Siemens inaugurates climate-neutral research campus in Zug

Siemens today inaugurated its new research and development (R&D) building in the presence of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Landammann Silvia Thalmann-Gut and Roland Busch, Chairman of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. This means that after a seven-year construction phase and investments of CHF 250 million, the climate-neutral Siemens campus in Zug is officially complete. "Technology is the key to sustainability," Roland Busch commented. "With buildings accounting for 40% of the world's energy demand, climate-neutral buildings are an important lever for companies and for entire countries to become more sustainable. To keep the complex processes under control, we use artificial intelligence to orchestrate the necessary hardware and software. Switzerland, with its high environmental standards and world-class universities, is the perfect place to drive this technology. And Siemens Xcelerator, our new digital business platform, makes it easier for customers to implement efficiently thanks to the modular design of our solution."

Leading by example with Smart Infrastructure

As the global headquarters of Siemens Smart Infrastructure, Zug is an important location for the development of building technologies. Every year, the company registers around 80 new patents from here. The 25000 m2 campus consists of a main building, a factory building and the modernized R&D building. Climate neutrality is achieved through a combination of different measures. "Siemens uniquely connects the real and digital worlds, enabling us to create a better future. The new Siemens Campus in Zug is an excellent example of this," says Matthias Rebellius, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Smart Infrastructure. "Using the latest technologies from our portfolio to improve building operations and achieve maximum efficiency, the campus will be operated in a completely climate-neutral manner. This means we are already achieving the goal to which we committed two years ago."

Heat pumps and water from Lake Zug are used for heating and cooling, and photovoltaic systems on the roof produce electricity. Green flat roofs provide additional insulation. The Desigo CC building automation system, as part of Siemens Xcelerator, ensures optimal room climate control as well as energy efficiency and, together with LED lighting, provides the best possible indoor comfort. In addition, more than 50 Siemens-owned charging stations support sustainable mobility. The office building has received platinum certification according to the LEED standard, while the factory and R&D building each achieve the gold standard.

Digital building platform in action

Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used in the design of the campus. With BIM, a building is constructed twice: First as a digital twin and then as a physical object. Thus, electricity, heating, cooling and water consumption can be documented, measured and adjusted via various applications. A room reservation system is linked to Siport access control and Desigo CC for on-demand room control and digital signage. In addition, a variety of IoT functions have already been implemented to increase building efficiency, improve comfort and optimize the user experience.

At the opening ceremony, participants had the opportunity to see Building X, Siemens' scalable digital building platform, in action during a campus tour. Also part of Siemens Xcelerator, Building X helps to digitize, manage and optimize building operations, resulting in improved user experience, higher performance and greater sustainability.

Continuing a tradition with research campus

The R&D building, which was modernized at a cost of around 70 million Swiss francs, is the latest chapter in a long tradition of Siemens investments in Switzerland. More than 70 years ago, Siemens was already working closely with the then fire alarm company Cerberus. In 1998, Siemens took over the industrial activities of Elektrowatt, which in addition to Cerberus also included the Zug-based company Landis & Gyr, and from this formed the new Building Technologies business unit. Since then, the Siemens Building Technologies division, known as Siemens Smart Infrastructure since 2019, has been based in Zug and makes an important contribution to value creation in the region and throughout Switzerland.

Now completed, the research campus provides a carbon-neutral work environment for more than 1700 employees driving technology development for critical infrastructure worldwide.

Source: Siemens