Siemens, the Timeless Pioneer
From the first electric streetcars and subway trains to the first electric traffic light in Germany – Siemens has always been a pioneer in the area of electromobility.
A Brief Look at Our History
1879: Werner von Siemens presents the first electric “railway” with power supplied through the rails at the Berlin Industrial Exposition. It pulls three small demonstration cars through the Exposition on the more than 300 meter long circular track. The world’s first electric streetcar rolls through Berlin in 1881.
1882: ‘Siemens & Halske’ introduces the “electromote,” the first electric trolley bus and therefore the first electromobile in the world, on a test course extending over 540 meters.
1903: A three-phase railcar by Siemens reaches the sensational speed of about 210 km/h on the Marienfelde-Zossen test track.
Siemens evolved into the leading provider of electric drives in the beginning of the 20th century. The “Electric Victoria” – one of the first electric cars – was built in 1905 and commuted through the streets of Berlin as both an elegant hotel taxi and a delivery wagon. This model could reach a speed of up to 30 km/h and could travel as far as 80 km on one battery charge. Fifty of them were assembled at the Siemens-Schuckert plants from 1905 to 1910.
Electromobility Today
Siemens still is a forerunner in the area of electromobility today. The company has pooled its expertise in energy, mobility, and IT to launch a new age of electromobility and actively pursue the development of the electric car. Siemens is already a leading provider of electric drives. The new components will profit particularly from its many years of experience in manufacturing and developing electric motors and converters. These days, more than 1.5 million electric motors are being built in the plants of Siemens AG every year.
In addition to the development of components for electric cars, other decisive factors for success in the growth market of electromobility include appropriate power distribution grids and solutions for charging batteries. Electric cars will be accepted only if the appropriate infrastructure – a future system of “electric filling stations” – is available for recharging. As an integrated technology company, Siemens is developing solutions for sustainable, integrated mobility. They make it possible to establish a universal modular recharging infrastructure with appropriate software solutions. Siemens offers a broad range of options for charging, from compact wall boxes through different kinds of charging stations all the way to satellite systems. Hardware has been developed to allow easy home/residential charging, as well as semi-public/corporate charging and public charging in parking lots, parking garages, and service stations. Fleet charging solutions have been developed as well. Siemens also offers software solutions that can be flexibly combined into service packages. These systems include integrated infrastructure solutions for energy and fleet management, business packages, and added-value applications for user guidance
The Charging Infrastructure of Tomorrow Starts Today
Smart charging infrastructure for electric cars goes hand in hand with smart power supplies – this is possible with a Smart Grid. Siemens has been the driving force behind the development of Smart Grids. Electric cars will be more than consumers of power; they will also serve as mobile power storage units when wind and solar power plants are generating lots of electricity. Electric cars can feed the electricity back into the grid to cover peak loads. This means that electric vehicles will stabilize power grids, and will thereby help to increase the share of renewable energy sources. More information on smart grid can be found here.
That way Siemens is paving the way for electromobility with advanced solutions for a smart and sustainable infrastructure.
As a timeless pioneer, Siemens is bringing the future into the present. Siemens already offers a full range of products and solutions for the electromobility of the future – from a Smart Grid and an infrastructure for “filling up” with power to components for electric cars all the way to a comprehensive and coordinated software portfolio.
Together into a mobile future.
Our tomorrow starts today!