Siemens: Accelerating electric mobility with Intelligent Substations & SICAM Navigator
This case study examines a specific IoT solution provided by Siemens for electrification and automation. Siemens AG is a focused technology company that combines the real and the digital worlds and helps customers to meet the great challenges of our time.
Expanding public charging infrastructure is an important requirement to accelerate the development of electric mobility.
The joint project between Aral and Siemens is an important contribution to the creation of public fast-charging stations. Most gas stations currently only have low-voltage connections. To meet the increased power demand of fast chargers, the grid connection needs to be upgraded to a medium-voltage connection with much higher power.
This can be achieved through substations that connect the gas stations’ charging infrastructure to the public power grid. Each substation requires a hermetically capsulated transformer, a gas-insulated medium-voltage switchgear, type 8DJH, and a low-voltage switchboard SIVACON S8.
“By equipping our gas stations with charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, we are taking a major step forward in creating the gas station of the future,” said Patrick Wendeler, member of the Managing Board of Aral AG. “To make charging as fast as putting fuel in your car, we have opted for ultra-fast charging stations with a power of up to 350 kW. But chargers alone are not enough: The retrofit also requires a powerful and reliable grid connection. That is why we are glad to have Siemens with its expertise in electrical infrastructure at our side.”
Using communicating hardware and IoT application – SICAM Navigator, Aral can receive information about the status of the substations at any time. This enables the operator to guarantee its customers the full functionality of its ultra-fast charging stations. The use of sensors helps generate data, thereby ensuring continuous monitoring of the health status and a safe operation of the equipment.
SICAM Navigator provides transparency into electrical vehicle (EV) charging network status and load, supports dynamic load management following instant power limitations by the Distribution Network Operator, avoiding costly limit violations and shaping peak load times. It enables remote control of the charging station for electric vehicles. This means that an EV-charging station is controlled from a software application and can be restarted remotely.
Moreover, SICAM Navigator is a Siemens Xcelerator X offering that is by design scalable for future growth and expansion. The customer can connect not only more charging stations in the same location, but also in different locations over time.
The installation of intelligent substations with SICAM Navigator:
- provides transparency of EV-charging network status and load;
- modernizes gas stations with ultra-fast charging technology for electric vehicles;
- allows dynamic load management and remote control of EV-charging stations;
- increases efficiency and grid reliability;
- ensures better grid utilization within the existing infrastructure and optimal usage of the assets with real-time data monitoring.
For this reason, digitalization is an important prerequisite for efficient load management and optimization of energy use.
For more information, visit our reference pages - Intelligent grid connection for Aral gas stations - Germany – and the press release.
More information about SICAM Navigator, its features and benefits can be found at siemens.com/sicam-navigator.