Energy management and automation company Schneider Electric is introducing an integrated solutions suite tailored to creating smart, green infrastructure.

The Infrastructure of the Future suite offers a holistic approach to power tomorrow’s businesses and economies, while tackling the challenges of ongoing global urbanisation and the causes and impacts of climate change, the company states.

The suite’s integrated solutions encompass software for data-driven insights, services for enhanced operations and business continuity, solutions for electric mobility and green technologies and programmes to accelerate the energy transition.

Schneider Electric power systems and services executive VP Frédéric Godemel explains that resilient infrastructure is a key enabler of productivity and economic development.

However, he notes that climate change and rapid growth in urbanisation have made it even more crucial for governments, municipalities, public infrastructure owners, energy networks and transport providers to make well-planned investments in smarter, greener solutions to support economic growth.

“In a time of climate change, intensifying natural disasters and rapid urbanisation, infrastructure systems are under immense pressure to deliver resilient and reliable services.

“With urban environments also relying heavily on infrastructure’s ability to handle the electrification of public transport, we need a green revolution in infrastructure to keep energy flowing, transport moving and protect business and society against climate change,” says Godemel.

Driving the need for Infrastructure of the Future, Schneider Electric in a statement says the rising number of extreme weather events around the world is a leading cause of disruption to power, water and transport infrastructure. This disruption takes a $300-billion toll on businesses every year.

Further, with more than six-billion people projected to be living in urban areas by 2050, demand for resilient, low-carbon infrastructure is rising. The company states that cities will need to handle mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), electrified public transport and smart buildings supplied with reliable and renewable sources of energy and new microgrid technologies.

The expansion of population and growth in demand for energy will also lead to fluctuating demands and the development of so-called energy “prosumers” with self-generated power sources. This will put further stress on aging energy infrastructure, which will need to be more efficient and resilient to stay ahead of the energy transition.

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Designed for urban infrastructure, Infrastructure of the Future comprises a set of open and interoperable software solutions that help infrastructure owners bridge progress and sustainability for all.

This includes EcoStruxure for E-mobility – an end-to-end connected solution that goes beyond EV chargers that is easy to install, maintains buildings’ power reliability and provides a convenient experience for EV drivers.

There is also ETAP Train Power Simulation – eTraX – a validated, user-friendly and flexible software tool for designing, analysing and managing alternating current and direct current railway infrastructure by ETAP, which is part of Schneider’s agnostic software portfolio.

The Infrastructure of the Future suite also includes AVEVA Unified Operations Centre – a central hub solution for infrastructure operators that transforms the control room into a collaborative workspace.

EcoStruxure Energy and Sustainability Services, meanwhile, facilitates energy and sustainability expertise to help companies turn energy into a controllable spend, increase efficiency and meet sustainability goals.

The fifth item in the suite, EcoStruxure Microgrid Advisor is a cloud-based, demand-side energy management software platform that enables users to collect, forecast and automatically enhance the operation of distributed energy resources using predictive algorithms.