Siemens and the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) to cooperate in wind energy research

Siemens Power Generation (PG) and the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) are to cooperate in the further development of key components for wind turbines. Andreas Nauen, head of Siemens Wind Power Division and Professor Burkhart Rauhut, Chancellor of RWTH, signed the associated cooperation agreement in Aachen on December 7, 2007. The aim of cooperation here is further development of the drive train for wind turbines, essentially focusing on points such as efficiency, reliability and service life. A further aim of this long-term cooperation project is to assist in recruiting qualified personnel for PG´s fast growing wind power sector.

Siemens will be setting up a competence center in Aachen, with a staff of 20 planned for late 2008. The first joint projects with RWTH are planned to kick off as early as January 2008. The Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) and the Institute for Machine Elements from RWTH are also included in the cooperation project. Development will concentrate on a number of fields including gear box design, fabrication and analysis. Joint activities with the Institute for Machine Elements will push ahead development of bearings for this application. This is the third cooperation project between a university and Siemens Wind Power.

"Qualified staff will play a key role in future development of our wind power business", said Andreas Nauen. "Cooperation with this renowned university will give us access to leading edge technology for our wind turbines on the one hand. At the same time it will enable us to offer talented engineers optimum career perspectives within the global Siemens corporation."

The wind power market is expected to grow by an average of 14 percent per year by 2011. Siemens is one of the leading suppliers of wind power systems, with growth that outpaces that of the market. Revenues and orders booked increased by more than 50 percent in the last fiscal, with Siemens hiring more than 1,000 additional staff in this sector during this period.