Changing the world through innovation

Schneider Electric is a European multinational corporation that specialises in electricity distribution, automation management and the manufacture of installation components for energy management. Industry Europe looks at some of the company’s latest high-profile partnerships, and at how it is working to change the world through sustainable innovation.

Schneider Electric was founded in France in 1836 by the Schneider brothers, who acquired the Creusot foundries in order to make armaments and heavy machinery. Innovation played a key role in its fortunes and by 1891 Schneider had become a major player in the emerging global electricity market. Today the group leads the field in its key market sectors including UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) Movement Control and Building Automation. Furthermore, it has continued to strengthen its lead in advanced ‘Smart Grid’ technology. Schneider is headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, France and is also based at the World Trade Centre in Grenoble, Switzerland.

Today the company’s biggest markets are energy management, automation and control products for the metals, mining and water management industries. This is where Schneider’s programmable PLCs and validated architecture makes it easy for it to be much more energy efficient. All Schneider’s latest energy management products, including its revolutionary Modicon M580 automation controller, were showcased recently at the SCA Trade Fair held in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sustainable innovation

Schneider’s huge investment in R&D is designed to sustain its programme of innovation and differentiation, with a strong commitment to sustainable development. Innovation drives the company’s strategy for growth and dictates the research and development priorities designed to solve the planet’s energy dilemma and to make the IoT (Internet of Things) and the Smart Grid a reality. Having a deep understanding of its customers’ needs the company’s R&D teams create comprehensive, scalable and flexible solutions for both energy and operational efficiency. Every year Schneider invests around 5 per cent of its revenues in its various R&D programmes.

One result of this continued innovation was last year’s introduction of the Water Network Optimisation (WNO) Suite, a Water and Wastewater industry solution powered by Aquis 7.0 and built on Wonderware System Platform. Water network operators can use WNO to acquire and centralise real-time data from network critical points for complete visibility and control of their water distribution network. ClearSCADA users can continue to leverage existing HMI/ user interfaces to gain direct access to this new industry solution, helping to accelerate deployment and time-to-value.

The water industry, among others, faces the challenge of doing more with less. Infrastructure asset lifecycles must be extended, drought conditions have created significant sourcing and demand forecasting difficulties, and increasingly stringent regulations must now be adhered to. At the same time, greater focus on sustainability, energy cost and carbon reductions are putting new pressure on operations.

Water Network Optimisation Suite is a new industry solution from Schneider Electric that delivers both real-time and ‘future-time’ vis-

ibility into Water and Wastewater networks. This offers operators the ability to perform ‘what-if’ analysis of potential maintenance actions (e.g. isolate a section of the network for maintenance and simulate the impact on delivery pressure through the next 48 hours).

“Water Network Optimisation Suite brings the complexity and specialisation of advanced hydraulic modeling/analytics into a simplified operations environment that is familiar to water utility personnel,” said Doug Warren, Vice President, Industry Solutions at Schneider Electric. “This helps Water Utilities to address workforce transformation challenges, while at the same time lowering maintenance costs and avoiding service disruptions to water consumers.”

WNO is supported by Customer FIRST, Schneider Electric’s software maintenance and support program, which is a flexible portfolio of services that help protect and extend the value of a Schneider Electric Industry Solution across its entire lifecycle. A Customer FIRST Agreement establishes a formal service relationship with Schneider Electric, enabling access to the latest software upgrades while providing expert technical assistance, optional services and self-help tools to help improve operational effectiveness.

A responsible approach

Sustainability and social responsibility are at the top of the Schneider Group’s agenda today. Represented in more than 100 countries and employing more than 140,000 people worldwide, it is working to make a real difference through helping businesses meet their energy goals while at the same time increasing operational efficiency. In new economies, this corporate responsibility model translates into fostering solutions to provide reliable energy to the 1.1 billion people that do not have access to energy; in mature economies it is addressing the hundreds of millions of people living in fuel poverty by developing more efficient, greener solutions.

To give just one example: through its Access to Energy programme in, Lafenwa, Nigeria, Schneider is providing residents with portable solar LED lighting and power systems, giving them safe, green and reliable access to energy for the first time. Meanwhile, in collaboration with Golden Key Company (GKC), a Myanmar agribusiness firm, it has co-developed a project to bring access to electricity to rural populations in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region.

Forging strong partnerships

Finally, this year (2017) Schneider has continued its dedication to forming mutually beneficial partnerships. May alone has seen the formation of two important collaborations for the company which should help it further cement its position as one of Europe’s foremost players in energy provision. The first of these was with EXHEAT, the world leading manufacturer of electric process heaters and CoreX Controls, through which it will provide the companies with full support in machine automation thanks to its machine integrator partners across the globe.

Within the programme, EXHEAT and CoreX Controls will be part of a network of informed machine designers who have access to essential training, exclusive networking events and a wide range of scalable products and solutions. As Schneider Electric partners,

both companies will have the flexibility, efficiency and visibility to provide customers in the hazardous controls space with more productive, safe and sustainable control systems. “Our machine integrator partner programme highlights our continued commitment to support organisations industry-wide to innovate at every level and compete on a global stage. We’re delighted to see a significant number of product orders already being placed across existing and new markets,” said Martin Walder, VP Industry at Schneider Electric.

The second of these collaborations is a framework agreement with Neoen, the leading French independent power producer. The two companies have signed a 750 MW Conext SmartGenTM multiyear framework agreement on three continents. The scope includes: conversion stations composed of 1500V inverters, medium voltage switchgear, transformers, and complete monitoring and control system, as well as lifecycle maintenance services. “With a global footprint and long-term commitment in Solar, Schneider Electric delivers projects and long-term service contracts for solar power plants worldwide in an efficient way, which will continue to benefit international solar businesses such as Neoen. We decided to set up a dedicated service team to support Neoen and their EPC partners to increase reactivity and support in this very dynamic market,” explained Robert Immele, Solar Business CEO at Schneider Electric. n