest share of Canada
world market leader for offshore wind power
facilities. Around one-fifth of the electricity 25 CO2 emissions per capita and year (in tons)
generated worldwide is now produced by hy- 2020 Regional Growth of Carbon UK Share …
droelectric power plants (p. 76). And heat from Dioxide Emissions of total world
North America
CO2 emissions
the depths of the earth can also be tapped 20
The size of each circle corresponds to the total emissions of total world primary
without releasing CO2. To this end, Siemens is of the region in question, and is computed by multiplying
2000 Italy energy consumption
now completing a geothermal power plant per capita emissions and population.
of total world gross
near Munich that will supply 6,000 households 15 domestic product
with electricity and 20,000 with heat (p. 98).

Source: Megatrend Report Siemens, CD S

ing electricity. Many appliances can be operated
using as much as 75 percent less electricity,
and energy-saving lamps and light-emitting
diodes use about 80 percent less electricity
than conventional light bulbs (see p. 87).
Another method of reducing CO2 emissions
is to boost power plant efficiency. “Equipping
all coal-fired power plants with state-of-the-art
technology would reduce their CO2 emissions
by around 25 percent,” says Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld,
President and CEO of Siemens and, since March
2007, Chairman of the BDI (Federation of Ger-
Energy Conservation Curriculum
In 1999, Siemens was commissioned to identify and implement ways to conserve energy at 23
Vienna schools. The goal of the project’s ten-year contract is to cut energy costs at each school by
environmental protection activities this way: “I
would estimate that environmental and climate
protection accounts for more than half of our
expenditure on R&D. Measures here include
everything that helps to generate and utilize
energy in a more environmentally friendly way;
development of more efficient drive systems
and lighting; intelligent building technologies;
and the use of energy saving performance con-
tracting and environmentally-sound production
processes.” Another example is the development
of a hybrid power plant that combines the
2020 South of total world population
Energy can even be obtained from waste. Here, Europe Korea
Siemens supplies control technology for waste 10
disposal plants that process household garbage
2000 2020
into fuel for power plants (p. 94). Much can South America Africa / Middle East Asia
CO2 from these plants results from turning fossil fuels into
also be done to improve automobiles. Siemens 5 usable energy such as electricity and district heating; a
2020 2000 2020 2000
researchers plan to use the concept of the hub small share is also generated during the facilities’ construc-
motor to place electric motors directly on the 2000 tion and by the supply of fuels. The cumulative CO2 emis-
wheels. This would make it possible to convert 0 Population sions of lignite power plants, for example, are about 1,000
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 (in millions)
up to 96 percent of the electrical energy grams per kilowatt-hour (g/kWh) of electricity; hard coal
generated into power for vehicle propulsion — plants produce 780 g/kWh. And the atmosphere even feels
11 percent more than what today’s most effi- the effect of nuclear power plants, which give off small
cient hybrid vehicles are capable of. CO2 Equivalents Industry (emissions from Major Sources of Greenhouse amounts (around 25 g/kWh) of CO2 from uranium mining
Siemens’ portfolio of environmentally friend- Emissions by industrial processes
and direct primary energy
Gases. One Fourth Are Not and enrichment. Photovoltaic facilities account for about
ly technologies is already extensive. “The world Key Sector consumption) From Carbon Dioxide 100 g/kWh of CO2, due to the production of solar cells,
23%
of alternative energy is no longer the domain CH4: methane (e.g. from cattle) modules and inverters. Wind plants (20 g/kWh) and hydro-
of nature-loving wind power types,” said Dan Agriculture / Forestry
Industry (indirect
emissions from
N2O: nitrous oxide (laughing gas, e.g. from power plants
and vehicle emissions)
electric facilities (4 g/kWh), by contrast, have very low CO2
Esty, director of Yale University’s Center for waste 14% electric power)
Industrial gases: fluorocarbons (e.g. from refrigeration emissions.
18% 11%
Environmental Law & Policy, at the WEF in systems), sulfur hexafluoride (e.g. used as an insulator gas) A look at regional distribution of energy-related emis-
Davos. “Today, the biggest companies are fund- sions shows the biggest shares are from the U.S. (over 21
40 billion
ing development of such technologies.” percent) and China (almost 18 percent), followed by Rus-

Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2004, EPA

tons of CO2e CH4 N2O Industrial gases
around 20 percent. The special feature of the effort is that, in addition to introducing technological Siemens is one of many companies that per year 16% 8% 1% sia (nearly 6 percent), Japan (4.5 percent), India (4 per-
improvements, Siemens worked with teachers to develop the ENOA (Energy Oasis) program, which is belong to the 3C (Combating Climate Change) cent), and Germany (3.2 percent). According to the IEA,
designed to teach students to deal with energy responsibly. As part of ENOA, teachers and students initiative, established at the start of this year by energy-related emissions will rise by almost 50 percent to
came up with energy conservation measures and implemented them within the framework of an in- Swedish energy company Vattenfall. 3C aims Transport Buildings about 40 billion tons of CO2 by 2030 if countermeasures
14% (indirect emissions
ternal competition. And they were successful. A couple of new boilers and some new heat insulation to promote a joint effort by governments, busi- from electric power
aren’t taken. As the world’s largest coal consumer, China is
needed to be installed, but ENOA enabled most of the schools to meet the 20-percent target. Vienna’s nesses, and consumers to convert to a low-CO2 consumption) expected to surpass the U.S. as the largest producer of CO2
Rahlgasse High School achieved the best results (annual energy savings of 27 percent) by turning off economy. “The time has come to act,” says Ro- 13% by 2010. But China’s emissions are still low, seen on a per
boilers on weekends, cutting down on lighting, and airing out rooms quickly by opening windows senbauer. “We can still set course for a long-term Buildings (direct emissions from capita basis: about four tons of CO2 per year, compared to
primary energy consumption)
wide for short periods — all without having to implement a single technical measure. transformation — but in ten years, our options 8%
CO2 roughly ten tons in Germany and 20 tons in the U.S.
75%
will have vanished.” ■ Sebastian Webel ■ Sylvia Trage

82 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 83
Technology for the Environment | Interview

the atmosphere would be more heavily laden
with water vapor and energy, resulting in in-
Prof. Hans Joachim creasingly violent storms. Third, the variation
Schellnhuber is Di- in precipitation patterns would become more
extreme, meaning even less rain in places
rector of the Institute where there is already little rainfall, and vice
for Climate Impact versa. Just one consequence of this would be
Research in Potsdam. increasing desertification. And fourth, because
of the greater temperature difference between
Schellnhuber, 56, land and sea, Europe would face the prospect
was one of the first of a monsoon effect.
researchers to in- How much would it cost to meet the
vestigate the conse- two-degree target?
quences of climate Schellnhuber: According to Stern, we would
have to invest around one percent of world
change. The physicist GDP in order to limit global warming to be-
was also Research tween two and three degrees. His report relies
Director at the heavily on model calculations produced by our
institute as part of an international compara-
Tyndall Centre for tive project. We adopted new methods of eco-
Climate Change in nomic analysis, because earlier studies on the
costs of protecting the atmosphere, mainly
Norwich (UK) from originating in the U.S., were based on false
2001 to 2005. The
exceptional value Why Carbon Dioxide premises. They barely took account of techno-
logical advances in the use of environmentally
friendly energy sources and therefore came to
of his work was
officially recognized
when the Queen
Emissions Need to be an unrealistically high figure. According to our
results, even the cost of sticking to the two-
degree limit is less than one percent of global
Are greater efficiency and renewable Will industry cooperate in this reorienta-
energy enough? tion of the world’s energy system?
Schellnhuber: Not on their own. In particular, Schellnhuber: Yes, if conditions are right.
we’re going to have to use carbon sequestra- Governments must establish guidelines and
tion. That means whenever carbon is com- set targets. I think it’s sensible for each country
busted, the CO2 must be captured rather than to draw up its own roadmap, and then to
being emitted into the atmosphere. This is combine these into a kind of world road atlas.
most effective in biomass power plants — that There’s no escaping the fact that we need to
way, the net amount of carbon in the atmos- halve global CO2 emissions by 2050, compared
phere is reduced. In addition, the operating life to 1990 levels. And industrial countries should
of existing nuclear power plants could be ex- really be reducing carbon emissions by 60 to
tended, since their associated dangers are low 80 percent, because they’ve produced much
compared to those of global warming. On the more CO2 than developing countries.
other hand, their contribution to generating
capacity cannot be boosted substantially with- How effective is emissions trading?
out ramping up the industry to reprocess spent Schellnhuber: The concept calls for trade
plutonium — or building thousands of new in emissions allowances, whereby the state
nuclear power plants. In my opinion, however, deliberately ensures a stringent market. That’s
the gains from extending the operating life fine, in principle, but it can’t remain an isolated
of nuclear facilities should be channeled into measure. Important, too, is greater use of
developing alternative energy sources. innovative technology, although it pays to
The Cost of Climate Change
According to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the 650-page Stern Report, which was submitted
on October 30 of last year, was the most important document produced during his entire time in
office. The author, Sir Nicholas Stern, was a government advisor to Blair. Blair himself has defined

named him “Hon-

orary Commander of
Cut in Half by 2050 economic output. Stern has factored in a
safety margin, making his calculation more
pessimistic than ours.
climate change as a key political challenge. Indeed, the World Economic Forum in Davos at the end
of January of this year supported Blair’s point of view, revealing a real consensus, particularly among
participants from leading industrial nations, that action on climate change is urgently needed.
According to Stern, a former Chief Economist at the World Bank, if the concentration of greenhouse
the Most Excellent In his report, British economist Sir Nicholas Why two degrees? Is that, so to speak, And what would be the costs of doing gases in the atmosphere isn’t kept below 550 parts per million (ppm), there will be grave conse-
Order of the British Stern warns that the world economy is in the point of no return if we are to get nothing at all? quences for the world economy. By way of comparison, the level of greenhouse gases at the beginning
Empire” (CBE). danger. Stern says the concentration of a handle on global warming? Schellnhuber: At least ten times higher than of the Industrial Revolution was 280 ppm, while today’s figure is 430 ppm — and currently rising by
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere Schellnhuber: It’s not a hard and fast line, the costs of protecting the atmosphere, that is 2.3 ppm a year. If we succeed in limiting greenhouse gases to 550 ppm, there will be global warming
German Chancellor must be kept below 550 parts per million but once we cross it, the damage becomes to say somewhere between ten and 20 percent of between two and three
Angela Merkel

Source: Stern Report. Based on: Schellnhuber et al., Cambridge

(ppm) if global warming is to be limited rapidly uncontrollable. The temperature of the of world GDP. Global emissions (in billion tons of CO2 equivalents per year) degrees Celsius, the maxi-

recently appointed to a maximum of two to three degrees
Celsius. Do you agree?
Schellnhuber to Schellnhuber: Two to three degrees — that
serve as Advisor on doesn’t sound like much, but it is. The temper-
ature rise between the last ice age and the
Climate Issues to the current temperate period was only five degrees,
Federal Government yet what a difference those five degrees have
during Germany’s made for the world! But let me spell out in
detail what the Stern Report says. Even if we
presidency of the meet the 550 ppm target, we will still face a
EU Council and 90-percent probability of global warming of
planet would increase to a greater degree than
at any other time during the last 20 million
years — all within just one century. That
would be a real roller-coaster ride for the
earth, an unprecedented phenomenon.
Would global warming that significantly
exceeded two degrees really have a
dramatic impact?
Schellnhuber: Yes, it would. For a start, the
sea ice in the Arctic and the ice on Greenland
60 mum increase that climate
What concrete measures can we take? researchers still consider
Schellnhuber: Essentially, the world’s energy 50
endurable. This goal can
system needs to be put on a new, low-carbon 40 be achieved only if the
diet. That means, first of all, conserving energy current rise in emissions of
and using it more efficiently, and, secondly, 30
C02 and other greenhouse
greatly increasing our use of renewable 20 Greenhouse gas emissions peaking gases is halted by 2020,
sources — including wind and solar power,
10
–––– in 2015, followed by a reduction of 1.0% p.a.
–––– in 2020, followed by a reduction of 2.5% p.a.
and thereafter reduced by
and geothermal energy and biomass. By far –––– in 2030, followed by a reduction of 4.0% p.a. around two percent per
the most cost-effective method here is simply –––– in 2040, followed by a reduction of 4.5% p.a.
year. That will cost money
0
to use less energy. The British town of Woking, 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 — one percent of world

chairmanship of the more than two degrees. That’s pretty alarming.
I would tighten Stern’s demand and stipulate
G8 conference. The an upper limit of 450 ppm. That way, there’s
country assumes a 50-percent probability that global warming
will be limited to two degrees, although a 50-
both roles this year. 50 chance is not particularly reassuring either.
Basically, to be sure of meeting the two-degree
limit, we would have to cut emissions to below
400 ppm in the long term.
would melt completely, and the ice in the
Antarctic would melt in part. In the long term,
sea levels would rise enormously as a result.
We’d have to evacuate practically all coastal
areas; human civilization as we know it would
have to be reinvented. What’s more, because
of the direct CO2 transfer from the atmosphere,
the oceans would become more acidic, and
marine life would also have to adapt. Second,
for example, has reduced its CO2 emissions by GDP per year, according
almost 80 percent over the last ten years, Strategies for stabilizing greenhouse gases at a level of 550 ppm. to Stern’s estimate. Yet
saving a lot of money in the process. There’s The longer the delay before such measures are introduced, the inaction would be much
tremendous potential here. For instance, greater the rise in emissions until that point — and the more radi- more expensive. A tem-
thermal insulation for buildings, low-energy cally emissions will have to fall annually. The goal by 2050 is a 25- perature increase of five
lights, low-consumption vehicles, and lots percent reduction from the current level — with a world economy degrees Celsius could end
more. Developing renewable energy sources that will be three or four times larger than today’s (i.e., they will up costing as much as one
is, by comparison, more expensive, but it is have to fall by 75 percent per unit of GDP). fifth of world GDP per year.
imperative in the long term.

84 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 85

Technology for the Environment | Energy Efficiency
remember that the biggest gains are always a
result of reducing energy waste. London alone
produces as much CO2 as all of Portugal. Yet its
increasing energy demand can be completely
attributed to the increasing use of appliances
that consume power when in standby mode.
That can be changed, as every engineer knows.
What’s the short term roadmap?
Schellnhuber: 2007 and 2008 are decisive
years, because the pressure will be on to de-
velop a successor agreement to Kyoto. Then,
over the next five to ten years, important deci-
sions are going to have to be made regarding
the modernization of a lot of power plants.
What can a global company like Siemens
do about the climate challenge?
Schellnhuber: German companies have the
strengths needed to cope with climate change.
Don’t forget, people used to poke fun at Ger-
mans because of our concern for the environ-
ment. But our industry can help launch a new
industrial revolution — and even post good
earnings in the process — which will one day
lead to a zero-emissions society. Invest now,
and you’ll later have the advantage of being
able to supply your technology to the major
markets of the future, such as China and India.
Where does the U.S. fit into this equation?
And do you think it will start to control its
greenhouse emissions before it’s too late?
Schellnhuber: Countries like India and China,
which are consuming increasing amounts of
energy, will continue to point the finger at the
U.S. as long as it fails to cut emissions. But I
think there’s a good chance that policy in Wash-
ington will change following the presidential
election in 2008. The U.S. probably won’t sign
up to the Kyoto Protocol, but it could end up
setting similar targets. The U.S. might change
as Europe has. Here, many people didn’t want
to recognize warming. They thought there
would be another 50 years to go before the
train would derail. But today I sense a growing
interest among people in politics and business.
Has the Stern Report brought about a real
sea change in opinion?
Schellnhuber: The way I see it, years of warn-
ings from scientists have weakened those who
argued that global warming was a fantasy.
Now Stern has managed to tear down the last
remaining walls of resistance by taking the
facts and calculating their economic impact.
His arguments will carry a lot of weight,
because when it comes to politics, economic
arguments are what counts.
■ Interview conducted by Jeanne Rubner.
86 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
A nyone familiar with the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change report presented
in February 2007 (p. 83) can no longer seri-
ously doubt that climate change is a reality. It’s
clear that burning fossil fuels such as gas, coal,
and oil is a major cause of the greenhouse ef-
fect. So how can we turn things around? What
would happen if we began using the most
modern and energy-efficient technologies
available for cars, power plants and household
appliances? If we could start from scratch —
how much energy would a hypothetical city
with a population of ten million people re-
quire? It makes sense to think through such a
scenario. It turns out that a comparison with a
conventional city in industrialized countries
leads to some surprising results…
How Cities Can
Save a Fortune
A broad range of energy-efficient solutions and
technologies that could rapidly and substantially reduce
power consumption in a modern industrial country are
already available. A study of a hypothetical city — the
world champion in energy efficiency — provides insight
into how such solutions could work in practice.
Consider the figures for Germany, for in-
stance, which is the sixth-biggest energy con-
sumer after the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and
India. The country currently consumes a little
more than 14,200 petajoules of primary en-
ergy per year (1 PJ equals 1015J, one quadrillion
joules). Germany has a population of 82 million,
which means that a hypothetical city of ten
million would consume around 1,750 PJ of pri-
mary energy. Generating this energy with hard
coal would require 60 million tons per year —
enough to form a mountain nearly 30 meters
high, one kilometer long and 1.5 kilometers
wide. In reality, the German energy mix consists
of 36% petroleum, 23% natural gas, 13% hard
coal, 12% brown coal, 12% nuclear power and
around 5% power from water, wind, solar, bio-
mass, geothermal and other sources. Convert-
ing this primary energy into usable forms of
energy leads to losses due to energy consump-
tion by power generation facilities themselves
and power transmission. As a result, consumers
wind up with only 1,120 PJ of so-called delivered
Energy Picture of a City of Ten Million Based on Current German Use
energy or “site energy”. Industry and business
consume 42% of this energy, households 29.5%, Energy-related Primary energy con-
and the transportation sector 28.5%. CO2 emissions sumption 1,750 PJ / a
106 million tons (60 million tons hard
In our hypothetical city, residents, authori-
of CO2 per year coal equivalent)
ties, and industry have all pledged to practice
energy conservation. Heat is a good place to
From hard coal Hard coal
start, because 58% of the delivered energy in 19 million tons 228 PJ
Germany is used solely to generate heat for of- = 18% 13%
fices, schools and homes, as well as heating up (83,000 t / PJ)
household water and supplying process heat in Brown coal
industry. The latter includes steam and heat for 201 PJ
From brown coal 11.5%
producing aluminum, zinc and chlorine. Accord- 21 million tons
ing to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen
= 20%
— a federation of seven German energy associa- (106,000 t / PJ)
Petroleum
630 PJ
36%
From petroleum
46 million tons
= 43%
(73,000 t / PJ)
Natural gas
From natural gas 403 PJ
20 million tons 23%
= 19%
(50,000 t / PJ)
Nuclear
energy
Wind/water/
220 PJ
other 12.6%
68 PJ = 3.9%*
(*by 2006: increase to 5.3%)
tions — heat accounts for 80% of total energy line with low-energy or passive house stan-
consumption in private households. dards using government funding.
Heat thus offers huge savings potential that The situation is similar for industrial and
can easily be exploited. According to Germany’s commercial buildings, in which process heat
Federal Environment Agency, energy consump- and space heating account for 67% of total en-
tion could be cut by 56% in older buildings ergy consumption. Electricity is also needed for
alone, simply by renovating, insulating outer ventilation and air conditioning systems. In our
walls and basement ceilings, and installing efficient city, however, these systems no longer
heat-insulated windows. Old buildings con- run at full capacity all day but are instead regu-
sume 17–25 liters of oil or cubic meters of gas lated in line with requirements. Here, heat and
per square meter of space per year. For com- CO2 sensors determine whether rooms are too
parison, conventional new buildings require cold or stuffy, while other sensors register if
only ten liters/cubic meters per year and low- rooms are occupied and assess how much
energy houses five to seven. Even more im- fresh air is needed. Such solutions are a spe-
pressively, a so-called “passive house” needs cialty of Siemens Building Technologies (SBT),
just 1.5 liters of oil or cubic meters of gas per whose energy-saving experts search for “energy
square meter per year. leaks” in everything from hospitals and shop-
It is therefore not surprising that all the old ping centers to government agencies and
buildings in our hypothetical city have been schools. As it turns out, energy consumption in
renovated and new buildings have been built in many buildings can often be reduced by
Energy requirements and CO2 emissions of ten million people (based on
figures for Germany in 2004). The most effective levers for reducing CO2
emissions by consumers are heat, electricity and energy used for trans-
portation; cutting losses is the key factor in terms of energy generation.
Source: DIW, Gross Electricity Production 2006
Electricity Other: Water (3.5%), wind (4.9%), solar (0.3%),
generation geothermal (0.1%), biomass (3%), waste (0.3%)
mix
Heating oil Hard coal
12%
3% (average efficiency
Losses in power generation Nuclear energy Share
at German power
and transmission, and energy (average eff. = 35%) 22%
plants = 38%)
consumption in the energy 26%
Brown coal
sector itself: 630 PJ = 36% (average eff.
Natural gas 25%
12% = 37.5%)
(average eff. = 49.6%)
A hypothetical German megacity would require approximately 220 PJ of electrical
energy per year (= 61 TWh / a). Given the current German energy mix, this translates
into power plants with a total output of approximately ten gigawatts, which in turn
require some 670 PJ of primary energy and produce 35.5 million tons of CO2.
Delivered energy use:
1,120 PJ/a
1 petajoule (PJ) =
Space heating Heating oil 61 PJ = 19%
0.278 Terawatt-hours (TWh)
Industry + commercial
Source: DIW, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen, www.ag-energiebilanzen.de
122 PJ
470 PJ = 42%
Natural gas 183 PJ = 57%
Process heat
198 PJ District heating 22 PJ = 7%
Coal 54 PJ = 17%
Heat 44 PJ = 29%
Electricity
Mechanical energy 90 PJ = 60%
150 PJ
Lighting 16 PJ = 11%
Heating oil 90 PJ = 34%
Households Kitchen appliances, washing
machines 15 PJ = 24%
330 PJ = 29.5% Space heating Freezers/refrigerators 14 PJ = 23%
Natural gas 130 PJ = 48%
270 PJ Hot water 12 PJ = 20%
District heating 7% Auxiliary heating devices 7 PJ = 12%
Others 11% TV, I&C technology 6 PJ = 10%
Lighting 4 PJ = 6%
Electricity 60 PJ
Others 2 PJ = 3%
Transportation
Passenger cars (5.6 million)
320 PJ = 28.5% Trucks 45 PJ = 14%
Fuels 221 PJ = 69%
Buses 6 PJ = 2%
313 PJ
Local/long-distance rail 13 PJ = 4%
Air transportation 32 PJ = 10%
Ships 3 PJ = 1%
Electricity 7 PJ
20%–40% without any major investment in belts and pumps. Motors account for nearly
new technology. This is possible because the 70% of total industrial power consumption. A
SBT specialists align climate control systems as lot of energy can be saved here by using intelli-
closely as possible with actual requirements. gent and more efficient motors. In the past, vir-
By employing specialized algorithms, they tually no one knew how much electricity was
can calculate when ventilation and heating sys- being used by which machines in a factory. But
tems need to be turned up to ensure precise Siemens Automation and Drives has developed
temperatures at specific times. Detectors are analysis software that enables operators to ob-
also used to determine when rooms are empty, tain such data. Known as Simatic powercontrol,
in which case lights and ventilation systems are the software works its way through processes
automatically switched off. Technicians can at a factory and finds out how much energy is
even access operational information online. If, consumed by each machine — and when. This
for example, someone has turned up the heat process reveals hidden potential for optimiza-
too high or forgotten to switch from the man- tion and identifies energy guzzlers.
ual to automatic control mode, technicians can Of course, waste heat is also harnessed in
remotely make the necessary adjustments. the efficient city. Industrial Solutions and Ser-
vices offers a concept here that is perfect for all
Miserly Motors. Our efficient city has also sectors where large amounts of waste heat are
plugged other energy leaks, such as losses from produced, such as the glass, metal, pharma-
the electric motors used in drives, conveyor ceutical and cement industries. The principle is
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 87
Technology for the Environment | Energy Efficiency
always the same. Waste heat vaporizes a liquid, Naturally, all of these measures cost money. formance contracting can offer an ideal solution. ment pays for the investment in installments
and the resulting gas is used to drive a turbine, And given that local governments generally Here, Siemens plans and installs new technology financed from the energy savings achieved.
which in turn generates electricity. operate on tight budgets, energy savings per- that guarantees energy savings. Local govern- Such a system doesn’t burden local budgets, and
once the contract expires after around ten years,
all savings flow directly to the client. In Berlin,
for example, SBT renovated 11 municipal in-
How to Produce and Distribute Energy Efficiently door pools by replacing boilers and installing
more-efficient heat recovery and warm water
processing systems. It also converted operation
Electricity production: Every percentage-point increase in the efficiency of an average coal-fired power plant (800 MW) reduces annual CO2 from oil to gas. The public swimming pools
emissions by approximately 100,000 tons. The average efficiency of coal-fired plants in Germany at the moment is 38%; the figure for all such plants now save 1.63 million euros per year — or one
worldwide is 30%. However, technology already available today can raise efficiency to 46% for hard coal plants and 43% for brown coal facilities, and third of their previous energy costs. Perfor-
additional percentage points could be achieved in the future. The best combined cycle plants that use natural gas achieve an electrical efficiency of mance contracting particularly pays off in old
58.5% — but Siemens and E.ON are now building one with 60% efficiency. It will also emit around 40,000 tons less CO2 per year than plants with municipal buildings, where it can often halve
58.5% efficiency, which corresponds to the emissions of 12,000 passenger cars, each traveling 20,000 km per year and emitting the European energy consumption. The concept has also
average of 163 grams CO2/km. Compared to an average coal-fired plant with the same output, the new combined-cycle plant will reduce annual been successfully implemented in hospitals.
CO2 emissions by 2.8 million tons — more than Siemens itself emits through its own use of electricity, heat, and district heating (2.7 million tons).
Power transmission: Techniques for minimizing transmission losses include gas-insulated lines for metropolitan areas and high-voltage direct cur- Putting the Brakes on Energy Use. Our en-
rent transmission (HVDC) systems for transmitting electricity over long distances or via submarine cables. Siemens is now building an HVDC line in ergy-efficient city has also addressed the second-
India that will transmit 2,500 MW of electricity over a distance of 800 kilometers to the capital, New Delhi. This HVDC transmission system exhibits biggest energy consumer — transportation,
much lower line resistance than a conventional alternating current transmission line, thereby reducing CO2 emissions by around 690,000 tons a year. which accounts for 28% of delivered energy. Up
Renewable / alternative sources: One-third of hydroelectric power worldwide is generated using technology from Voith Siemens Hydro. That’s 930 until recently, 5.6 million passenger cars were
terawatt-hours per year, which saves some 540 million tons of CO2 emissions compared to fossil sources. A further ten million tons is saved by 6,300 on the road in our hypothetical city, emitting
Siemens wind turbines around the world, with a total peak output of 5.5 gigawatts. Europe’s biggest biomass power plant (in Vienna) provides 50,000 15 million tons of CO2 per year. That was reason
households with electricity and 12,000 with heat. A new Siemens geothermal facility near Munich also produces environmentally friendly energy. enough for the city’s residents to start using the
Additional measures: Every major nuclear power plant (1,600 MW) saves some nine million tons of CO2 compared to plants that use fossil fuels. extensive and modernized public transit network,
Combined heat and power — the simultaneous generation of electricity and process steam or district heating — increases fuel utilization in com- especially since taxes and toll fees had made driv-
bined cycle plants to as much as 90 percent. In the future, power plants using fuel cells linked with gas turbines will achieve electrical efficiencies ing vehicles with high CO2 emissions expensive.
of up to 70%, while in IGCC power plants CO2 can be separated and then sequestered below ground. Pilot IGCC facilities are now being planned. The new buses and trains are comfortable,
travel frequently at precisely timed intervals
and consume 30% less energy than their pred-
ecessors, thanks to lightweight materials and
How to Save and Use Energy More Efficiently regenerative braking systems. Motorists use
hybrid vehicles that store braking energy in
their batteries, which is then transferred to an
Air conditioning and heating systems consume most of the delivered energy we use, which is why a lot of energy can be saved by heat insulation, electric motor. This reduces fuel consumption
more efficient air conditioners and automation systems for buildings. Siemens offers energy saving performance contracts for public buildings, by around 20%. It will be possible to save even
whereby the investment in new systems is financed by the energy savings achieved. Typical savings in energy consumption are from 10% to 40%. more energy when electric drive units and
Siemens has carried out some 1,900 such projects in 6,500 buildings since 1995, with guaranteed savings of 1 billion euros and 2.4 million tons of CO2. electric brakes are integrated directly into each
The electric motor is probably the most underestimated energy-saving lever. Such motors account for 65%–70% of total industrial electricity vehicle’s wheels. In the meantime, Internet-
consumption; about 20 million of them are currently in operation around the world (in drives, pumps, compressors etc.). By utilizing energy-saving based information and efficient traffic guidance
motors and frequency converters and optimizing overall systems, electricity consumption could be reduced by 10%–50% per unit, depending on the systems are helping to prevent traffic jams and
application. Such investments pay for themselves in less than two years and offer worldwide potential CO2 savings of some 600 million tons per year. facilitate parking.
Electrical household appliances: Today’s appliances use much less electricity than in 1990, the reference year for the Kyoto Protocol. Refrigerators Our city wouldn’t be an efficiency champion
from Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, for example, use 75% less electricity than in 1990, washing machines and dishwashers 35%–40% less if it hadn’t also cut power consumption. Al-
and electric stoves 30% less. As these devices account for more than half of total private household electricity consumption, replacing them can save though electricity only accounts for some 20%
a lot of energy. Further potential results from reducing standby operation of appliances and optimizing information and communication networks. of all delivered energy consumed in Germany,
Lighting: Energy-saving lamps and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) use around 80% less electricity and last 15–50 times longer than incandescent light that’s only half the story. After all, it first has to
bulbs. Applications today include headlights for various types of vehicles, displays and general lighting systems. Some 2,700 terawatt-hours of elec- be generated in gas, coal or nuclear power
tricity are utilized for lighting around the world, which corresponds to 19% of total consumption, or the combined power output of all hydroelectric plants, whose losses total anywhere between
plants. Switching to energy-saving lamps and LEDs could reduce annual CO2 emissions by about 450 millions of tons worldwide. 50% and 65%. In other words, 38% of all the
Rail systems: The amount of energy consumed by rail systems is already low — in Germany it is lower than the energy required for the operation primary energy consumed in Germany is used
of refrigerators and freezers. Promoting public transportation is therefore an environmentally friendly measure. There is still potential for conserva- to produce electricity. That was too much for
tion here, however — for example, through regenerative braking and the use of lightweight materials like aluminum. A subway line built by the efficiency champions, who make better use
Siemens in Oslo, Norway, consumes 30% less energy than a conventional system, for example. of primary energy in facilities like combined cy-
Passenger cars, trucks: Piezo fuel injection technology and hybrid drives that combine electric motors and combustion engines can cut fuel con- cle power plants, which today can already con-
sumption by 20%–25%. There’s also great potential in reducing weight, optimizing aerodynamics, and the future integration of brakes and electric vert more than 58% of the energy contained in
drive units into vehicle wheels. Telematics and parking guidance systems also reduce the time wasted in jams or looking for parking spaces — pastimes gas into electricity. The energy-efficient city has
that often make up 40 percent of the traffic volume in cities. London’s Congestion Charge has reduced traffic volume and jams by more than 20%. not only increased this figure to more than 60%
but also exploits associated heat, pushing the
88 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
fuel conversion rate to over 80%. Here, process
steam and heat are sent via pipes to nearby
factories and apartment buildings.
Replacing old appliances throughout Germany
would save enough electricity for 5 million people.
In the town of Irsching, where a 530-
megawatt combined-cycle plant is being built,
Siemens is already demonstrating that effi-
ciency ratings of more than 60% could soon be
the norm. The facility, which is being built for
energy supplier E.ON, is scheduled to go on
line in 2008. At the heart of the plant is a 13-
meter-long gas turbine built by Siemens in
Berlin. Weighing 444 tons, it’s as heavy as six
diesel locomotives — but has 100 times the
output. In fact, its 340 megawatts could supply
the population of a city like Hamburg.
Future versions of the plant are expected to
achieve an efficiency of 63% within ten years.
The implications of this become clear when
you consider that replacing all coal-fired plants
worldwide with the latest combined cycle
plants would result in over four billion tons less
CO2 being released into the atmosphere each
year.
Renewable energy sources also help reduce
CO2 emissions in our imaginary city. For exam-
ple, solar cells can be found on top of nearly
every public and private building. Windmills,
geothermal plants and biomass power plants
also provide their share of electricity, while a
large portion of household waste is converted
into fuel for power plants. Siemens and Energie
Baden-Württemberg (EnBW) are developing yet
another option — a fuel cell power plant in the
megawatt class, which they plan to complete
by 2012 (p. 96). When combined with a gas
turbine, it will convert around 70% of energy
into electricity.
Saving at Home. Residents of the efficient
city also contribute to energy conservation. Al-
most half of all electricity consumed in the
household is used by refrigerators, freezers,
stoves, washing machines and dishwashers.
Purchasing new appliances is the best invest-
ment here, as the consumption of such devices
has been cut by 30%–75% since 1990. The
Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment
and Energy estimates that replacing old house-
hold appliances throughout Germany would
reduce annual electricity consumption by 7.9
terawatt-hours (billion kWh) or 28.4 PJ — the
equivalent of the annual electricity require-
ment of nearly five million people.
Lighting systems in this hypothetical high-
efficiency city would be completely revamped
as well. Lighting accounts for more than 10%
of electricity consumption in Germany and
nearly 19% worldwide. Given the current
global energy mix, that corresponds to emis-
sions of 1.6 billion tons of CO2 per year — or
the emissions produced by 500 million passen-
ger cars (p. 36). The potential for savings here
is huge and easy to exploit because energy-
saving lamps can reduce consumption by up to
80% compared to conventional light bulbs (and
last around 15 times longer). So too can LED
lamps, which last around 50 times longer than
incandescent light bulbs.
Some cities are already making the switch.
Budapest, for example, has commissioned
Siemens to replace the light bulbs in all of its
33,000 traffic lights with LEDs. The financing
scheme for the deal is similar to the perform-
ance contracting model, because the monthly
installments are lower than the savings gener-
ated from reduced consumption and the elimi-
nation of traffic light maintenance. In other
words, this investment pays for itself.
Less developed countries can also take
advantage of solutions such as one offered by
Osram, which will replace light bulbs in private
homes with energy-saving lamps free of
charge. This is made possible by the United
Nations’ first-ever approval of such a project
under the auspices of the Clean Development
Mechanism. Here, the reduction in CO2 emis-
sions is converted into emission certificates
that pay for the investment.
Energy consumption can also be reduced in
production facilities, which up until now have
often been equipped with several thousand flu-
orescent lamps. State-of-the-art mirror louvre lu-
minaires, electronic ballasts and dimmers that
automatically adjust to natural light can generate
lighting-related electricity savings of up to 80%.
Thanks to the combined potential for energy
conservation in households, buildings, industry,
transportation and power plant technology, an
efficient city could reduce its consumption of
primary energy and its CO2 emissions by 50%.
This analysis of a hypothetical city clearly
demonstrates that a variety of solutions already
exist for achieving major reductions in energy
consumption. In other words, they don’t have to
be developed — they could be implemented
right now. ■ Tim Schröder
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 89

Technology for the Environment | Building Systems
W henever Taiwan architects C.Y. Lee & Part-
ners step up to the drawing board, the
result is a building destined to create a stir. It
could be a hall shaped like a bronze vessel, an
office building in the form of an ancient coin —
or the postmodern, pagoda-like Taipei 101, at
509 meters the world’s tallest building (Pictures
of the Future, Fall 2005, p. 15). And now the
star designers are about to create yet another
landmark: Siemens’ new China headquarters, a
Working Smart
Siemens’ new headquarters in China shows that,
thanks to advanced building systems, environmental
protection and economic efficiency go hand in hand.
30-story glass tower in Beijing, which will be
ready for occupancy by 3,000 employees in
early 2008. Behind the transparent facade,
often hidden from view, is the technology that
can provide Beijing with a way out of its basic
dilemma — the apparent contradiction be-
tween environmental protection and economic
efficiency, between limited space and quality
of life.
In addition to featuring good insulation,
energy-efficient equipment and well-designed
workstations, the building also boasts an intel-
ligent management system that centrally regu-
lates many of its services, including fire and
security alarms, water supply, lighting and air
conditioning. “That makes it extremely econom-
ical to operate, as well as very convenient for
employees,” explains Jürgen Reimann, an archi-
tect and head of SRE DPS, Siemens’ Chinese
real estate subsidiary.
The building’s control system will receive
data from about 3,000 sensors, automatically
lowering and raising the blinds, adjusting the
air conditioning to the climate and brightening
or dimming the lights according to the time of
day. What’s more, offices can be regulated on
an individual basis. The sunny side of the build-
ing is heated less than the shady one, and the
amount of light coming through the windows
is adjusted to eliminate disturbing glare. One
by one, the lights come on in the evening —
and go off again after office hours. If people
work late, motion detectors sense which desks
are in use and adjust services accordingly.
90 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
“The building requires much less energy
than comparable structures in China,” explains
Toni Brania of Turner & Townsend, a UK-based
project management company that is coordi-
nating the construction project. Indeed, the
building uses about one-third less energy per
unit of floor space than conventional Chinese
office buildings. “With the price of electricity
rising all the time in China, efficiency is an in-
creasingly significant cost factor,” says Brania.
And the same applies to water, which is why
there is continuous monitoring of the water
used in individual washrooms. Should a cistern
develop a leak, the system immediately reports
it. The building also features several water
systems, with wastewater being filtered and
reused for lavatory cisterns or cooling water.
Learning to Conserve. “These approaches
are new for China,” explains Yan Shaobin, proj-
ect manager at general contractor CITIC.
“We’ve learned a lot on this job.” The building
systems are state-of-the-art as well. “There’s
growing awareness in China that high environ-
mental standards are a necessity, not a luxury,”
says Reimann. Environmental problems are
now seen as the biggest threat to economic
growth. Today, 700 million Chinese are still
without clean drinking water, and 58 percent
of the rivers here are so polluted that they can
be ruled out for this purpose. What’s more, the
water table is falling rapidly in about 400 cities.
Of the 20 places with the poorest air quality
in the world, 16 are in China. According to
government figures, pollution is responsible for
approximately 400,000 fatalities per year, and
environmental damage costs the economy an
estimated at 150 billion euros annually, around
10 percent of GDP — the equivalent of the
current rate of economic growth. “If things con-
tinue this way, China will become poor again
before it has a chance to enjoy prosperity,”
warns Pan Yue, Deputy Minister at the State
Environmental Protection Administration. “We
Siemens’ new Beijing headquarters. Equipped
with state-of-the-art building systems, the 30
story tower uses about one-third less energy
than comparable Chinese office buildings.
pride ourselves on being ‘the workbench of the
world,’ but if we’re not careful, we’ll end up be-
ing the biggest garbage dump on the planet.”
Given these challenges, China needs not
only more effective laws and greater environ-
mental awareness, but also knowledge of what
can be achieved with advanced technology.
“Some developments in power engineering
just can’t be used here; the right conditions are
lacking,” Reimann notes. For example, Siemens
studied the economic viability of installing its
own cogeneration power plant for the com-
pany’s Beijing headquarters. Yet the idea was
rejected because in China there is still no way
to feed excess power into the public grid. Nor is
geothermal energy an option, because the
needed geological and geohydrological analy-
ses have yet to be carried out. “Nevertheless,
the country is making tremendous progress,”
adds Reimann, who manages construction
projects for Siemens in China with an invest-
ment volume of about 250 million euros.
Siemens is also busy in Shanghai, where a
new company building is under construction.
With 45,000 square meters of office space, it
won’t be much smaller than the 54,000-
square-meter Beijing headquarters. And from a
technical and design viewpoint, the two are
equally impressive structures. That shouldn’t
surprise anyone. The Shanghai building was
designed by architects Gerkan, Marg and Part-
ner of Hamburg, responsible most recently for
the spectacular new Berlin Central Station.
■ Bernhard Bartsch
A coal gasification plant in Vresová, Czech Republic.
| Power Generation
The resulting synthesis gas can be used to produce
fuel, chemicals and electricity — including CO2-free
power generation.
Zero-Emission
Power Plants
The zero-emission power plant is no longer a fantasy. Filters are becoming increas-
ingly sophisticated, removing dust and other harmful substances from exhaust
gases. And in the future, new power generation technologies should prevent
emissions of carbon dioxide getting into the atmosphere. Enhanced measurement
methods and more efficient power distribution are also helping to ensure cleaner air.
B ack in the 19th century, towering factory
chimneys belching black smoke may have
been a popular motif for artists seeking to cap-
series, several such units can capture more
than 99 percent of the dust produced. Electro-
static filters have wires running along the
State-of-the-art filters are produced by
Wheelabrator, a Siemens company since Octo-
ber 2005. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
ture the dynamism of the industrial revolution. middle of steel channels. When a voltage of 40 Wheelabrator has over 90 years of experience
Today, however, smokestacks are indelibly to 100 kilovolts is applied between the wire in filtering exhaust emissions. It supplies systems
associated with a dirty age of pollution and and the wall of the channel, a plasma of elec- to power plants, paper mills, cement factories
increasingly stringent controls. In the process, trons and positively charged ions is generated. and other industrial facilities. Wheelabrator
governments have tended to allow the state of The former give the dust particles a negative also manufactures equipment for processing
technology to dictate what limits can be set. charge, which deflects them to the wall, to harmful substances other than dust, such as
A good example is dust. As a rule, today’s which they adhere. The filter is shaken from nitrogen oxides. These systems utilize a process
power plants are equipped not only with fabric time to time, causing the dust to fall below, called “selective catalytic reduction,” whereby
filters, but also with electrostatic filters the size where it is loaded into rail cars and removed for urea is used to convert nitrogen oxides into
of small apartment buildings. Connected in disposal. harmless nitrogen. In the 1990s, Siemens de-
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 91

Technology for the Environment | Power Generation
veloped the SINOx catalyst, which employs this
process to clean exhaust gases from district
heating plants and reduce nitrogen oxides
emitted by diesel trucks.
Yet future limits on dust emissions will be
too demanding for today’s filter technology.
That’s why Dr. Werner Hartmann of Siemens
Corporate Technology (CT) in Erlangen has
been working to refine the plasma process,
with the aim of capturing an additional 20 per-
cent of the minuscule amount of dust not
screened by today’s filters. Ultra-short pulses of
high voltage are superimposed on the direct
voltage every few milliseconds, which improves
filtering while also radically boosting efficiency.
“Energy consumption is cut by half,” says Hart-
mann in the wake of successful pilot tests at
steel mills and power plants. And that’s an im-
Using ultra-short, high voltage pulses, Siemens researchers led by Werner Hartmann can remove the last remaining particles of dust from exhaust gases.
portant factor because a large power plant’s filters
can consume as much as a megawatt of power.
The plasma also can capture other harmful
substances — a fact that did not go unnoticed
by Werner von Siemens exactly 150 years ago.
Back in 1857, the Siemens founder invented
the first device to use a high voltage to produce
ozone for the purification of drinking water. A
highly reactive molecule comprising three oxy-
gen atoms, ozone readily oxidizes harmful sub-
stances such as nitrogen monoxide, sulfur
dioxide and mercury to produce compounds
that can then be more easily separated out.
The new plasma processes from Siemens offer
a high level of efficiency at a lower cost than
previous methods. “The power plant sector is
very conservative; anything new is scrutinized
with a critical eye,” says Dr. Thomas Hammer of
CT, who is nonetheless confident that Siemens’
plasma technology will establish itself, not
least because future legislation will introduce
increasingly stringent emission controls.
92 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Environmental legislation calls for using
increasingly sophisticated measurement meth-
ods. Today, operators of power plants, waste-
incineration plants and other combustion-
based facilities must take exact readings and
keep a full record of them. For common pollu-
tants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides
and dust, measurements are taken as often as
once every 200 seconds. At waste-incineration
plants, substances such as mercury and dioxins
also need to be monitored for daily average
values or subjected to spot checks.
Cutting Costs. Siemens has developed a gas
analysis device that measures the amount of
infrared light absorbed by a power plant’s
exhaust gases and, on this basis, calculates
pollutant levels in the gases. The device can
measure up to three substances at once —
usually carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and/or
nitrogen oxides — plus oxygen as a reference
value. The principle behind the device was first
developed several decades ago, explains Dr.
Michael Markus, product manager for exhaust
gas measurement systems at Siemens Automa-
tion and Drives (A&D) in Karlsruhe. “The real
innovation story behind our device is its con-
stantly improving cost-performance ratio,” he
explains. For example, the Ultramat 23, which
enables A&D to hold about a quarter of today’s
industrial gas chromatography market, only costs
between 5,000 and 11,500 euros depending
on specifications.
A&D has also begun offering measurement
systems for waste-incineration plants. Along-
side a device for analyzing the infrared absorp-
tion of exhaust gas constituents, the product
line also includes systems for measuring hydro-
carbons and oxygen, as well as a device that
shines a laser through a chimney to measure
levels of moisture, hydrogen chloride and am-
monia. Markus says the use of separate devices
for different pollutants will soon predominate,
instead of all-in-one systems by rival manufac-
turers. “In addition to being less costly, it’s also
a safer investment in view of steadily tighten-
ing limits. And it won’t put plant operation at
risk if an individual device fails.”
Meanwhile, Siemens has broken new
ground in gas chromatography. Such devices
can separate gaseous mixtures within a matter
of minutes and measure their individual con-
stituents with high precision. Long used to
monitor and control processes in the chemicals
and petrochemicals industries, the use of gas
chromatography to measure emissions is just
getting started, as the devices are still very
expensive. The breakthrough here for Siemens
came with a legislative initiative in the U.S. call-
ing for measuring emissions produced by the
oil industry in Texas. As a result, 90 percent of
the 380 measuring points around Houston
were fitted with the company’s gas chromato-
graphs in 2006 (Pictures of the Future, Fall
2006, p. 37).
While much has been done to cut pollutants
in exhaust gases, a solution is still needed for
the problem of greenhouse gases such as car-
bon dioxide. In addition to measures for boost-
ing efficiency, saving energy and increasing the
use of renewable energy sources, there is a
pressing need for technologies that can dispose
of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel power plants.
However, the vision of a totally CO2-free
power plant is no longer a pipe dream. RWE,
for example, plans to build a 450-megawatt
power plant with zero CO2 emissions by 2014.
And the U.S. Department of Energy has sched-
uled construction of FutureGen, to be com-
pleted by around 2013. This 275-megawatt
Efficient power transmission. Light-triggered
thyristors (left) convert alternating current into
direct current. Underground gas-insulated lines
(right) are well suited for use in urban areas.
plant will not only produce electricity and hy-
drogen but also sequester its CO2 emissions
underground. A number of European countries
are also working on concepts to store CO2 in
depleted salt domes or to pump it into oil and
gas fields, including those under the North
Sea. This would also increase pressure and thus
improve yields.
But before CO2 can be sequestered, it must
be separated from exhaust gas. An efficient
means is the “oxyfuel” process, where coal or
natural gas is burned using pure oxygen (Pic-
tures of the Future, Spring 2004, p. 49). This
prevents large amounts of nitrogen, which
makes up three quarters of the atmosphere’s
volume, from being needlessly added to the
process and then forming nitrogen oxides dur-
ing combustion. With the oxyfuel method, the
exhaust gas is largely carbon dioxide and
steam. When the latter is condensed by cool-
ing, the CO2 is left behind and can be pumped
underground. Today, such oxyfuel power
plants exist only on paper or in labs, but two
30-megawatt pilot facilities are set to begin op-
eration in 2008, one in France and one in the
German state of Brandenburg.
Burning Everything. Integrated Gasification
Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants are already in op-
eration. Here, a fuel such as coal is converted,
with the addition of oxygen, into synthesis gas
— mainly carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This
gas is purified, processed and burnt in a gas
turbine to generate electricity. The hot exhaust
gas is used to generate steam. This drives a
steam turbine, which also produces power.
In an IGCC plant, CO2 can be separated
during the synthesis gas preparation stage.
However, separation compression and storage
of the gas reduces the efficiency by about 12
percentage points. The large, CO2-free power service life, and is easy to start up and control.
plant to be built by RWE will operate using this The syngas produced by gasification with oxy-
process. As true omnivores, IGCC plants can be gen and steam can be used either in IGCC
fed biomass or wastes from the chemical plants or in facilities for producing synthetic
industry such as asphalt and even car tires. fuels or chemicals formerly derived from crude
They also use refinery residues as fuel to gen- oil. In January 2007, Siemens won a major order
erate both power and heat or hydrogen for from China to supply two 500-megawatt en-
chemical processes. trained-flow gasifiers capable of producing
That Siemens has high hopes for the IGCC 830,000 tons of dimethyl ether a year.
process was clear in May 2006, when the com- At Siemens Power Generation, Dr. Georg
pany acquired the coal gasification and syngas Rosenbauer is responsible for business devel-
business of the Swiss-based Sustec Group. The opment relevant to climate change. Rosen-
Siemens fuel gasifier, which can burn not only bauer has studied the technical and economic
coal but also biomass, petroleum coke and re- feasibility of various CO2 separation processes.
finery residues, offers high efficiency and long He says it should be possible to push CO2 avoid-
Trading Emissions & Cutting Costs
On January 1, 2005, the EU launched its emissions trading plan (Pictures of the Future, Spring
2004, p. 47). Since then, installations with high CO2 emissions, such as power plants, steel mills and
mineral processing facilities, may only produce as much CO2 as is allocated in their certificates. If their
emissions are higher, they must purchase additional certificates. Conversely, any plant that cuts CO2
emissions below its allowance can sell its remaining credits. Once a year, about 1,850 companies in
Germany must report their CO2 emissions to the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the
Federal Environment Agency. This is done via the Internet, with a document management system de-
veloped by Siemens IT Solutions and Services together with partners. In a multistage process, the
emissions data from the plant operator is first collected online and then checked by an expert asses-
sor. The report is then sent, complete with an electronic signature, to state authorities. After further
checks, the latter forward the report, via a virtual mail room, to the DEHSt.
Whereas the report itself is obligatory, operators are at liberty to decide how best to manage and doc-
ument their emissions. One option is Simeos, an emissions management software package from
Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services in Aachen. Simeos combines data from measuring points,
energy data management systems, financial accounting, and other company processes into a CO2 ac-
count that helps to forecast and optimize emissions trading. The software also clearly classifies the
flow of energy and materials according to specific products and different forms of energy, providing
rapid and easy identification of potential savings in energy costs.
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 93

Technology for the Environment | Energy from Waste
ance costs below 30 euros per ton by using the
IGCC process with CO2 separation before com-
bustion. Similar figures are available for alter-
native methods, although these are uncertain
from today’s perspective. While this is still far
from the current price of around 16 euros per
ton of CO2 in the emissions trading plan, the
advent of stricter emissions targets, and thus
higher avoidance costs, should drive the CO2
price back above 30 euros in the long term,
making it economically viable to separate and
store carbon dioxide. “Until then, other incen-
tives will be needed to make this technology
marketable,” says Rosenbauer.
Second Wind for DC. The power grid also has
a key role to play in cutting emissions. To mini-
mize energy loss, high-voltage transmission
lines for alternating current shouldn’t be longer
than a few hundred kilometers. That might be
feasible in Germany, but not in a vast country
like China. To connect the huge hydroelectric
plants in the interior with cities on the coast,
high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmis-
sion is a better option (Pictures of the Future,
Spring 2006, p. 20).
To date, Siemens has built four large HVDC
transmission links in China, each carrying up to
2,000–3,000 megawatts with a minimal loss of
power. The technology could also be interest-
ing for Germany. “HVDC transmission links
make sense for offshore wind farms more than
50 kilometers off the coast,” says Dr. Hartmut
Huang, Director of HVDC and FACTS Technolo-
gies at Siemens Power Transmission and Distri-
bution in Erlangen.
FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Trans-
mission Systems) have converter valves that
optimize current-flow stability. This means that
high-voltage overhead lines with a nominal rat-
ing of 400 kilovolts can be operated close to
the maximum permitted limit of 420 kilovolts,
which cuts transmission losses. Gas insulated
lines (GILs) can handle even higher voltages.
Made of aluminum and copper enclosed in a
rigid metal sheath containing an insulating
mixture of nitrogen and sulfur hexafluoride
(SF6), GILs are suitable for carrying DC and AC
transmitted at up to 550 kilovolts. They can be
laid overhead or underground, making them
ideal for urban use.
Back in 2002 Siemens built a 550-kilovolt
GIL in Bangkok, followed by a 220-kilovolt line
in Cairo in 2004. Another advantage of GILs is
that the metal sheath shields almost all the
electromagnetic radiation emanating from the
lines, so they can be used in densely populated
metropolitan areas. “With gas-insulated lines,”
Huang explains, “you don’t have any electro-
smog.” ■ Bernd Müller
94 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
Treasures in
the Trash
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but
when it comes to garbage, you can do a lot better
than just burying it. Siemens is involved in developing
three pioneering facilities that turn trash into fuel.
R ipped plastic bags, videocassettes, an old
yucca palm, and mountains of less identifi-
able objects can be found among the rancid-
smelling trash in the olympic swimming pool-
sized delivery bay at the ALBA waste processing
plant in Berlin.
But the potential value of the garbage is a
much more pleasant story. “There’s a huge
amount of energy in this garbage,” says engi-
neer Michael Blöcher, technical director of the
ALBA facility. Indeed, everything here that can
be burned can also be converted into useful
energy, including plastic, cellulose from paper,
garden and kitchen waste, and textiles —
which altogether account for more than half of
the 640 tons of garbage delivered to the facility
every day.
What’s more, even the non-combustible
substances have value. These are separated
from other materials using a sophisticated sort-
ing machine, after which they are sold to
cement and coal power plants either as “fluff”
(loose material) or as compressed cigar-shaped
pellets. In all, the facility processes about
160,000 tons of residential and commercial
waste per year in this manner, with more than
60 percent of this volume converted into
replacement fuels whose calorific value is
enough to cover the energy needs of tens of
thousands of households. The process also
spares taxpayers the expense of managing
landfills, with their high associated fees.
Control systems from Siemens ensure the
smooth operation of the ALBA facility, which is
the most modern in Europe. “The systems in-
clude customized software as well as various
types of measurement devices,” says Jürgen
Knöfel from Siemens Industrial Solutions and
Services (I&S) in Berlin. Knöfel helped launch
the partnership between ALBA and Siemens
three years ago, and is therefore well aware of
the challenges involved in coordinating the op-
eration of such a huge facility. For example, as
it moves through the plant, waste has to travel
along 1.5 kilometers of conveyor belts and pass
through 25 machines before being transformed
into concentrated fuel. It’s dried out in giant
barrels using hot air, then ground into small
pea-shaped particles, shaken through screens,
winnowed with blasts of air, conveyed past
magnets and exposed to infrared light and X-
rays. Non-combustible metals, sand, earth and
glass are sorted out during this process, after
which they can be recycled for further use. Any
problems that occur during processing are im-
mediately displayed on monitors in the facility’s
control center. Disruptions can take the form of
videotape that gets stuck in the conveyor belt’s
wheels, or overloaded motors in the processing
system. In such cases, the system is shut down
until the problem has been solved.
Paper Recycling with a Third Less Energy.
Mayr-Meinhof Karton, one of the world’s lead-
ing suppliers of recycled cardboard, has been
converting used paper into high-quality card-
board for decades. For the past two years, how-
ever, the company has been utilizing waste pa-
per to generate electricity and heat at a factory
it operates in Hirschwang, Austria. Using a
Siemens technology called SIPAPER Reject
Power, the plant has slashed its energy and
waste disposal costs. “The waste processing
system has reduced primary energy consump-
tion by around one-third,” says Dr. Hermann
Schwarz from Siemens I&S in Erlangen, which,
as the general contractor, was responsible for
planning the facility and putting the compo-
nents together for a turnkey system. Siemens
also supplied all of the plant’s automation and
control equipment.
In order to ensure optimal combustion, the
calorific value of the waste used in the
Hirschwang plant’s energy generation system
has to be kept nearly constant. But the compo-
sition of the waste makes this a challenging
task, as the garbage consists of everything
from high-quality blank paper to colorful
brochures containing filler materials. Foils,
paper clips and sand can also be found in the
mixture. This so-called coarse reject — along
with low-grade fibers and paints — is sepa-
rated by machines from the recyclable paper
and processed into a fuel mixture along with
the facility’s sludge. The trick here is to regulate
the dosage of the individual components in
order to achieve the desired calorific value.
The resulting mixture is then fed into a fur-
nace by a chopper wheel. “The materials simply
dry out in the air above the fire bed,” Schwarz
explains. Eventually, the waste ignites and the
energy released heats up pipes containing steam
that is used to drive a turbine. A generator con-
verts the rotation into electricity. Later on down-
stream, the steam (which is now under much
less pressure) is channeled into the heating unit
for the production hall, where it is used to dry
out webs of new cardboard. In addition, a flue
gas cleaning system lowers emissions to a level
that is well under the legal maximum. “The
Hirschwang power plant is the largest facility of
its kind anywhere,” says Schwarz. Another re-
ject power facility for woodchip screen residue
is currently being built in Böblingen, Germany.
Austria is also home to a third example of
environmentally friendly power generation
from waste — a cogeneration unit in the town
of Dornbirn-Stöcken that is the product of a
partnership between I&S and environmental
services company Wirkungsgrad Energieservice
GmbH. The facility converts frying fat and
cooking oils into electricity and heat, thus elim-
inating reliance on fossil fuels.
Siemens’ I&S office in Vienna served as the
general contractor for the construction of the
Dornbirn-Stöcken facility as well as two similar
plants in the region, which are the first of their
kind in Europe.
Throwing Fat in the Fire. “We delivered the
complete power supply system and the auto-
mation technology for everything from the
power plant itself to the control system and
associated services,” says Harald Loos from
Siemens. Siemens software controls the pro-
cessing of oils and fats obtained from residen-
tial and restaurant wastes. Free fatty acids rep-
resent the biggest problem here, according to
Loos. These acids arise through long periods of
contact with moisture — and high concentra-
tions of such fatty acids quickly corrode steel
piping and other steel components in the facil-
Paper smorgasbord. Calorific value is set by adjusting the mixture of different types of paper waste.
Turning garbage into energy at ALBA in Berlin. The
facility processes 160,000 tons of residential and
commercial waste per year, 60 percent of which is
converted into pellets for generating energy.
ity’s motors. “But thanks to a process developed
by our project partner Wirkungsgrad Energie-
service, we’ve been able to hold down the con-
tent of the aggressive components to around
five percent of the total,” says Loos.
The processed waste fat is used to feed the
heart of the cogeneration plant, which consists
of three giant eight-cylinder heavy-oil engines
connected to three generators that together
produce four-and-a-half megawatts of power.
The electrical energy produced — and the heat
emitted by the engines — can cover the needs
of thousands of households. A planned residen-
tial complex and neighboring industrial facilities
will benefit from this power and heat genera-
tion in the future.
Those organic cogeneration power plants
have performed so well that similar facilities
will soon be built in other countries, and
Siemens and Wirkungsgrad Energieservice are
already working on the plans. It’s clear to all
involved that such plans definitely won’t end
up as recyclable garbage — after all, the age of
energy from waste has only just begun.
■ Andrea Hoferichter
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 95

Technology for the Environment | Fuel Cell Power Plants
C orrugated cardboard has many outstand-
ing properties. It protects fragile materials,
and it’s light and inexpensive. But that it would
one day symbolize a revolution in power gener-
ation is something Albert Jones never could
have dreamed of back in 1871, when he regis-
tered for a U.S. patent for two layers of paper
with a serpentine cardboard layer in between.
Still, the device on the desk of Horst Greiner, a
fuel cell expert at Siemens Corporate Technol-
ogy in Erlangen, looks exactly like Jones’ inven-
tion, only bigger and not as pliable. Of course,
Greiner’s ceramic version isn’t intended for
Hybrid Future
Fuel cell power plants are on the way. Prototype in-
stallations have proved their reliability, and Siemens
now plans to build a megawatt-class hybrid plant by
2012 that will achieve 70-percent efficiency. Costs are
expected to be dramatically reduced by that time.
packaging; instead, it will be used for combin-
ing hydrogen and air to generate electricity.
Rather than being burned, as in the case of
a welding torch, for example, the gases used in
fuel cells are converted into water by means of
an electrochemical reaction that releases elec-
trons, thereby generating electricity. It’s similar
to what occurs in a car battery, but the process
utilizes ceramic materials and takes place at tem-
peratures of up to 950 degrees Celsius (Pictures
of the Future, Spring 2002, p. 50). “In combina-
tion with a gas turbine, a fuel cell can achieve
an efficiency of up to 70 percent,” says Greiner.
By way of comparison, the best combined gas
and steam-turbine plants feature an efficiency
of 58 percent (p. 88). In the future, fuel cell
plants producing several megawatts could sup-
ply electricity in distributed systems to individ-
ual users and small cities with populations of
approximately 10,000 residents.
Macaroni or Corrugated Cardboard? Much
development work still needs to be done before
this becomes reality. To date, the ceramic stack
with the corrugated cardboard design has only
been operated in a lab, and it probably won’t be
ready for use in Siemens power plants before
96 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
2012. At the moment, ceramic fuel cell parts
look like giant gray pieces of macaroni. Greiner
places several of these tubes next to and on top
of one another and explains why this is not an
optimal shape. “There’s too much empty space
in between,” he says. Pressing the tubes flat
ensures better use of available space, while in-
serting transverse connections to create a delta
shape and setting up several layers inevitably
results in a construction similar to corrugated
cardboard. This shape offers optimal spatial
utilization and maximum space for hydrogen-
air exchange. This “delta design” results in more
than double the output of a cylinder-shaped
cell — and also requires less space. Depending
on stack design, power densities up to 600 milli-
watts per cubic centimeter can be achieved.
The ceramic tubes have also proved that
they can reliably produce electricity. One 100-
kilowatt plant currently located in Turin, Italy,
has already been operating for 32,000 hours.
Other plants have been generating power in
the Netherlands for two years, and in Essen,
Germany, for six months. “We’ve achieved 99.5
percent availability with our facility,” reports Dr.
Joachim Hoffmann, director of the Stationary
Fuel Cell Program at Siemens Power Genera-
tion in Nuremberg. That’s not bad for a tech-
nology which everybody attests high efficiency
but not the highest reliability.
The reliability issue is indeed a serious one,
according to Hoffmann, who says many com-
petitors failed with their fuel cells because the
units functioned in the lab but not under tough
everyday conditions. Some companies have
given up — but not Siemens. As early as 40
years ago, fuel cell experts at Westinghouse in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (acquired by Siemens
in 1997) were studying materials suitable for
fuel cells, eventually building the very first solid
oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in the late 1970s. “Fuel
cell production technology expertise is not
easy to come by,” says Hoffmann. Other SOFC
manufacturers build planar fuel cells with
metal interconnects, but all these competitors
are now having problems with aging after ex-
tended operation. For all of its cells, Siemens
uses pure ceramic materials produced at tem-
peratures above 1,500 degrees Celsius. And re-
gardless of whether they’re later operated at
900 or 1,000 degrees, they are not subject to
the dramatic losses of other fuel cell designs.
The Siemens cells lose only 0.1 percent of
their output per 1,000 operating hours and
their efficiency of more than 43 percent remains
stable across a broad range of temperatures
and loads. “We estimate a lifespan of at least
20 years for the delta cells,” says Thomas
Flower, head of fuel cell activities in Pittsburgh.
Flower is convinced that the Siemens concept
can be brought to market more quickly than
others, even if different fuel cell designs will
exist simultaneously for use with different
applications in the future.
Things haven’t always gone so smoothly for
Siemens/Westinghouse. For example, plans
originally called for a fuel cell to be coupled
Erlangen researcher Dr. Friederike Lange studies
the corrugated design to be used in a fuel cell
power plant (right) that will generate environ-
mentally friendly electricity.
with a gas turbine ten years ago. The idea was
to burn the residual hydrogen fuel in the ex-
haust gas to generate electricity in the turbine.
The turbine was also supposed to supply com-
pressed air, warm it with its waste heat, and
force it into the cells under high pressure. “That
would have generated practically no heat, but
plenty of electricity,” says Greiner. Nothing
came of it, however, and in 2002, Siemens and
the EnBW energy company decided to shelve
the joint project for the time being. “We wanted
to build a nearly market-ready demonstration
plant, but that wasn’t possible at the time,” says
Dr. Wolfram Münch, head of Research, Develop-
ment and Demonstrations at EnBW in Karls-
ruhe, Germany.
Pilot Plant. The biggest problem was the gas
turbine. In the low-output category of 200–300
kilowatts, there was no suitable model on the
market at the time, and developing a new tur-
bine would have cost about 15 million euros. So
it was a stroke of luck two years ago when the
German Aerospace Center (DLR) — in coopera-
tion with the Institute for Aviation Drive Systems
at the University of Stuttgart — offered to
enhance the control system for coupling gas
Fuel channels
Electrode Air channels Electrode
turbines with fuel cells on the basis of a 100-kilo-
watt micro gas turbine from an Italian manufac-
turer. The only condition was that a fuel cell
manufacturer and a power supply company par-
ticipate in the project.
“We contacted Siemens again and quickly
agreed that we should join forces,” Münch re-
calls. EnBW plans to use the efficient power
plant especially to help industrial companies and
local utilities generate electricity for their own
needs, with EnBW operating the plants and act-
ing as an energy services provider.
Municipalities will be able to use
fuels cells to generate their own electricity.
The new schedule is tight. DLR plans to con-
duct a simulation in 2008 to determine if the
fuel cells and gas turbine work well in tandem
before linking the components in 2009. The sys-
tem will then be optimized, and EnBW will put a
demonstration plant into operation in its net-
work in 2012. That plant will produce two to
four megawatts of electricity, with the fuel cell
accounting for about 75 percent of that total. It’s
still too soon to say if the 70-percent electrical
efficiency target will be realized with the combi-
nation, but ceramic cells with the corrugated
design will be used for the project.
Power for Pittsburgh’s Botanic Gardens.
Experience has shown that trying to achieve
too many fuel cell advances simultaneously is a
flawed approach. That’s why Siemens also
plans to build smaller fuel cell plants without
gas turbines to gain additional operational ex-
perience. Three such plants, each with an out-
put of 125 kilowatts, will go on line in 2007.
One has already been built in Hanover, through
a partnership with local utility and the energy
supplier E.ON; the other two will be used in
Tokyo and Fairbanks, Alaska. At the Siemens
subsidiary TurboCare in Turin, Italy, a next-
generation power plant will be built in 2008.
There, the material to be used will be more
conductive. It will generate 150 kilowatts of
power at over 47-percent efficiency and be just
as compact as the other units. In parallel, se-
lected customers will be using small units pro-
ducing five kilowatts each. Two supply electricity
to Deutsche Telekom buildings in Steinfurt and
Bonn; three are in operation in the U.S., including
one at the Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens, where a
unit is supplying power for regulating the tem-
perature in the Tropical Rain Forest House.
Also on the agenda are alternative fuel cells
that use biogas and sewage gas, free byprod-
ucts from water treatment facilities. Hybrid fuel
cell power plants can be operated with a variety
of fuels. A current project in the U.S., for exam-
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 97
 Scheduled to go on line in 2012, this hybrid power
Technology for the Environment | Fuel Cell Power Plants
plant (left) achieves an electrical efficiency of around
70 percent, thanks to combustion of residual hydro-
gen in a gas turbine, as well as other improvements.
High-speed hybrid. This Mercedes sports coupé test
| Transportation
car offers fuel savings of more than 25 percent
without sacrificing driving performance. The vehicle
goes from zero to 100 km/h in under seven seconds.

Natural gas Fuel cell

605 °C
Combustion
950 °C chamber
Exhaust air, residual gas
Compressor
Gas turbine
Heat exchanger
Air intake

275 °C 645 °C

Gen-
Approx. erator
3 MW 220 °C
power

Grid Exhaust gas

Earth, Fire, Wind and Water

Siemens has a long tradition of developing sources of power for the future.
ple, involves a hybrid plant that will run on coal
gas, whereby the carbon dioxide will be
separated from the coal before it is burned.
Siemens engineers say this CO2 separation will
lead to only a five-percent loss in efficiency; the
Back in 1978, the company supplied the generators for the world’s biggest same process in a conventional coal-fired plant
hydroelectric power plant, in Itaipú (between Brazil and Paraguay). Today, would decrease efficiency by around ten percent.
Siemens is a leader in many types of renewable energy systems. In the field of
wind power, the first turbine in 1979 had an output of 22 kilowatts; today the Financial Hurdles. ”If a hybrid plant is eco-
biggest Siemens turbines produce 3.6 megawatts (MW) of power and have nomical and functions reliably from a technical
efficiency ratings of up to 45 percent. About 6,300 Siemens wind power units standpoint, then its technology has a good
with a total output of 5,500 MW are currently in operation worldwide. In the chance of making it to market,” says Münch.
U.S. alone, the Power Generation (PG) Group has received orders to date for Customers are interested in distributed systems
wind power projects with a total output of 1,400 MW, including 70 turbines with a high electricity output and low emis-
generating 161 MW of power in Texas and several wind farms with a total out-
put of 600 MW in Florida. The situation is similar in the UK, where Siemens will
install 140 wind turbines near Glasgow by 2009. The turbines will produce 322 MW of power for up
sions, but the decisive factor is cost.
The fuel cell sector is getting a big boost
from the Fuel Cell Initiative, which includes all
to 200,000 households. Siemens is also the world market leader for offshore wind farms. PG’s current major German energy suppliers and fuel cell
110-MW Lillgrund project in the Öresund strait will soon be Sweden’s biggest offshore wind farm. manufacturers, as well as the German Energy
Meanwhile, the oceans themselves are slated to play an increasingly crucial role in the renewable Agency. Long-term funding has also been pro-
energy sector. The Voith Siemens Hydro joint venture, for example, not only develops powerful tur- vided by the German Ministry of Economics
bines and generators for hydroelectric plants, but also plans to harness the power of ocean waves. The and the EU. Siemens has invested 30 million
world’s first test facility in this field is already supplying power to 200 households in Scotland (p. 76). euros of its own funds and external funding in
Still in its infancy in Germany, geothermal power generation taps into the nearly inexhaustible re- fuel cell research in Erlangen. This sum doesn’t
serves of heat from the earth. Here, hot water from rock formations several kilometers underground include Siemens’ activities in Pittsburgh sup-
is pumped into a vaporizer, where a special device converts it into steam that is used to drive a turbine ported by the U.S. Department of Energy.
and a generator, producing electricity free of CO2 (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2004, p. 53, and If preliminary work is successful, hybrid fuel
Spring 2006, p. 16). Siemens is now building the world’s most modern power plant of this type near cell technology could be on the market ten
Munich. The facility will have an output of 3.4 MW, and in the summer of 2007 it will begin providing years earlier than expected. Competitors in this
up to 6,000 households with electricity and 20,000 households with heat. field have erred in the past by launching very
Biomass power plants are CO2-neutral. They burn organic products like wood and waste, and release costly systems before they were ready. Indeed,
only the amount of CO2 that plants absorbed while growing. A particularly impressive high-perform- today a fuel cell plant from Siemens would also
ance biomass heating plant in Vienna produces 24 MW of electrical energy for 50,000 households be too expensive now; the manufacturing
and 37 MW of district heat for 12,000 households. Siemens’ portfolio of renewable energy sources processes, such as those for cell production,
also, of course, includes solar power. The company stopped developing solar cells in 2001 when it sold still aren’t cost-optimized. And there’s still lots
Siemens Solar to Shell, but it does supply solar technology. For instance, it is providing steam turbines of precision work to be done, which continues
for Nevada Solar One, a solar-thermal plant whose collectors cover an area of one square kilometer. to drive up costs, says Hoffmann. Nevertheless,
The collectors focus sunlight and reflect the concentrated energy onto steel pipes filled with heat- automated production should bring costs
transfer oil, which is then used to heat water in a heat exchanger. The resulting steam drives a 64-MW down to a reasonable level by 2012. Hoffmann
Siemens turbine. When it goes on line this summer, the facility will supply about 40,000 households is optimistic. “The general trend toward consis-
with electricity. ■ Sebastian Webel tently rising energy prices plays right into our
hands,” he says. ■ Bernd Müller
Lowering Emissions
Automakers and governments want to get pollutants off the road. Solutions
from Siemens are helping by making combustion engines cleaner and improving
hybrid cars — the forerunners of fully electric vehicles. Siemens engineers are
also developing technologies to make trains and ships run cleaner.
A ir quality is extremely important — but it’s
being endangered by gases like carbon
monoxide and nitrogen oxides, which can
admixture of biofuels should bring a further
10 g / km reduction. A similar reduction around
20 percent is being targeted by countries such
high output is made possible by adding a trac-
tion network that operates with 380 volts of
electricity to the 14-volt onboard network.
cause respiratory problems such as asthma and as the U.S. The final result of the process could The developers were quite successful. Mea-
bronchitis. Some 60 percent of these harmful be zero-emission vehicles, a goal companies surements show that this full hybrid concept
gases are produced by motor vehicles — rea- like Siemens are already working on. reduces fuel consumption by more than 25
son enough for European legislators to take percent as compared to a conventional drive
action by further toughening the Euro 4 emis- From Hybrids to Electrics. Siemens VDO (SV) system, and also produces correspondingly
sion standard. In September 2009 the Euro 5 recently presented a forward-looking project in lower emissions. The high demand for hybrids
standard will go into effect for new cars, requir- the form of a demonstration vehicle with a hy- in the U.S. and Japan demonstrates that such
ing automakers to lower emissions of hydro- brid drive system. Experts from VDO in Regens- vehicles have a bright future. Around 90 per-
carbons and nitrogen oxides from the current burg combined the combustion engine in a Mer- cent of all full hybrid vehicles are sold in those
level of 300 milligrams per kilometer driven to cedes C 230 K sports coupé with an electric drive markets, which is one of the reasons why SV
230 mg/km. This will be followed in 2014 by unit (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2006, acquired the Electric Drives division of Ballard
Euro 6, which will require a further 27 percent p. 41). The engine and the electric motor, which Power Systems in Dearborn, Michigan, at the
reduction in emissions, to 170 mg/km. have roughly the same output, are operated via end of 2006. Siemens plans to transform the
Motor vehicles also play a key role in emis- an integrated powertrain management system division into a development center for power
sions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. that either links them or runs them separately, electronics, motor design and electric drive sys-
One-fifth of all CO2 emissions come from motor depending on the driving situation. Switch- tems for hybrid and fuel cell vehicles.
vehicles, whose number worldwide could in- overs between the two are hardly noticeable. However, hybrids are viewed as only an in-
crease to more than two billion by 2030. The Equipped with a lithium-ion battery, the terim solution on the road to the drive system
EU Commission has therefore decided to limit electric motor has an output of some 75 kilo- of the future, as Dr. Klaus Egger, member of
the CO2 emissions of new vehicles sold in watts, which accelerates the vehicle from zero the SV Managing Board, explains: “We believe
Europe to 120 grams per kilometer by 2012 to 100 km/h in just under seven seconds. the electric motor is the long-term drive-system
(about 25 percent lower than current levels). Developers had to make extensive adjustments solution that will meet the most stringent emis-
By improving automobile technology, auto- to the engine and transmission management sion limits.” The Siemens hub motor concept
makers are supposed to achieve 130 grams of systems to combine the two drives via an elec- would actually have four electric motors pow-
CO2 per kilometer. Other measures such as the tronically controlled clutch. The electric motor’s ering the cars of the future — one inside each

98 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 99

Technology for the Environment | Environmentally Friendly Transportation
wheel. This system converts up to 96 percent
of generated electrical energy into power to pro-
pel the vehicle, which makes it very efficient.
By comparison, full hybrids will use around 85
percent of available energy under optimal con-
ditions, while combustion engines like gasoline
and diesel engines convert at most only around
50 percent of the energy in their fuels.
In summer 2006, SV engineers launched a
development they named the eCorner Module.
This new drive system concept, which uses elec-
trical and electronic systems exclusively, inte-
grates not only the electric motor directly inside
the wheels but also the steering, damping and
braking systems. This frees up space beneath
Thanks to several fuel injections per power stroke, Piezo technology lowers fuel consumption by up to 20%.
100 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
the hood and eliminates the need for many at-
tached parts in the steering column, brakes and
transmission. It thus opens up nearly limitless
possibilities for automotive design. The first step
on the path to the hub motor will be the elec-
tronic wedge brake that is expected to go into
mass production at the end of 2010 (see Pictures
of the Future, Fall 2005, p. 41). Pure drive-by-
wire vehicles, in which mechanical parts are
replaced by electronic systems, won’t be ready
for mass production until 2022 at the earliest.
Achieving Optimal Fuel Combustion. In the
near future, automotive experts will also further
optimize conventional combustion engines in
Drive system of the future. The eCorner Module
(above) puts an electric motor inside every wheel.
terms of output, fuel economy and emissions.
The goal is to achieve optimal fuel combustion
through electronically controlled injection sys-
tems. High-speed piezo technology invented by
Siemens enables injection valves to inject fuel
into the engine cylinder in up to four differently
sized portions within just one power stroke
(see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2005, p. 102).
SV launched mass production of piezo direct
injection systems for diesel engines in 2000,
and for gasoline engines in 2006. Very fine fuel
atomization and multiple injections now make
the combustion of air-fuel mixtures more effi-
cient than ever before. Gasoline engines with
piezo systems consume up to 20 percent less
fuel than those with intake manifold injection.
To improve energy management, researchers
at Siemens Corporate Technology are develop-
ing learning systems capable of further reduc-
ing fuel consumption.
These measures will also reduce nitrogen
oxide and carbon particulate emissions from
the engine, which in turn will reduce the bur-
den on downstream exhaust gas treatment
systems. “We’ll still need catalytic converters
and filters in the future, though,” says Wolfgang
Maus, managing director of filter manufacturer
Emitec, a joint venture of Siemens and British
automotive supplier GKN. That’s because of the
nanometer-sized particulates in the exhaust,
which are a health hazard. These diesel particu-
lates can be removed with a filter from Emitec,
which is installed behind a conventional oxida-
tion catalytic converter and works as follows:
The exhaust gas stream is sent through a metal
fleece, where the nitrogen dioxide in the gas re-
leases an oxygen atom that converts the carbon
in the particulates into carbon monoxide. This
Whether in cars, trains or ships — new technologies
will significantly reduce emissions in the future.
then burns together with additional oxygen to
form carbon dioxide. In this manner the filter
eliminates around 80 percent of the particu-
lates measuring less than 100 nanometers in
diameter.
WLAN on the highway. Emissions from mo-
tor vehicles can also be lowered by preventing
situations like traffic jams, which needlessly re-
lease exhaust gases into the atmosphere. “We
can’t do much about traffic density, but we can
prevent traffic from coming to a stop due to
jams and accidents,” says Dr. Abdelkarim Bel-
houla, a developer at SV in Wetzlar. For exam-
ple, vehicles that warn each other in a timely
manner about ice, rain and traffic congestion
could help prevent rear-end collisions and jams.
Automakers and suppliers therefore estab-
lished a Car-to-Car Communication Consortium
in 2004 to define standards for communication
between vehicles.
Cars today are already equipped with sen-
sors (e.g. in ABS and ESP systems) that register
when the vehicle skids or brakes abruptly. In
the future, sensors could send this information
to vehicles behind them, enabling drivers to
react in time. Such a communication system
could be implemented via a spontaneously
generated radio network using broadband
WLAN technology (see also page 38). “We want
to make such ad hoc networks more stable and
secure,” says Dr. Christian Schwingenschlögl
from Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich.
Because these WLAN networks have a trans-
mission range of only 200 to 300 meters, the
cars within range must process the data they
receive within seconds. “That’s why we’re also
optimizing the software so as to accelerate the
establishment of the connection and the vehicle
systems’ reaction time,” he adds. The WLAN
standard is expected to be ready for use in 2008.
Siemens developers don’t only want to
make road traffic more environmentally
friendly; they also believe there’s potential to
reduce energy consumption in rail systems. To
this end, Walter Struckl from Siemens Trans-
portation Systems in Vienna worked together
with three colleagues to reduce energy con-
sumption by approximately 30 percent on a
new subway train in Oslo, Norway. For this
achievement, they received the Siemens Envi-
ronmental Award (see p. 102). The new train
reintroduces back into the power grid the en-
ergy generated by braking when it enters sub-
way stations. The rail car bodies are made of
lightweight aluminum. Moreover, when the
train is taken out of service, only some five per-
Recycling energy. A new subway train in Oslo (left)
reintroduces braking energy into the power grid. Ex-
haust gases from the Gudrun Maersk (right)
generate up to seven megawatts of electricity.
cent of its material has to be disposed of, while
the remainder can be recycled.
Black Sheep on the High Seas. Maritime
shipping is a black sheep when it comes to air
pollution. According to the World Health Orga-
nization, emissions of pollutants such as sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides generated by ship-
ping will exceed those from all other sources in
the transport sector by 2020 if no countermea-
sures are taken. Maritime shipping is already
the largest single source of sulfur dioxide emis-
sions in Europe, according to the European
Commission. For this reason, the EU estab-
lished limits in 2005 in order to reduce sulfur
dioxide emissions in the North Sea, Baltic Sea
and English Channel by over 500,000 tons per
year. Emission levels remain high nevertheless.
For example, the new sulfur limit for ship diesel
is 15,000 ppm (parts per million), while the
new limit for motor vehicle gasoline that went
into effect in 2007 is only 10 ppm.
Kay Tigges, a marine specialist at Siemens
Industrial Solutions and Services in Hamburg,
believes that energy conservation is the best
way to reuse ship emissions. To this end, I&S
has developed a system in which the gas emis-
sions from ships previously released through
smokestacks are used to create steam that
drives a turbine. The resulting electrical output
of up to seven megawatts is used for onboard
electronic systems. This waste heat recovery
system was first installed in the Danish con-
tainer ship Gudrun Maersk in 2005. It has
proved to be effective. The conventional diesel-
operated onboard generators are now used
less often, thus reducing fuel consumption by
up to 12 percent and lowering carbon and sul-
fur dioxide emissions as well. Last but not least,
like all energy-saving systems, the waste heat
recovery system ultimately also saves money,
which encourages companies to invest in the
new equipment and products. ■ Rolf Sterbak
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 101
Technology for the Environment | Product Development
Going Greener
Environmental protection pays off — especially
when life cycle costs and economic effects are taken
into consideration from the start. The products that
result are a boon to nature and help ensure business
success — as demonstrated by examples from
Siemens’ Eco Excellence Program.
E nvironmentally friendly products usually
aren’t readily identifiable as such. Their true
value is found on the inside, and less is some-
times more. Take the new Somatom Definition
computer tomograph, which contains 80 per-
cent less lead than a comparable conventional
instrument. Today, environmentally friendly
products are also more likely to be successful
than other products, making them a sure bet
for the future in more ways than one. So it’s no
surprise that product planning and manufac-
turing trends are clearly moving in a greener
direction — and that applies to everything
from industrial machinery to motors and cars,
and from medical equipment and household
appliances to communication devices.
Siemens plans to achieve long-term profitable
growth with environmentally friendly products.
“To ensure that we effectively pursue this ob-
jective, we’ve created a standard for the devel-
opment of environmentally friendly products
that is binding for all business areas and
Groups,” reports Dr. Ferdinand Quella, who is
responsible for product-related environmental
protection at Siemens. Siemens’ SN 36350
guidelines cover all environmental factors, in-
cluding energy efficiency, emission reduction
to improve water and air purity, avoidance of
hazardous materials and resource conservation
through the use of new materials and produc-
tion processes. The guidelines take a holistic
view of a product’s life cycle, considering every-
thing from planning to disposal. This is consid-
ered to be the best way to ensure maximum
economic and environmental utility.
The standards in the guidelines apply to
every product developed by Siemens. And if a
102 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
product proves to be particularly environmen-
tally friendly, it can receive an Eco Excellence
Product award — after being subjected to a
thorough test procedure currently being devel-
oped at Siemens. If the product in question is
found to significantly exceed the SN 36350
guideline requirements and displays clear supe-
riority over the best comparable products avail-
able on the market, it will be honored with the
Eco Excellence distinction in recognition of its
high level of sustainability.
Every three years, Siemens also presents its
internal Environmental Award to employees and
teams that develop particularly environmentally
friendly products, solutions and processes. In
2006, a panel consisting of Siemens experts and
external scientists presented such awards for
the Somatom Definition computer tomograph,
a diesel-electric hybrid drive for container cranes
and energy-conserving subway trains. Power
Generation also received an award for its com-
mitment to environmentally sound products.
Materials are the Key. “Environmental pro-
tection begins with designing environmentally
sound products and manufacturing processes,”
says Reinhard Kleinert, an expert at the Center
for Materials & Microsystems at Siemens Cor-
porate Technology in Berlin. “If you don’t make
the important decisions at the design stage, it’s
very difficult to implement corrective measures
later — and even if you do, you’ll achieve an in-
ferior result at greater effort and cost. That’s
why materials research is important for creat-
ing environmentally friendly products.” Kleinert
and his colleagues are currently working on
plastics made from plants such as rape, instead
of petroleum. These materials can be disposed
of by means of incineration without any prob-
lem, because the incineration process only re-
leases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) the
plant absorbed while it was growing. Using this
type of plastic also preserves jobs in the agri-
cultural sector. In Germany today, for example,
renewable resources are cultivated on 13 per-
cent of agricultural crop land.
According to internal estimates, Siemens
could utilize about 50,000 tons of plastics from
renewable sources. Before the organic plastics
can be made ready for household appliances, en-
gine housings, or communication systems, how-
ever, the processes for manufacturing them need
to be firmly established. To this end, Siemens is
participating in BioFun, a research project that in-
cludes BASF, and institutes such as the Fraunho-
fer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration.
Fifty Percent Savings. One already successful
example that fulfills the Eco Excellence criteria
is the ECO-RTG diesel-electric hybrid drive sys-
tem from Automation and Drives (A&D). These
units consume 50 percent less fuel in operation
than conventional systems, and save up to 70
percent on fuel in standby mode. As a result,
emissions have been cut in half and the sys-
tems operate much more quietly. The drives are
used in mobile container cranes, such as those
recently tested at APM Terminals International
in Algeciras, Spain. According to product man-
ager Alois Recktenwald, the drives’ key success
factor was the idea of “combining engine man-
agement with energy regeneration. The energy
released during braking and deceleration is stor-
ed and utilized for subsequent acceleration.”
The ECO-RTG system also illustrates just
how productive cooperation between different
Groups can be. Transportation Systems devel-
oped the drive technology, for which Siemens
holds several patents, and Industrial Solutions
and Services and A&D adapted the technology
for the special requirements involved in its
application. The economic benefits are tremen-
dous as well. Operating costs for the system
have been reduced by an average of 50 per-
cent. APM Terminals has already ordered more
than 50 ECO-RTG cranes for container terminals
in Spain, Morocco, China, and India.
Eighty Percent Less Lead. When Siemens
Medical Solutions developed the Somatom
Definition computer tomograph, its engineers
demonstrated that customer requirements,
environmental protection and economical op-
erations go hand in hand. Here, developers also
Economical hybrid drive. The diesel-electric drive systems in mobile container
cranes reduce fuel consumption and emissions by approximately 50 percent.
Siemens has been listed on the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index for seven years.
planned to exceed the requirements in the
Siemens 36350 standard while bringing an Eco
Excellence product to market. This approach
was linked with challenging goals. For exam-
ple, experts wanted to cut in half the radiation
dose patients were exposed to, decrease
energy consumption by one-third and reduce
lead content by over 80 percent. “These goals
could be achieved only by employing a new
technological approach for the X-ray tubes,”
says Johann Russinger, coordinator for Soma-
tom Definition product-related environmental
protection.
The big breakthrough was achieved by in-
stalling two X-ray tubes at 90 degrees angles to
Light computer tomograph. The Somatom Definition (also above) has only 19 kilo-
grams of lead inside — that’s 80 percent less than the previous 110 kilograms.
each other and using Siemens’ CARE Dose 4D
intelligent control system, which regulates the
radiation dose in line with the area being
examined. Two detectors simultaneously scan
several lines, enabling a more targeted applica-
tion of the X-ray beam. Capturing a high-quality
image of a shoulder region containing a lot of
bone tissue, for example, requires a higher dose
of radiation than that required for a picture of
the lung region. By adjusting the radiation ac-
cordingly, the overall dose can be reduced by
up to 68 percent. This cuts energy and costs
while reducing radiation exposure.
Lead is usually used to protect against X-
rays, and it also serves as a counterweight to
exactly balance the large rotating masses of a
computer tomograph. Siemens engineers have
now succeeded in eliminating the need for the
lead counterweight, while the lead required for
X-ray protection has been reduced to a mini-
mum — from 110 kilograms to just 19.
The ECO-RTG hybrid drive and the Somatom
Definition tomograph represent just two exam-
ples of how systematically planned environmen-
tal protection can lead to measurable success
in a “win-win-win” situation — for people, the
environment and business.
Siemens manufactures products that exceed
the requirements of environmental regulations
and set new, higher environmental standards.
In recognition of this special commitment to
economic, environmental and social sustain-
ability, the company has been listed on the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for seven consecutive
years since 2000.
■ Harald Hassenmüller
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 103
 New technology converts table salt into sodium
Technology for the Environment | Water Treatment
hypochlorite on site, where it can be used to
disinfect water for drinking, industrial use or
for swimming pools.
creates hydroxyl radicals in the water. These
radicals are very reactive, consisting of one

Solutions hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom.

The new process is being tested at a paper
factory, where, every day, a membrane filter
removes 600 cubic meters of concentrate con-
In Brief
You Can taining lignin, which biodegrades very slowly.
Until now, the concentrate has been precipi-
tated using lime or an aluminum salt and then
■ Several studies released in 2006 and

Swallow
incinerated. “But that just shifts the problem
from water to land,” says Waidhas. “It’s much
better to destroy the pollutant.” His team is striv-
ing to break down the lignin molecules so that
bacteria can consume them, using as little en-
Microbes, excessive amounts of nutrients and persistent organic pollutants in water ergy as possible. “Our process is more efficient
can damage our health and the environment. Siemens researchers are developing than the alternative of adding ozone,” he says.
innovative processes for removing or destroying these harmful substances. Just Add Salt. Electrochemical processes are
ideal for substances with high oxygen demand,
metal compounds and dyes. However, some
pollutants — including oils, pesticides, hor-
2007 confirmed that we face climate change
brought about by greenhouse gases such as
CO2, which are produced mainly through the
combustion of fossil fuels. To ensure the ef-
fects remain manageable, the earth’s tempera-
ture must not rise by more than two degrees
Celsius. The global energy supply therefore
has to be put on a new foundation that gener-
ates low amounts of carbon. (p. 80, 83, 84)
■ All means have to be exploited to achieve
PEOPLE:
Business development & climate change:
Dr. Georg Rosenbauer, PG
georg.rosenbauer@siemens.com
Product-related environmental protection:
Dr. Ferdinand Quella, CT ES
ferdinand.quella@siemens.com
Power plant technologies:
Alfons Benzinger, PG
alfons.benzinger@siemens.com
Plasma treatment process:
Dr. Werner Hartmann, CT PS

M aryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wash-

ington D.C. are facing a huge challenge.
By 2010 they intend to reduce the amount of
nitrogen and phosphorus discharged into
Chesapeake Bay by 50,000 tons per year. These
nutrients pour into the bay from nearby cities,
fields and sewage treatment plants, creating
extensive algal blooms, especially in the spring.
When the algae die, bacteria consume not only
the dead plankton, but also the oxygen in the
water, transforming large parts of the 300-kilo-
meter-long estuary into dead zones.
In response, the three states and the District
of Columbia have introduced strict limits for
discharges. Starting in 2010, one liter of treated
wastewater can contain an annual average of
only three milligrams (mg) per liter of total ni-
trogen and 0.3 mg per liter of total phosphorus.
“That’s near the limit of what can be achieved
using biological processes to remove nitrogen,
and even below the limit for phosphorus,” says
James Scott of Siemens Water Technologies in
Salt Lake City, who grew up on Chesapeake Bay.
To meet this challenge, the 66 largest municipal
sewage treatment plants in Maryland are being
modernized — in many cases with Siemens
technology. “These measures will enable Mary-
land to achieve more than one-third of its re-
duction-target obligation,” says Susan McCorvey
of Water Technologies. Some older facilities will
have to be rebuilt, while more modern plants
will only need to be equipped with additional
filters. “Proven technologies are used to remove
nutrients, but these technologies now have to
be refined,” explains Scott.
Nitrogen and phosphorus end up in sewage
because they are present in food, cleansers and
human excreta. Biological treatment at a waste-
water facility involves using aerobic bacteria to
convert them into inorganic nitrate and phos-
phate. Phosphate can be precipitated using met-
al salts or reduced to a level of about one mg
per liter together with nitrate, by means of a bio-
logical process. “Nitrate-reducing bacteria, which
live under anaerobic conditions, can convert ni-
trate into gaseous nitrogen,” says McCorvey.
Until 2003, the sewage treatment plant in
Fruitland, Maryland couldn’t even remove nu-
trients from wastewater. But when its old filter
was replaced with an OMNIFLO Sequencing
Batch Reactor from Siemens everything chang-
ed. In the reactor, wastewater sequentially un-
dergoes purification stages in the same tank.
Studies show that this enables the precise con-
trol of the denitrification process using the du-
ration of the aerobic and anaerobic stages. As a
result, the nitrogen content at the Fruitland
plant has been reduced by 80 percent, to three
mg per liter. Similarly, the town of Aberdeen,
Maryland, has installed an Astrasand filter.
Pilot plant. Bacterial decomposition of molecules
Here, filtered wastewater flows through a mov-
able bed of sand to remove suspended matter,
and methanol is added to promote the growth
of nitrate-reducing bacteria in the sand. Using
a sophisticated control mechanism that regu-
lates the dwell time of the wastewater, the pu-
rification cycles and the addition of methanol
to feed the bacteria, Siemens engineers have
succeeded in eliminating up to 98 percent of
the nitrate. “The Astrasand filter also can be
used to precipitate phosphate,” says McCorvey.
Radicals at Work. Microbes, however, cannot
break down all organic materials. Some sub-
stances consume so much oxygen that aerobic
bacteria suffocate. Now, Dr. Manfred Waidhas
and his team from Corporate Technology (CT)
in Erlangen have developed an electrochemical
process that breaks down previously non-
biodegradable molecules so that they can be
split by bacteria into CO2 and water. Electrolysis
Astrasand filter. Low-nitrate water thanks to bacteria
mones and residues from pharmaceutical prod-
ucts — resist such methods. These can be bro-
ken down by a plasma process developed by
engineers working under Dr. Werner Hartmann
at CT in Erlangen (Pictures of the Future, Spring
2005, p. 69). Here, water is exposed to high-
voltage discharges, leading to the creation of
radicals that can break even very stable bonds.
Hartmann believes this process is well-suited
for industrial wastewater applications and low
concentrations of very hazardous substances.
One advantage of such processes is that they
eliminate the need for chemicals. Still, chlorine
gas will likely remain the standard for economi-
cally disinfecting drinking water, although, ac-
cording to Alberto Garibi of Siemens Water Tech-
nologies in Miami, “Regulations are increasingly
deterring water management companies from
using chlorine, due to safety concerns.” Sodium
hypochlorite solutions are often used as a sub-
stitute because they eliminate the risk of a toxic
gas release, and have the same effect as chlorine.
“Sodium hypochlorite costs two to three times
as much as chlorine, however,” says Garibi. “And
due to its high concentration, it must be stored
and handled as a hazardous material. It also de-
composes when stored for long periods.”
The new Osec B-Pak system from Water
Technologies enables the production of hypo-
chlorite on site. This compact system is practi-
cally maintenance-free and comes with an intel-
ligent control system for automatic operation.
“All you need is salt,” says Garibi. Electrolysis
converts brine into sodium hypochlorite and
hydrogen gas. To safely dispose of the hydrogen,
it is diluted and ventilated to the atmosphere.
“The hydrogen could be used in a fuel cell,” says
Garibi. “But recovering it isn’t yet economically
feasible.” ■ Ute Kehse
this goal. Energy consumers will need not only
more efficient solutions for heating systems,
household appliances and lighting, but also
werner.hartmann@siemens.com
Dr. Thomas Hammer, CT PS
thomas.hammer@siemens.com
energy-saving industrial motors and more Berlin waste processing plant:
fuel-efficient transportation. Energy produc- Jürgen Knöfel, RD
ers, meanwhile, will have to focus on boosting juergen.knoefel@siemens.com
the efficiency of their power plants and gener- SIPAPER Reject Power:
ating more energy from alternative sources Dr. Hermann Schwarz, I&S
such as water, wind, biomass, geothermal hermann.hs.schwarz@siemens.com
heat and waste. In each of these areas, Fuel cells:
Siemens has developed solutions that are Horst Greiner, CT PS
already usable today. (p. 87, 90, 94, 98, 99) horst.greiner@siemens.com
Dr. Joachim Hoffmann, PG
■ Siemens is also working on technologies for hoffmannjoachim@siemens.com
the future, such as fossil-fuel power plants that Automotive technologies:
sequester CO2 and store it safely underground. Enno Pflug, SV,
Other developments include fuel-cell hybrid enno.pflug@siemens.com
power plants that are designed to achieve an Oslo subway:
electrical efficiency rating of 70 percent. This Walter Struckl, TS
is 10 percent more than the best combined walter.struckl@siemens.com
cycle plant currently under construction. Low-emissions ships:
Siemens is also researching an extremely Kay Tigges, I&S, kay.tigges@siemens.com
efficient automotive drive system in which the Sewage plants in Maryland:
electric motors and brakes will be incorporated Susan McCorvey, I&S WT
into the wheels. (p. 91, 96, 99) susan.mccorvey@siemens.com
Osec-B-Pak:
■ Thanks to an in-house standard, Siemens Alberto Garibi, I&S WT
systematically takes environmental factors alberto.garibi@siemens.com
such as energy efficiency and the prevention
of harmful substances into account when Climate impact research:
planning new products. (p. 102) pik@pik-potsdam.de
■ New solutions have also been developed for LINKS:
water purification. They range from sophisti- Sustainability at Siemens:
cated biological processes in which bacteria www.siemens.com/sustainability
destroy the pollutants and chemicals are not Power Generation:
required to plasma techniques which can www.siemens.com/power
eliminate substances that were previously Institute for Climate Impact Research:
non-biodegradable. (p. 104) www.pik-potsdam.de

104 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 105
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106 Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007
| Preview Fall 2007
Preview
The Future of the Factory
In the future, production will be completely digitized — from
the product design stage to manufacturing and logistics. This will
open up new perspectives for collaboration between developers,
designers, producers and customers. As a result, production will
become more flexible and made-to-measure products will come
directly from the factory. Software and communications will play
a key role in the digital factory of the future.
Materials for the Environment
The key to conserving resources, saving energy and reducing
greenhouse gases is often found in improved materials. For
example, by using special ceramics that can withstand higher
combustion temperatures, we can improve the efficiency
of power plants. New materials will not only be able to store
energy more efficiently but also transfer it with fewer losses —
while analytical procedures will help to optimize materials
on the nanometer scale.
Seamless Communications
Fixed-line networks, cellular radio and the Internet are merging
to form the network of networks. Here, the goal is to provide us
with seamless communication — permanent access to the
information we need, regardless of where we are, be it at home,
in our cars, offices or factories. Everywhere — from production to
energy supply networks and the health care sector — information
and communications will enable us to further boost efficiency.
But what technologies will we need to achieve our aims? How
fast and reliable will our networks have to be? And how powerful
must our software become?
Pictures of the Future | Spring 2007 107
www.siemens.com/pof

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ISSN 1618-5498