With global transportation the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and road transport responsible for almost three-quarters of these emissions, Siemens Smart Infrastructure has launched Depot360, a portfolio that goes beyond installation and servicing of electrical and charging infrastructure to cover the entire fleet electrification journey.
Providing access to green energy at the lowest possible cost, Depot360 is set to accelerate customers toward their sustainability goals.
Depot360 supports Decarbonization goals
Designed to both simplify and catalyze the transition to fleet electrification, Depot360 supports ambitious decarbonization goals, paving the way for sustainable transport and reduced environmental impact.
Depot360 offers customers a predictable OPEX model that enables a lower cost of ownership and reduced energy spend.
Driving innovation in depot
Depot360 forms part of Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform
Depot360 forms part of Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform that enables fleet operators to accelerate their digital transformation. The initial focus of the portfolio is on logistics vehicles, municipal transit and private bus fleets within depot, warehouse, and terminal facilities.
“In the near future, many cities will only allow zero-emissions logistics vehicles into their centers, making the need to accelerate fleet electrification paramount,” said Thomas Kiessling, CTO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure, adding “We have created an AI-driven energy and charging management platform to operate electric fleet depots, further driving innovation in depot and warehouse infrastructure, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and renewable energy integration. With Depot360 and collaborative efforts with innovative partners, we can accelerate the transition toward a decarbonized transportation sector, ushering in a new era of sustainable road-based mobility.”
Depot360 Managed Services
The initial offerings from the Depot360 portfolio comprise Depot360 Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) and Depot360 Managed Services. Depot360 CaaS provides a zero-upfront investment solution to streamline the fleet transition to electric vehicles, from consultation and financing to depot design, construction, commissioning, and management.
Routed in intelligent planning, all requirements are addressed including fleet size and scope, grid connection, charging infrastructure, depot and energy management software, and ongoing maintenance, ensuring a future-proof solution to customer needs.
Siemens 24/7 Network Operations Center
Depot360 Managed Services, designed to optimize charging and fleet infrastructure
Depot360 Managed Services, designed to optimize charging and fleet infrastructure, is an integral part of Depot360 CaaS, and is also available as a standalone offering for existing charging infrastructure or when customers prefer different financing models.
To enable the Managed Services offering, Siemens has developed the Depot360 AI Platform. Using this platform, an expert team from the Siemens 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) can continuously leverage fleet-centric algorithms to monitor and manage the charging infrastructure’s performance.
This enables them to identify and proactively solve issues based on data-driven decisions to improve and upgrade fleet operations, and ultimately provide full transparency into operations. With guaranteed charging station uptime and vehicle state of charge (SoC) readiness for optimized route completion, customers will enjoy lower energy costs, and reduced cost-per-mile.
Depot360 Managed Services
Energy cost reduction is further enabled via enhanced, data-centric decision-making for fleets and real-time energy price signals. This includes Load Shifting to enable the charging load to be moved to off-peak, less expensive hours, and Peak Shaving to allow for schedule-based load management so that NOC team members can set power limits for charger groups and ultimately protect the power capacity of the depot.
Depot360 Managed Services will also set up the mechanisms and services to have participating fleets provide their DERs to grid service wholesale markets for further energy cost savings.
Innovative solutions and data insights
Siemens Xcelerator–an ever-growing open ecosystem of partners
Siemens has also joined the Geotab Sustainability Alliance, empowering companies with innovative solutions
Thanks to telematics partnerships with pioneering companies, such as Geotab, Siemens can access real-time vehicle data, providing the insight required to further improve fleet operations. Siemens has also joined the Geotab Sustainability Alliance, empowering companies with innovative solutions and data insights.
“We are thrilled to work with Siemens toward our shared goal of derisking the scaling of EV infrastructure for fleets,” said Eric Mallia, Geotab’s Vice President of Sustainability Solutions, adding “Together with Geotab's pioneering EV telematics capability, Siemens’ Depot360 will help ensure that vehicles are properly charged when needed, while also optimizing charging schedules to minimize costs and carbon emissions.”
Fleet customers' requirements
Recognizing that upfront costs can be a limiting factor for initiating the electrification transition, Siemens is offering financial solutions through its division, Siemens Financial Services (SFS). In addition, Siemens is partnering with other third-party financial institutions such as GEFA BANK, a pioneering vehicle lease specialist in the German market with a detailed understanding of fleet customers' requirements.
Commenting on the announcement, André Rolfes, Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions from GEFA BANK, said: “The move toward zero-emission transportation is a significant challenge for many businesses, requiring large investments and careful management of technological complexities. Through our partnership with Siemens, we offer companies access to advanced equipment along with customized financing solutions, enabling them to navigate this transition more effectively and sustainably.”
Initially focused on the US, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Sweden, and Norway, Siemens will continue to enhance the Depot360 portfolio through the expansion of its partner network. Moving forward, it will also look to expand the Depot360 portfolio to additional markets.