Siemens Energy plans to increase its investment in the renewable energy sector as it prepares to spin off from the German industrial conglomerate later this year.
The company also intends to derive more value from its wind business, Siemens Gamesa, which is being merged with its power and gas unit, new president and chief executive Christian Bruch told The National.
Siemens Energy will spin off on September 28 after a proposal to separate the company was approved by shareholders last week, with 99.4 per cent backing the move.
Siemens Energy had an annual revenue of €28.8 billion (Dh120.9bn), with an order backlog of €77bn as of September 2019. The company had 91,000 employees as of March.
“We are going invest some more money into sustainable technologies and more to further efficiency improvements. But, definitely, I expect our portfolio over the next 10 years to develop to a more sustainable base and to raise the share of renewables and sustainable technology to bigger than it is today,” Mr Bruch said.
Mr Bruch joined Siemens Energy in May as part of a series of managerial changes before the spin-off, which will result in the unit listing separately.
The former chief executive of industrial gas company Linde sees opportunity amid the coronavirus pandemic and clean stimulus initiatives to grow its renewable energy offering, which currently accounts for about 35 per cent of its business.
“Between transmission and wind, you have more than 50 per cent revenue of the company in this field. And the other, let us say less than 50 per cent, is between oil and gas, generation and so forth. It is definitely our intention now, with the transformation of the energy market, we will transform our company,” he said.
Electricity interconnectivity is a sub-sector the company intends to grow. Siemens Energy recently began work on a high-voltage, direct current link between the UK and Denmark, which will supply around 1.4 gigawatts of energy.
The 765 kilometre Viking Link, for which Siemens is building two converter stations, is expected to begin commercial operations by the end of 2023.
While electricity grids remain fairly robust within the EU and surrounding regions, Siemens Energy is considering more work in the developing world where it plans to build high-voltage, direct current networks to transmit power over long distances.
“Some of the developing world [countries] will become an energy supplier or an energy exporter because some of [them] have good access to energy, solar or wind. And one element which we need to understand is: how do we transport energy out of these countries?”
Producing energy that can be transported could also be done through green hydrogen projects.
“This could be [through] hydrogen or other chemical carriers [such as] ammonia or methanol,” he said, with a caveat that commercial-scale production of hydrogen as a viable energy source is still some years away.
“I do believe it will be one of the key technologies to solve energy problems. But also, to be very clear, it will be very difficult. It is an area of development, but it’s not commercial business yet. I do not see that over the next two, three, four years. It will take some time to make it happen."
A bright spot for development of the flammable gas is the Middle East, he said.
Siemens is running a pilot solar-powered hydrogen electrolysis project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai.
The plant is eventually expected to produce 240 kilograms of green hydrogen a day.
Elsewhere in the region, Siemens Energy continues to carry out work on a $15bn (Dh55bn) overhaul of Iraq’s war-damaged utilities.
“We are continuously executing projects in Iraq. The first plan is now really as quickly as possible [to] add power to the grid. And there is a plan from Siemens on the table on how we can even do this with existing power plants by just improving the power output,” he said.
Last month, Iraq’s electricity ministry signed a contract with Siemens to build a 400 kilovolt substation in Ramadi.
The German industrial giant is building 13 132/33 kilovolt substations as it focuses on electricity transmission and distribution in Basra and the central and southern provinces of the country.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
57%20Seconds
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
The view from The National
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
