CT plays a key role in the company’s research and development operations by providing an international network of competencies and acting as a worldwide partner for innovations for all Siemens Divisions and Business Units.
The new office in Singapore is CT’s latest initiative to expand its global network of competencies into strategically important regions in the world. With this new setup, Siemens now operates 13 Corporate R&D Centers in eight countries around the world.
Siemens Corporate Technology provides a variety of services for Siemens’ business units, including research, development and consulting services for technologies with cross-divisional impact. CT also handles the company’s global patent management, standardization tasks, and supports both current R&D activities of the business units as well as the implementation of the companies’ long-term product and service strategy, helping to ensure the company’s competitiveness.
Siemens chose to establish its South East Asia CT Department in Singapore due to its conducive R&D environment, large population of highly qualified scientists and engineers, reputable universities and research institutes, as well as strong government support.
Singapore is an important hub for the Siemens business in South East Asia. Over the last years, various business units had built up and developed further knowledge- based jobs in Singapore including Research and Development.
Mr Hans-Dieter Bott, Country Manager of Siemens Singapore, said: “Siemens’ enduring success is built on our outstanding power to innovate. Our innovations have made us a leading provider of technology infrastructure solutions, closely tied to the global challenges the world faces. I am therefore very happy that we set up a CT Department in Singapore. This move reflects our increasing commitment to the country and the region.”
The new R&D center in Singapore is headed by Dr Rudolf Gensler, who was previously a Senior Scientist with the Corporate Technology Centre in Erlangen, Germany, specializing in the area of Materials Science and Nanotechnology.
The first projects of CT Singapore are dedicated to the mega-trend topic “Water”, and they are carried out in close cooperation with the Business Unit Siemens Water Technologies, which established its Global Water R&D Center in Singapore in 2007. “The proximity to our customers, top-level research institutions and rapidly developing markets is essential and beneficial to our innovative work,” said Dr Gensler.
The CT researchers will work on new membranes, advanced media for water treatment, as well as functional materials and coatings that will improve various water treatment processes. The department will also screen and assess forms of emerging water treatment technologies.
CT Singapore intends to network intensively with the local R&D community and has already started exploring collaboration opportunities with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), various Polytechnics, A*STAR and German Institute of Science & Technology (GIST), which offers Master Programs in Singapore together with NTU, NUS and Technical University Munich.
At the opening ceremony today, Siemens and GIST signed a Letter of Intent, to seal their commitment to set up joint R&D projects in Singapore. Their initial focus will be the modeling and optimization of advanced water treatment processes. The objective of this research is to derive monitoring and control guidelines for optimum process and plant operation.
“Siemens cooperates with leading universities and research institutions around the world. This allows us to broaden our scientific-technical knowledge and capabilities. Networking with academic partners is essential for innovation and it forms an integral part of our innovation strategy,” said Dr Reinhold Achatz, Head of Corporate Research and Technologies.
“The opening of the Corporate Technology Office is another jewel in the crown of R&D activities Siemens undertakes in Singapore. Corporate Technology has a longer gestation period, and carries with it more risks. The fact that Siemens, after careful consideration, has decided to set up its Corporate Technology Office here, is strong testimony to Singapore’s capabilities to host such operations. This is also in line with our Urban Solutions thrust where companies can use Singapore as a Living Lab to develop and test-bed innovative solutions," said the opening ceremony’s Guest-of-Honor, Mr Manohar Khiatani, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board.
About Siemens Corporate Technology
Siemens Corporate Technology plays a leading role within Siemens’ R&D operations. More than 2500 employees worldwide develop core technologies with strategic impact for the Siemens Groups and ensure that the company’s R&D successes are safeguarded from competitors. The Mission of Corporate Technology is to secure the technological future and to increase the competitiveness of the Company in cooperation with the Divisions and Business Units. CT acts as an international network of competencies and a worldwide partner for innovations for the Siemens Divisions and Regional Companies. Corporate R&D Centers are operated in Germany, the UK, the USA, China, India, Russia, Japanese and Singapore. www.siemens.com/corporate-technology
www.siemens.com/innovation
About Siemens Singapore
With 9 companies and employing more than 2,200 people, Siemens is one of the largest European companies in Singapore. Siemens delivers cutting-edge solutions and technologies in the fields of industry, energy and healthcare. Established in Singapore since 1908, it is responsible for many of the country’s key infrastructure projects, and has been setting the pace of growth and development for this island-nation. In fiscal 2008 (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008), sales to customers amounted to SGD 1.4 billion. Its staff is dedicated to provide a full range of services, which include engineering, design, software development, marketing, maintenance, as well as manufacturing. For further information on Siemens Singapore, please visit our website - www.siemens.com.sg
Disclaimer
Any statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties; actual results may differ from the forward-looking statements. Siemens undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Cell sensors that detect contaminants: A team at Siemens Corporate Technology is developing cell sensors that can serve as early-warning systems for contaminated water or poor air quality. Cell sensors are ideal for detecting contaminants, because like higher living organisms, they react to changes in their environment by altering their metabolism. Hence, they can serve as signal converters that initiate measures to restore water to its previous level of quality, for example. Siemens researchers are working to optimally mount the cells onto a silicon chip, where they need to remain and survive for about two months, while surrounded by a nutrient solution that can be continually fed with water samples. The cells are thus constantly in contact with potentially damaging substances. Three cellular reactions are evaluated by the chip: respiration, metabolism, and changes of shape.
Encrypted RFID chips to combat product piracy: Siemens Corporate Technology recently unveiled prototypes of a new forgery-proof radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. To prevent cloning, Siemens researchers developed a secure authentication process based on public key cryptography. In the past, this kind of process was unsuitable for small RFID chips due to insufficient processing capacity and a lack of power supply. With the help of enhanced algorithms, however, Siemens researchers succeeded in substantially reducing the processing power required. Also, in place of a programmable processor they used fixed, non-programmable circuit components so that energy consumption and chip size are greatly reduced. These forgery-proof chips can be used mainly in areas where the need to prevent product piracy is greatest. This includes the markets for medicinal drugs, high-quality fashion clothing, and spare parts for vehicles and machinery.
Bright and long-lasting luminescent plastics: Researchers at Osram, a wholly-owned Siemens company, are ushering in a new era in room lighting systems – with white organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) that boast a service life of more than 5,000 hours, while consuming little energy and achieving a high level of brightness. The new development marks the first time that engineers have succeeded in enhancing robustness and luminosity at the same time. The OLED prototype measures 100 sq cm, and the first products in which it will be used are expected to be launched in 2010. Researchers from Siemens Corporate Technology are now looking into new component concepts and materials, as well as alternative solutions for electrical contacts. The luminescent plastics will bring about a revolution in lighting technology. In the future, their thin light tiles will make it possible to create different lighting moods by means of illuminated partitions, empyreans, and colourful designs, for example.