Digitalisation and electrification, key to a more sustainable future
During the Innovation Day 2023 in Mexico organised by Schneider Electric, experts agreed that smart cities will be a reality, once there is a joint and focused activity, in which technological innovation, environmental awareness and social responsibility are part of the equation.
Although each country presents different scenarios and rates of progress in energy matters, the first sustainable projections in the sector are already an imminent and proven reality, especially in terms of its immediate benefits and profitability. For one of the largest private energy companies in the world, Schneider Electric[1], the priority currently revolves around letting the population know that the concept of sustainability transcends just managing energy efficiently and conserving the planet.
This was stated by Jesús Carmona, president and general director for Mexico and Central America of the company, within the framework of Innovation Day 2023 - a meeting around the solutions provided by Electricity 4.0[2], organised by Schneider Electric -, held in Mexico City. on August 31, 2023. “Our interest is to make it known that sustainability goes beyond generating a minimum carbon impact and recycling. Sustainability means that we act responsibly in society, that there is an environment of diversity and equity at work,” explained the company manager during the first hours of the event.
Made up of a rich program of conferences, panels and exhibitions on areas of opportunity and success stories, Innovation Day 2023[3] brought together different specialists, businessmen, academics, as well as members of the public and private initiative, around the possibilities of electrification intelligent technology, digitalisation and automation, as well as environmental and social responsibility that today transcend current discourses and meet historical competence and leadership, for the benefit of society.
After the welcome ribbon cutting, by the undersecretary of social development Fadlala Akabani Hneide, and Jérôme Audin, minister of counsellor of the French embassy, Innovation Day 2023 gave space to vital topics around smart energy possibilities, which range from much more efficient and eco-friendly electrification[4], over tools for prevention, maintenance and containment of damage, to self-supply, cybersecurity, computer concentration, among others.
In this context, Francisco Hurtado, director of Schneider Electric's zone execution centre, reiterated that the company's global reach currently impacts the residential, commercial buildings, industry, energy and data centre segments, in accordance with the objectives of The United Nations.
For her part, during her conference titled Green hydrogen in the race for decarbonization, María Valencia, responsible for institutional relations and links for Seisa Energía[5], stressed that although clean and smart energies today already represent a cost option real effectiveness for governments and a good part of companies (especially for larger ones), the process of adaptation, viability and scalability is key to better focus efforts, thereby calling for the diversification of investments, as well as a detailed study of the specific objectives that are pursued, within the route of decarbonization and reformulation of electrical solutions.
What Valencia said concurs with the different success stories that Schneider Electric has harvested for nearly three decades for different companies and productive sectors in Latin America, in examples that include the functioning of hospitals, the electrification of companies, prevention and containment of damages (Nestlé[6]), smart space design (Maselo Arquitectura[7]), among other projects that maintain the imprint of building comprehensive long-term benefits from innovation, security, ecological objectives and human sense.
“We are convinced that we must be specialists in segments and applications to be able to meet the different needs of society, but these are long processes, lasting two decades or more. Currently there are trends, and these will reach the market sooner rather than later, and then take a curve of adoption and acceleration (...), but the technology exists and is accessible. Furthermore, in our nine plants that we currently operate in Mexico we have the commitment to be zero emissions by 2030. But the second step is with our suppliers, that they also reach zero impact by 2035," emphasized the president and general director for Mexico and Central America from Schneider Electric.
Looking ahead to the closing of Innovation Day 2023, the majority of participating specialists agreed that there are still challenges to overcome in order to achieve the ideal of smart cities using tools such as those provided by Schneider Electric, which include the relevant legislation, acceleration of tool adoption, as well as greater investment, infrastructure redesign, among others. This, some experts emphasise, positions the consumer in a new place, in which he is no longer passive and unidirectional, but becomes much more dynamic, multidirectional, much more involved thanks to the tools of generation, storage and redistribution and has a leading role in the solutions towards a much more efficient and habitable planet for all.
Ricardo Pineda, Digitalización y electrificación, clave para un futuro más sostenible , in: El País, 7-9-2023, https://elpais.com/america/tecnologia/electricidad-4-0/2023-09-07/digitalizacion-y-electrificacion-clave-para-un-futuro-mas-sostenible.html
[1] Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational company that specialises in digital automation and energy management. It addresses homes, buildings, data centres, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automation, software, and services. Schneider Electric is the parent company of Square D, APC, and others. It is also a research company. https://www.se.com/mx/es/
[2] The future has to be sustainable, efficient and safe. Electricity 4.0 proposes solutions for companies and governments through digital innovation and environmental responsibility.https://elpais.com/america/tecnologia/electricidad-4-0/
[3] Cities of the Future: digital, electric and sustainable. Innovation Day is the space in which Schneider Electric reiterates its commitment to sustainability, building the path that accelerates sustainable progress for everyone: customers, employees, partners and communities around the world, bringing together the most relevant people physically and virtually. in the industrial and business field, establishing the favorable scenario to start the necessary conversation towards sustainability and Net Zero in the cities of the future, today.https://www.se.com/mx/es/about-us/events/local/innovation-day-2023.jsp
[4] With digitalisation, various industrial processes have been streamlined and automated, improving the various production chains around them. However, the vulnerability of information, functions and sensitive areas of the company also exists. https://elpais.com/america/tecnologia/electricidad-4-0/2023-09-07/digitalizacion-y-electrificacion-clave-para-un-futuro-mas-sostenible.html
[5] SEISA is a 100% Mexican company, with international reach, focused on the development and integration of cogeneration solutions that add value to its clients. Pioneers in Mexico in offering on-site generation and cogeneration services, combined with SEISA's unique capacity to carry out cogeneration projects from 50 kW to 20 MW and our successful track record of more than 20 years designing, building and operating cogeneration plants, in Mexico, Canada, the United States, India and Colombia, makes us an invaluable partner in the cogeneration (distributed generation) market. https://seisaenergia.com/
[6] https://www.se.com/mx/es/work/campaign/life-is-on/case-study/nestle-nescafe.jsp
[7] https://www.se.com/mx/es/work/campaign/life-is-on/case-study/maselo-arquitectos-orion-class.jsp