Visitors conducting simulated tests on equipment running Siemens software at the Shanghai Expo 2010.

It's estimated that over the six months of its duration a total of 70 million people will visit Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The huge number of visitors and the high temperatures will present something of a challenge to the comfort of visitors to this grand gala, but green technology is riding to the rescue.

Located at the Urban Best Practice Area (UBPA) as a permanent construction, the Hamburg House is a unique and interesting building. It represents the first certified "Passive House" in China, which means it is an ultra-low energy building that uses only 10 percent of the heating or cooling requirements of traditional structures while maintaining a temperature inside of around 25 degrees.

Behind the unique airtight design there is innovative technology from Siemens. The electronics and engineering company is committed to leveraging the world's leading "green" technologies to equip this Passive House with the world's most advanced and energy-saving devices.

The Passive House boasts zero-gas emissions. It makes full use of the heat from human bodies and electrical equipment to create much of the warmth. In addition, renewables such as geothermal and solar power are used as additional energy sources for heating, cooling and other needs.

Siemens' green technology helps to stage both a sustainable and the first green Expo in Shanghai. How to handle several million visitors was a priority for organizers. Siemens has supplied a lot of new technologies for the city's massive infrastructure construction, about 90 percent of which is related to sustainable, environmentally-friendly products and solutions.

For example, Siemens provides efficient transportation and clean air and water in Shanghai. Also, Siemens supplies technology used in more than 40 projects at the exhibition ground. As Richard Hausmann, chief executive officer for Siemens Northeast Asia and president and CEO of Siemens Ltd, China said, "The entire Expo is our pavilion."

New sector

Environmental protection is becoming a new sector that is attracting multinational companies. According to Hausmann, Siemens' global business revenue related to environmental protection will reach 25 billion euros (210.7 billion yuan) in 2011. Environmental protection revenue will account for one quarter of the company's total revenue. The proportion in China will reach 40 percent, where there is a great need for green technology solutions.

Siemens has been a pioneer and participant at world expositions for nearly 160 years. The ties between Siemens and Shanghai at world expos also have a long tradition. At Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, Siemens portrayed Shanghai's future in 2030 at its pavilion as well as successfully supporting the city's bid for the 2010 Expo. This year's event is heralded as a perfect epitome of a sustainable city and is telling the world how Shanghai has been promoting a "low carbon" economy.

In the China Pavilion, Hamburg House, the German pavilion and the "We Are the World" pavilion, Siemens is showcasing solutions related to smart grids, energy efficiency, electromobility and the combination of traditional Chinese medicine with German healthcare technology, as well as demonstrating how these technologies can bring down carbon emissions in pursuit of a better quality of life.

On the exhibition ground, some 150,000 light-emitting diodes from Osram, a Siemens company, will illuminate the pavilions and boulevards in soft China Red, Golden Dragon or glittering white colors. These LEDs consume 80 percent less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs. Siemens is also providing power distribution and fire protection systems. The 66-meter-high pavilion of the Chinese host features a plethora of energy-saving building technologies from Siemens and is already very likely to become the green landmark of the Expo. Thanks to Siemens technology, Hamburg House consumes less energy than nearly any other building of its kind in the world.

An unparalleled vision of "2015 low-carbon family life" powered by Siemens is displayed in the We Are the World pavilion. Siemens opens the door to a wonderland full of innovative technologies for a better life. The Vision Design Platform enables the industrial project team members scattered around the world to collaborate in a more efficient and life-work balanced way. The LED technology unveils a revolutionary new era of energy-saving lighting; while the smart grid concept makes it possible that even a family can become an electricity producer. These are not distant dreams. Most of the technologies displayed are in Siemens' research and development pipeline or are already prototype applications.

Nevertheless, the total energy demand for the Expo and the megacity of Shanghai will be enormous. Nearly one third of this demand will be met by the world's most efficient coal-fired power plant at Waigaoqiao. The latest Siemens technology is pushing the efficiency of this plant to 46 percent. Clean water is also in short supply in the megacity. Here again, Siemens plays a role, providing the technology that will be used to filter water from Lake Tai.

To ensure that visitors arrive safely at the Expo host city, Siemens has delivered key components for 100 high-speed trains. When the route opens, it will transport passengers from Beijing to Shanghai in less than five hours. Siemens has also installed China's largest parking management system at the terminal station.