APC 2013 Annual Report Download - page 35

OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP'S STRATEGY, MARKETS AND BUSINESSES
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Project objectives In the context of Ambassador, a District Energy Management
and Information System (DEMIS) will be developed, aiming to
The Ambassador program addresses the question of energy flow 1
define the optimal energy flows fulfilling a specific objective
management at the district level, both for electrical and hot/cold assigned to the district. The DEMIS will in turn control local
water networks. The project was kicked off in November2012, systems controlling buildings, electrical vehicle charging stations,
for a duration of 48 months. 15 partners from 11 European district hot/cold water networks, local production and storage
countries are contributing to the project, with over 700 resources and public lighting.
man/months worth of expertise across all relevant technologies.
Ambassador concepts will be demonstrated on 3 sites: CEA-INES
in France, Lavrion LTCP in Greece and BedZED in UK.
Financing innovative startups 5.7
In2000, Schneider Electric created an investment structure FibeRio – USD 3million investment in February2013
called Schneider Electric Ventures to invest in high-tech startups FibeRio is an American company that develops and sells
whose innovations fit with the Group’s future development. equipment to produce nanofibers based on a unique
In2010, Schneider Electric Ventures became Aster Capital with breakthrough process called Forcespinning®. It is the only
the launch of a new capital investment fund to finance innovative nanofiber production system enabling manufacturers to produce
startups operating within the areas of energy, new materials and nanofibers on a truly commercial scale, in a cost effective way,
the environment. This new fund received a capital subscription of and using a wide range of polymers.Nanofiber applications are
EUR105million from Schneider Electric (EUR40million), Alstom used in a variety of markets including filtration, hygiene, energy,
(EUR30million), Solvay (EUR15million) and in2012 by the textiles, biomedical and conductive applications.
European Investment Fund (EUR20million), a benchmark
Iceotope – GBP 1.2million investment
financial partner in Europe.
in December2013
Managing a portfolio of partnership Iceotope develops and delivers a patented energy efficient
opportunities technology designed, engineered and manufactured in Great
Britain. The company combines next generation liquid cooling
The mission of Aster Capital is to purchase minority interests in technology with industry standard ICT to respond to the energy
innovative startups in the fields of energy and the environment cost challenges of the global IT ecosystem, and in particular of
based in Europe, Israel, North America and Asia. The scouting the datacenter space. Designed with environmental impact in
activities constitute a source of particularly productive mind, Iceotope’s unique liquid cooled encapsulation of
partnerships and forge contacts with c. 1,500 small and electronics is the first truly scalable, sustainable and resource
mid-sized businesses around the world each year. In2013, three efficient solution to ICT cooling of its kind.
new investments were realized, joining the first seven companies
Identifying emerging trends and technologies
already in the portfolio, including Optiréno, Lucibel and
EcoFactor.
and delivering relevant inputs
Aster’s first fund currently still holds 11equity interests in Solaire
Direct, Jet Metal Technologies, Tronics, Casanova, Tiempo, Aster Capital is in touch with startups on a daily basis. This gives
Ordinal Software, Teem Photonics, HBA, Fludicon, Agilence and to Aster Capital a unique perspective on emerging technologies,
connectBlue. customer needs and market segments. The resulting expertise
Atlantium – USD 3million investment and vision are shared at three levels:
by identifying emerging trends and technologies which might
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in February2013 be impactful in the future for Schneider Electric markets and
Atlantium has developed unequalled innovation for water businesses, and sharing them on a regular basis with the
treatment combining ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection with appropriate leaders within Schneider Electric;
advanced hydraulic and fiber-optic principles. The company's by introducing about 300 startups each year to Schneider
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Hydro-Optic Disinfection™ solutions deliver unprecedented Electric teams within relevant countries, businesses and
microbial inactivation, preserving the environment through a corporate departments;and
reduction in the use of chemicals. Based in Israel, Atlantium by publishing market reviews that are presented to Schneider
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systems serve all water-dependent industries such as Food & Electric teams. In 2013, eight various topics related to the
Beverage, Dairy and Aquaculture. Next steps with Aster are energy and environment sectors have been covered and
accelerating the development of Ballast Water treatment and shared within Schneider Electric.
stepping up in Power Generation, Advanced Oxidation as well as
in upstream Oil & Gas.
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2013 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC