1. How do you see smart industry in the Berlin of the future?

Smart industry is digital, networked industry. Today we see that different areas of the industrial landscape coexist without being truly connected. The electricity grid, the gas and heat network, the control systems of buildings, the various traffic systems, parking or traffic management or electromobility. We must succeed in bringing the islands together into an intelligent whole, to link them to each other. Only the intelligent coupling of energy with the industry, mobility and buildings sectors will enable the optimised use of renewable energies in the other sectors and thus contribute to decarbonisation. For even though we are currently busy dealing with the Corona crisis, we must not forget that the really big challenges we face here in Berlin and around the world have not disappeared: urbanisation, limited natural resources, demographic change and above all climate change. I am convinced that technology, especially digitalisation, will help us to meet all these challenges.

 

2. How will Siemensstadt 2.0 contribute to making Berlin a smarter/better city? 

Siemens City 2.0 is expected to provide decisive stimuli in finding intelligent solutions for the major challenges of the future. We want to develop an integrative and innovative ecosystem in the new Siemensstadt, and open the district to external companies, start-ups, universities and research institutions. The combination of industry, science, learning, living and social exchange creates space for the necessary innovations and creativity. And Siemensstadt 2.0 will not only be a place for ideas and scenarios, but also a place for implementation. Because we want to try out as much as possible ourselves. The ecosystem around Siemensstadt is ideal for a wide range of applications. For example, decentralised energy systems, electromobility, Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence or additive manufacturing, to name just a few.

 

3. You are Berliner yourself, what significance does the city have for you and for Siemens?

As a son of the city, our ground-breaking project “Siemensstadt 2.0” is naturally particularly close to my heart. I was born and grew up in Berlin. I did my training here at Siemens in Siemensstadt. And it is here, where the history of Siemens began over 170 years ago, that I have my office today. With the “Siemensstadt 2.0” project we want to continue the success story of Siemens and Berlin – in a modern form. In the form of an open ecosystem for everyone. And in the form of a new approach that makes living, working and research all possible in one place. This concept will generate new ideas and products that will strengthen the industry of our city, but also of Germany as an industrial location in general. Over the next five to ten years, we will be investing up to 600 million euros in the redevelopment of this part of the city – one of the largest investments made by a company in Berlin! And this is also a clear commitment by Siemens to Berlin.