Siemens Erlangen Factory Named Digital Lighthouse by WEF

The World Economic Forum have announced that Siemens's factory in Erlangen, Germany will become a Digital Lighthouse Factory and part of its Global Lighthouse Network. 

This award recognises manufacturers who are at the bleeding edge of industry 4.0, harnessing newfound technologies to achieve staggering results.

The Erlangen plant is the third Siemens manufacturing site to be recognised by the WEF, after they acknowledged its sites in Amberg, Germany and Chengdu, China. 

Siemens announced last year that it would invest €500m (US$549.45m) in research and infrastructure in Erlangen, with a vision of the hub as a global development and research hub to advance the industrial metaverse.

So far this vision is being achieved. The Erlangen factory has successfully reduced energy consumption by 42% and increased productivity by 69% by utilising digital twins, robotics and AI. 

This has been driven by Siemens's adoption of the Green Lean Digital approach, which combines sustainable practices with digital innovation. 

What is the Green Lean Digital approach? 

The Green Lean Digital approach is a strategic framework that integrates sustainability, efficiency and digital transformation.

It focuses on three core principles:

• Green (Sustainability)

This aspect naturally involves reducing environmental impact by minimising carbon emissions, waste and energy consumption and waste.

Companies adopt renewable energy sources, implement circular economy practices and aim for carbon neutrality to align with global sustainability goals.

• Lean (Efficiency)

Lean principles focus on optimizing processes to eliminate waste, increase productivity and reduce costs.

By improving workflow efficiency and cutting excess, companies can enhance performance while reducing resource use, fostering both operational and environmental benefits.

• Digital (Transformation)

Digitalisation is essential to driving innovation and agility in this approach.

Technologies like AI, IoT and big data analytics help manufacturers optimise their operations in real-time, automate processes and track sustainability metrics more effectively.

Digital tools enable continuous monitoring, smart decision-making and predictive maintenance, improving both sustainability and operational efficiency.

Siemens has enacted the Green Lean Digital approach through its handling of semiconductor manufacturing, AI, robotics and digital twins, prioritising sustainability and circularity.

Siemens: driving digital innovation

The Erlangen factory has deployed more than 100 use cases, embracing digital twins and unique approaches to resource use and waste allocation.

They convinced the WEF's jury with five specific use cases that centered the Green Lean Digital approach

One of these use cases was an in-house semiconductor production project. 

Over the course of eleven months a clean-room production facility was built in the factory to produce semiconductors for the latest generation of the SINAMICS frequency converter.

Digital technologies greatly assisted in this process. An end-to-end data analytics program helped to reduce material consumption by 40% and space requirements by 50%. 

The team also used a special energy management system to reduce energy consumption by half. 

Siemens's success here- and the fact three other factories have won lighthouse status- speaks to the extent of its manufacturing innovation.

"All good things come in threes," says Cedrik Neike, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Digital Industries.

"Following recognitions for Amberg and Chengdu, this award highlights the inventiveness of our Erlangen team. By utilizing technologies like AI, digital twins and robotics, we have increased productivity by 69 percent, cut energy consumption by 42 percent, and are creating a blueprint for the industrial metaverse.

"This acknowledgement motivates us to continue our own sustainability efforts and to help our customers become more resilient and sustainable."

Erlangen site Head of Manufacturing Stephan Schlauss agrees, adding: 

"The Siemens factory in Erlangen aims to "become the leading supplier of power electronics for the energy transition.

"This award recognizes the commitment of all our employees in recent years. It’s also an incentive for us to never rest on our laurels, but to improve even more." 

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