The cities thirst for decentralised energy solutions

By regarding the cities as clusters of independent entities instead of huge single units, pump manufacturer Grundfos intends to contribute to energy-saving water handling and waste water solutions. Decentralisation means more flexibility and less vulnerability in the mega cities.

The world’s leading pump manufacturer, Danish Grundfos, is monitoring the development of the cities with great interest. The environmental challenges in the proliferating urban areas are immense; the market for energy-saving pumps and major waste water solutions is growing and Grundfos wants to contribute to ‘a better life in better cities’.

From the top of a hill overlooking the small town of Bjerringbro at the very centre of the Danish peninsula Jutland, the EXPO Newsletter reporter is received by Niels Due Jensen, Chairman of the board and son of the founder of Grundfos, Poul Due Jensen. Here at Grundfos’s Business Development Centre there is constant focus on expanding the company’s existing business areas and improving the products in order to become even more energy efficient.

It has become a tradition that Grundfos takes part in world exhibitions. What do you gain from participating?

It is true that we have been engaged in quite a few world exhibitions. I think Shanghai 2010 is the seventh time that we participate. To put it briefly, we participate in order to brand our company and our products and to demonstrate leadership. We want to show our energy-saving pumps and waste water solutions to the world and we are convinced that it has been worth every krone invested. It is no secret that we have invested heavily in our EXPO participation over the years, not least in last year’s EXPO in Zaragoza, Spain, where we built our own corporate pavilion as one of only a handful of international companies. The idea of having our own pavilion was excellent, but in Shanghai we have chosen to be part of the official Danish pavilion.

For the first time EXPO puts focus on the development of the cities. What can Grundfos offer the world in order to ensure an environmentally correct urban development?

More and more cities are sprouting up all over the world, and they are getting bigger and bigger – unfortunately. In 2015, 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities, which will create giant environmental challenges. Personally, I think it would be wiser for mankind not to huddle together; however, urbanisation has been going on for centuries and there is no doubt that this development will continue.

We believe that Grundfos can offer interesting solutions to the booming cities in terms of energy-saving pumps and water handling in general. Our point of departure is that you should not regard a city as a single unit but as a lot of independent and interacting satellite units. We want to offer these satellite units decentralised solutions and, right now, our development centre is working on a decentralised water handling solution based on movable containers. From our point of view, the future demands more decentralised solutions in the big urban societies in order to increase flexibility and reduce vulnerability, in terms of terror for instance. A number of containers will be able to treat water corresponding to 40,000 to 50,000 personal equivalents, and our new waste water solution meets the standard of quality demanded for irrigation and drinking water.  

In spite of the world-wide financial crisis, Grundfos experienced strong growth in China last year. What do the Chinese demand from your products, and will you be able to continue your growth in the Chinese market?

The Chinese market for pumps is huge. In China, Grundfos chose to position itself in the high-end segment of the pump market by delivering energy-saving products with longer durability and fewer repair costs. The high-end segment is growing, yet it only accounts for about 10 per cent of the total pump market in China.

The last few years have seen an increase in our annual turnover in China of 20 to 30 per cent, and we have just built a modern water utility plant in Suzhou, an hour away from Shanghai by car. It is a fairly large plant with production covering some 30,000 square metres and with 1,500 employees. We are well-established in China with approximately 400 sales employees placed all over the country and a new R&D centre in Shanghai. In fact, we consider China our second home market, which is also the reason why we are so enthusiastic about EXPO 2010.  

Unavoidably, we expect a financial slowdown in 2009 with a declining turnover of some 20 per cent in China due to the world crisis, but I am convinced that we shall recover. The Chinese government has implemented enormous growth packages that indicate a real effort to strengthen so-called green growth in China. Green cities are being built on a test basis, and especially the wealthier parts of the population are very much focused on the environment. Right now, every Chinese releases about 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, while the Danes release about 10 tonnes each. Within 40 years, every person should release only one tonne a year. 

Among the Danish companies, Grundfos is one of the most experienced EXPO participants. What is your view on the development of word exhibitions?

The world exhibitions do have a raison d’être. It is important to meet at one location to demonstrate what can be achieved within technology, architecture and other areas. It is exciting to visitors and business people to visit such a global meeting point, and EXPO has definitely come to stay. At Grundfos, we are very pleased that the overall EXPO themes focus on environment, energy-saving, etc. Those are our themes!  

Does it make sense at all to talk about sustainability in the mega cities of the third world?

It should make sense to talk about sustainability even in the big cities. A lot of problems are related to the fact that people huddle together in urban areas, but I believe that this fact makes mankind even more aware of the environmental challenges we face. At Grundfos, sustainability is an integrated part of all we do, and decentralised water solutions, water recycling, solar heating, solar cells, etc. are the future. 

There has been a lot of media attention concerning the Danish EXPO participation and the exchange of the Little Mermaid. What is your opinion of the Danish pavilion and exhibition at EXPO 2010 Shanghai?

The Danish pavilion in Shanghai has a brilliant design. From the very first sight, you are confronted with a beautiful and elegant building that represents Denmark perfectly. It matches the image of the Denmark that we want to show to the world, and it lives up to our traditions of industrial design and architecture. The exchange of the Little Mermaid is a stroke of genius and I am happy that the City of Copenhagen gave permission to the exchange. The cultural exchange with China based on the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen contains good elements. It is a well thought-through pavilion, and I am sure that the technical solutions inside will be just as perfect.