EUROPE to integrate data it was an intensive , long and expensive process ,” Greiner adds . “ Today , we are able to do it within days if not hours . This drives value as you have more time to dig into the data and gain insight .”

Demand in the utility and power market fluctuates daily . As you can imagine , a colder winter season will see more people turning on their heating for longer spells , whilst a heatwave could see a spike in air conditioning use . By using predictive data analytics , Uniper plans to use its portfolio , safely , to its utmost capability . “ A major driver of the profitability of your portfolio is , of course , how you manage your assets ,” explains van Aaken , noting that when the firm is planning to invest and maintain its assets , it is doing so on a portfolio basis rather than looking at individual power plant sites . “ We have a strategy for our power plant portfolio and the maintenance of our components ,” he continues . “ These components are stressed differently according to how you operate your power plant , and that obviously depends on the market and the strategy of the traders . Now , for each component , we can collect data about how it is operating through our digitisation strategy .”

— Dr . Stephan van Aaken , VP responsible for the Asset Digitalisation program

Combining data about how a com- ponent was run with predictions about the future energy market , Uniper can now forecast how power plants will run in the future and when they will need to undergo maintenance . Van Aaken likens this to maintaining a car , noting : “ You could change the tyres of a car every two years and you would probably be safe , but what if half of the time the car is parked and you ’ re only driving short distances within the city ? Changing the tyres every two years would be a waste and you wouldn ’ t be using up the life- time of the components .” On the other hand , he adds : “ What if the car suddenly needs to drive longer distances the

103

www . gigabitmagazine . com