LACROIX : “Intelligent local grid” project celebrates its completion: LACROIX confirms its leading role in smart grids in Germany

PRESS RELEASE

22/07/2022

“Intelligent local grid” project celebrates its completion:
LACROIX confirms its leading role in smart grids in Germany

In June, LACROIX Environment activity joined wesernetz Bremerhaven to celebrate the completion of their "intelligent local grid" project in the northern German city of Bremerhaven.

Telecontrol systems from LACROIX (SAE IT-systems in Germany) have been in use by wesernetz Bremerhaven since 2011 for monitoring and operational management of the gas, water, district heat and electricity networks. As a network operator in the maritime city of Bremerhaven, wesernetz Bremerhaven GmbH's service portfolio includes the transport, storage and metering of energy and drinking water. Its supply area covers approx. 114,000 inhabitants, an area of 7,763 hectares with a pipeline network of over 2,700 kilometers in length. The electricity network takes up about 1,292km of this and has 78,964 E-house connections, 306km of which consist of medium-voltage cable (20kV). The annual electricity sales of wesernetz Bremerhaven amounted to 478.9 million kWh in 2020.

As part of the project to replace outdated technology, the local substations were upgraded to meet new network management requirements in terms of transparency and controllability, as well as safety and reliability. For example, substations must consistently be switchable in future, in order to ensure shorter downtimes in the event of faults. The connection of network analysis systems, short-circuit and earth-fault indicators as well as protection devices to the LACROIX telecontrol system enables precise monitoring of the network status. A comprehensive redundancy concept and extensive IT security measures in accordance with the ISO 27001 standard round off the project.

The project, which began in 2018, has now been completed, with a total of 422 LACROIX telecontrol stations installed to help ensure the future security of Bremen’s supply networks. What makes this even more remarkable, the project has reached completion with no delays, despite significant challenges caused by the component crisis and the pandemic.

"We have been working with SAE IT Systems, a LACROIX brand in Germany, successfully for 11 years, and are very proud to be able to complete this major project in Bremerhaven without any delays" says wesernetz Bremerhaven GmbH project manager Oliver Martens, "thanks to LACROIX technology, we are well prepared for all challenges in the power grid in the coming years."

“This project is a perfect illustration of our smart positioning, know-how and proximity with our customers”, continues Ronald Vrancken, President of LACROIX Germany, “a four-year project of retrofitting the existing infrastructure with telecontrol stations to make it smarter and more secure, all this without delays. We’re very grateful to have had the chance to help wesernetz Bremerhaven transition to a smarter grid.”

Upcoming reports
Revenue for the second quarter and first half of 2022: 25 August 2022 after market close

Visit our investor relations page to find financial information
https://www.lacroix-group.com/investors/

About LACROIX

Convinced that technology should contribute to making our living environments simpler, more sustainable and safer, LACROIX supports its customers in the construction and management of intelligent living ecosystems, thanks to connected equipment and technologies.

As a publicly-listed family-owned mid-cap, LACROIX combines the essential agility required to innovate in an ever-changing technological sector with the ability to industrialise robust and secure equipment, cutting-edge know-how in industrial IoT solutions and electronic equipment for critical applications and the long-term vision to invest and build for the future.

LACROIX designs and manufactures electronic equipment, in particular in the automotive, home automation, aeronautical, industrial and health sectors. LACROIX also provides safe, connected equipment for the management of critical infrastructure such as smart roads (street lighting, traffic signs, traffic management, V2X) and the management and operation of water and energy systems.

Drawing on its extensive experience and expertise, the Group works with its customers and partners to build the connection between the world of today and the world of tomorrow. It helps them to create the industry of the future and to make the most of the opportunities for innovation that surround them, supplying them with the equipment for a smarter world.

Attachment

• LACROIX_CP_Wesernetz Bremerhaven_20220721_EN