Schneider Zhang Zongming: "3D+E" trend is leading the transformation of the energy industry

China Energy Storage Network News: Zhang Zongming, who grew up in Taiwan, studied in the United States, and works for a French company, was speaking Taiwanese Mandarin to talk to reporters about the "13th Five-Year Plan for Energy Development" and "13th Five-Year Plan for Electricity Development", as well as the latest microgrid policy released by the National Energy Administration. In Schneider Electric's office in Wangjing, the reporter conducted a video interview with Zhang Zongming, who is working in Shanghai. Zhang Zongming is currently the vice president of marketing for Schneider Electric's China Energy Division.

"China's electricity market is changing very quickly. Schneider Electric believes that in the next five years, there will be huge changes in grid efficiency improvement, microgrid construction and end-user electricity users. Like evangelists, we continue to tell our customers and partners that digitalization, automation, and intelligence will have a revolutionary impact on the power industry. Only by actively integrating into the changes can we embrace opportunities rather than being eliminated." Zhang Zongming, who spoke quickly, expressed to reporters his eagerness to work with the industry to explore the future.

Zhang Zongming works for Schneider Electric, a global electrical company headquartered in France. Schneider Electric positions itself as an expert in global energy efficiency management and automation. Schneider Electric has a history of more than 180 years, but its history and achievements have obviously not become the capital for Schneider Electric to pursue comfort. It still has its eyes on the long-term future.

Regarding the future of the industry, Zhang Zongming said: "In the era of greater electrification, we need to seize the opportunities of decentralization and decarbonization, and adopt a more digitalized operation and maintenance management method to improve efficiency. This is the '3D+E' opportunity created for us by the new energy world."

Under the wave of digitalization and informatization, the energy industry is undergoing a transformation, which will lead the industry into a "new energy world". Schneider Electric has emphasized on many occasions that it is willing to become a pioneer in the new energy world.

Zhang Zongming emphasized that we hope all partners can understand that in the "3D+E" changes, we do not have to choose to wait and see, but instead participate in the changes from a variety of angles and methods. We will turn the "3D+E" trends into opportunities rather than challenges. These are some of the things I am most concerned about.

Schneider Electric believes that with the development of IoT technology, the power industry will generate more and more digital content. The future power grid will not only transmit electricity, but also transmit data. It is a smart grid that connects all devices on the power network. The digital grid architecture is a major trend in the new energy world.

As for the future of the entire energy industry, Schneider Electric predicts that the earth is facing an energy crisis. In the next 40 years, global energy consumption will increase by 50%, which is 1.5 times the current level. If we want to ensure that global warming does not exceed 2 degrees Celsius and keep urban pollution within an acceptable range, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by half. To achieve this goal, energy efficiency must be increased by 3 times. In this context, the only way to ensure sustainable development is to build a new energy ecosystem. This system needs to be based on a highly flexible, more decentralized and clean development model, and supported by a rapidly responsive digital power grid. In this new energy system, people consume electricity while also producing electricity. Faced with this situation, power companies must be far-sighted and bold in innovation if they want to survive. First, they must promote digital reforms, adopt the Internet of Things and integrate their IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) systems; second, low carbonization, adopt sustainable solutions in local energy production and storage, and promote the integration of renewable energy. The third is decentralization, that is, the use of two-way energy and information flows to improve operational efficiency and provide services and technologies that match buildings with new energy systems.

Be prepared and act accordingly. This year, Schneider Electric launched a new generation of EcoStruxureTM, which provides an open and interoperable system architecture for the building, infrastructure, industrial and data center markets, promoting comprehensive innovation from interconnected products to edge control, and then to applications, analysis and services. Among them, EcoStruxureTM Grid (i.e. EcoStruxureTM Grid), as an open and secure architecture specifically for power distribution, responds to the development trend of "3D+E" in the new energy world by collecting and managing rich data and achieving higher levels of asset management, grid operation and grid flexibility, helping the power distribution field to create more efficient operations, optimize asset management and accelerate digital transformation.

Schneider Electric has given a high position to the latest EcoStruxureTM system. At a press conference a few months ago, Yin Zheng, Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric and President of China, said: "Schneider Electric uses the EcoStruxureTM system architecture to integrate advanced technologies in the fields of IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud computing, analysis and network security into a series of management and connection links in the field of power distribution. By analyzing large amounts of data from the IoT and taking real-time actions, we can improve customer operations and increase energy efficiency to face future challenges."

What is commendable is that Schneider Electric is willing to embrace the "3D+E" trend together with its peers and even competitors. For example, EcoStruxureTM, as an open, interoperable system architecture and platform based on the Internet of Things, has a variety of open solutions, operating interfaces, and software, and will also use open protocols. It is jointly developed and promoted by leading standard organizations and top technology leaders. In Schneider Electric's view, in the digital age, only when more people and companies participate can the transformation of the energy industry be accelerated.