From City 4.0 to City Net Zero! Siemens and partners from Taiwan and Germany call on cities to harness digital technologies to drive national net-zero transformation
First initiated by Siemens in 2013, the Taiwan Sustainability Summit has grown into an authoritative platform for dialogue between Taiwan and Germany. Co-hosted with the German Institute Taipei, the German Trade Office Taipei, and the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy, the summit gathers leaders from industry, government, and academia to address issues vital to Taiwan’s sustainable development. Past themes have included Industry 4.0, Energy Transition, Digital Transformation, Industrial AI, and City 4.0. As a global top-10 software company, Siemens combines the real and digital worlds, with 90% of its business delivering measurable sustainability impact. This year’s summit focused on how technology empowers cities to drive national net-zero strategies.
At this year’s summit, Siemens showcased its concrete contributions across five critical domains – semiconductors, buildings, rail transport, energy management, and data centers – highlighting reference cases from Taiwan’s cities as well as projects in the U.S. with direct relevance for Taiwan:
Sustainable Buildings (Taipei): Siemens supported Q Square Mall in becoming a sustainable green department store. By optimizing pump operations, the project saves the equivalent of 1 million kWh of electricity annually, reducing CO₂ emissions comparable to the absorption capacity of 1.3 Da’an Forest Parks. AI-powered intelligent controls also improved the efficiency of the mall’s chiller systems.
Rail Transportation (Taoyuan): For the Taoyuan Metro Green Line currently under construction, Siemens deployed its Sitras SMS system to detect and mitigate stray currents in real time. This technology extends the lifespan of rail infrastructure while preventing soil and water contamination caused by corrosion.
Semiconductors (Kaohsiung): Siemens partnered with Merck to establish its first large-scale smart semiconductor solutions hub, integrating the SIMIT Digital Twin platform for virtual commissioning. This approach reduced costs, accelerated time-to-market, and cut commissioning time by 50%.
Energy Management (Hualien): Supporting Taiwan Power Company at the Yuli Substation, Siemens implemented its clean-air Blue GIS switchgear technology. Unlike conventional systems that rely on SF₆ – a greenhouse gas with a warming potential over 20,000 times greater than CO₂ – Blue GIS offers a safe, eco-friendly alternative.
Energy Management / Digital Power Grids (U.S.): Siemens worked with American Electric Power to build a full digital twin of its power grid, enabling seamless planning, operation, and protection. The solution enhanced grid stability and resilience while reducing outages.
Data Centers (U.S.): For Meta (Facebook), Siemens applied Simcenter Flotherm electronic cooling simulation software to optimize airflow and cooling design in data centers, achieving energy savings of up to 38%.
Siemens Taiwan President & CEO Frank Grunert said, “Siemens strongly believes that technologies are the strongest lever in enabling city net-zero transformation. Through Digital Twin and AI, we can achieve resource efficiency.” German Institute Taipei Director General Karsten Tietz highlighted: “We live in difficult times. When we look at the destroyed cities in Ukraine, Gaza and other places, human suffering and rising tensions in the world one could easily say: …and we worry about net zero cities? But make no mistake. Wars will end, tensions will cease and then we still need a world where humanity can survive. If we don’t act, climate change can cause more destruction and human suffering than all the wars we have seen. Not in a distant future but already for the next generation.” Dr. Eva Langerbeck, Chief Representative and Executive Director of the German Trade Office Taipei, said: “Only by combining German and Taiwanese innovation and harnessing technology to drive urban transformation can we turn the vision of net zero into an achievable future.” TAISE Chairman Dr. Eugene Chien said, “Achieving net zero requires cities to unite with both the public and private sectors, forge partnerships that span industries and borders, and harness the collective strength and support of their citizens to drive policy implementation and accelerate carbon reduction efforts.”
To further facilitate City Net Zero in Taiwan, the co-organizers concluded the six Core Statements:
- Cities must lead national net-zero transformation through technology
- Enhancing resource efficiency and grid stability unlocks the full value of urban data centers
- Net-zero buildings must prioritize human comfort
- Urban infrastructure can unlock immediate gains through proven technologies
- Sustainable cities demand low-carbon urban mobility
- Cities must forge partnerships and unite their people to deliver climate impact