Dialogue | Innomotics' Shan Yajuan: Technology-driven, innovative breakthroughs under the new situation

As the global demand for energy efficiency and environmental protection continues to increase, Variable Frequency Drive, as a core technology in the field of electrical transmission, is of great significance in industrial automation and energy conservation and emission reduction. As a leading global supplier of motors and large-scale transmission systems, Innomotics actively promotes and practices digitalization and low-carbon transformation to achieve higher-level technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrades, injecting new vitality into the development of the Variable Frequency Drive industry.

with Innomotics , but they should be familiar with Siemens Drives, and they may have had close cooperation. Yes, Innomotics is the new name of Siemens Drives. At the just-concluded 24th China International Industry Fair, Innomotics made its first independent appearance at the 2024 Industry Fair with a new brand image, and won countless fans with its excellent technology and innovative products!

Shan Yajuan

Innomotics and General Manager of Medium Voltage Inverter and Medium Voltage Motor Division

what new experiences will the newly unveiled Innomotics bring to customers, and what is its future development direction? During the exhibition, Variable Frequency Drive World had the honor to interview Ms. Shan Yajuan , Vice President of Innomotics and General Manager of Medium Voltage Variable Frequency and Medium Voltage Motor Business Unit, to take this opportunity to explore Innomotics ' ambitions on its new journey.

Rich product portfolio

Meeting all medium voltage variable frequency drive market needs

At this exhibition, Innomotics made its debut with a new brand, showcasing its star Variable Frequency Drive products GH180 Variable Frequency Drive and SM150 Variable Frequency Drive , as well as test bench solutions and elevator solutions based on Variable Frequency Drive .

Among them, GH180, as the originator of the multi-unit series universal Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive , has been leading the advancement since its launch and has always maintained the title of the most widely used medium voltage variable frequency drive . High availability is also what GH180 has always pursued. The GH180 introduced to China in the early 1990s has been in service in a water plant for more than 24 years. In addition, GH180 can be used on plateaus at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, and can also drive subsea electric submersible pumps on offshore platforms through more than 10 kilometers of cables.

Innomotics GH180 Perfect Harmony Series Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive  

SM150 is the representative of Innomotics' high-performance dedicated Variable Frequency Drive . With its powerful control function, high dynamic response characteristics and common DC bus application, it has become a well-known product in the fields of metallurgical rolling mills, mine hoists, test benches, etc. SM150 has been localized in Innomotics ' global factory in Shanghai. The localized SM150 can provide customers with faster local services while ensuring the German quality of the product.

Innomotics SM150 Series Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive

Shan Yajuan said that as a world-leading manufacturer of medium-voltage variable frequency drives , Innomotics has set global benchmarks in terms of installed capacity, customized design to suit the environment, and reliability. With more than 50 years of experience in variable frequency drive manufacturing, Innomotics is able to produce medium-voltage variable frequency drives that meet almost all market needs , and its rich drive technology product portfolio can perfectly cope with both basic and specific industry applications.

Innomotics has a complete product line of medium voltage variable frequency drives . In addition to the GH180 and SM150 exhibited this time, there are also products such as GH150, GM150, GL150, SH150 and SL150. These products have their own characteristics. For different loads and application environments, Innomotics can provide users with comprehensive solutions through these products. At present, Innomotics ' customers cover most industrial fields such as steel, cement, petroleum, chemical, mining, water treatment, etc. With the rise of the domestic new energy vehicle industry, Innomotics products have also occupied a place in the application of domestic automotive test benches.

Inheriting a century of quality

Provide more competitive quality products

In November 2022, Siemens decided to spin off its large drive and motor business from its core business and merge it into an independent company.

On July 1, 2023, Innomotics was established as an independently operated entity in Nuremberg, Germany. Innomotics integrates Siemens' low-voltage to medium-voltage motors, gear motors, medium-voltage variable frequency drives and electric spindles, and provides related services and project support.

On May 16, 2024, private equity giant KPS acquired Innomotics from Siemens , and the transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of fiscal 2025.

In the past two years, Innomotics has undergone a rapid business restructuring, and while welcoming new changes, it has also faced severe market challenges. Shan Yajuan said that despite the slowdown in the economic environment in the past two years, Innomotics ' Variable Frequency Drive business has grown against the trend and delivered a satisfactory answer. Thanks to the excellent performance of the product, Innomotics Variable Frequency Drive still has a leading market share in mid-to-high-end applications. However, due to the increase in market participants, the price of medium-voltage Variable Frequency Drive has dropped to a very low level, which has affected Innomotics ' market share in some simple applications to a certain extent .

In Shan Yajuan's view, relying on Siemens' more than 100 years of roots in the field of motors and large transmission equipment, the independent Innomotics has the same "core" and bold "new". As a newly created brand, Innomotics ' core business philosophy remains unchanged, and it will continue to inherit Siemens' century-old quality, adhere to quality, and remain committed to the market, customers, and meeting their needs. After becoming independent, Innomotics has also undergone many new changes. Not only has its business become more focused, the company also has greater flexibility and autonomy. It can not only formulate flexible and efficient strategies and decisions based on its own market positioning and customer needs, but also has greater ability and motivation to invest more resources in R&D and innovation.

"After October 1 this year, Innomotics will be completely independent and will face many new challenges. However, after more than a year of experience, Innomotics has enough determination and ability to face them. We are confident that we can accept stronger tests from the market and achieve higher growth rates." Shan Yajuan's words revealed her determination. The new Innomotics will continue to be committed to improving product quality while reducing costs and increasing efficiency, so as to provide customers with more price-competitive high-quality products.

Adhering to the innovative gene 

Build leading edge technology

"In the face of fierce market competition, we always exist as an industry innovator and leader." Shan Yajuan introduced that the most widely used medium-voltage frequency conversion technology in the world is based on the topology first invented by Siemens 30 years ago - the unit series structure. The Variable Frequency Drive based on the M2C structure was also first launched by Siemens in 2014.

On the journey of innovation, Innomotics adheres to Siemens' innovative genes, always pays attention to user needs and the development of various industries, and continues to create leading technologies for users in various industries. Innomotics has a large and professional R&D and design team, which can customize the design according to the different industries and different needs of customers to meet the specific needs of various customers. Innomotics ' Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive is a customized product. In the past two years, it has made many breakthroughs in multiple projects based on the specific needs of customers. For example, in high-altitude applications above 5000m, deep-sea 17km long cable applications, nuclear power main pumps, online redundant high-reliability applications, etc. For almost all Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive needs, Innomotics can meet the specific requirements of users.

Shan Yajuan also admitted that after decades of technological development, the differentiation of Variable Frequency Drive products will gradually decrease. The difference lies in whether these products can be used in some extreme environments and still operate reliably and stably. Innomotics ' achievements over the years directly confirm its leading edge and innovation in technology. Of course, as an industry leader, every new technology will be imitated in a short period of time after its launch, which also puts higher demands on Innomotics ' innovation.

For a long time, reliability has been considered the king of Variable Frequency Drive products, and current users have higher and higher requirements for reliability. In this regard, Innomotics has taken many measures to ensure the reliability of its products in long-term operation. Shan Yajuan further explained from three aspects. First, Innomotics has the ability and technology to develop products, which guarantees the reliability of the product itself from the source. Secondly, Innomotics will assist customers in determining whether the equipment used by users to support Variable Frequency Drive is reliable. If there is a big gap between the safety and reliability of the supporting equipment and the Variable Frequency Drive , then the entire system is unreliable. Finally, Innomotics ' customer service department adheres to the service concept of customer first and provides fast and reliable after-sales service for the entire life cycle of the equipment.

Digital transformation is accelerating

Promote high-quality and sustainable development of the industry

At present, digitalization and intelligence are one of the important directions of industrial green transformation. In the wave of intelligent manufacturing, Innomotics can provide users with powerful digitalization and intelligent support, helping enterprises to achieve refined management and intelligent upgrades of the production process.

Shan Yajuan said that Innomotics had already built a digital and intelligent platform during the Siemens era. Taking the Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive as an example, it used to be mainly cloud-based solutions, but now it is combined with digital product solutions based on local deployment, focusing more on and pursuing the purpose of digitalization and the value that data collection and analysis can bring to customers. Each customer has different concerns, but Inno motics always insists on exploring the true value of customers and making some positive changes based on their actual situation.

As market demand continues to rise, competition is also intensifying. Shan Yajuan believes that the current price of Variable Frequency Drive is no longer a "low" word, and the cost of some materials has reached extreme savings, so the market will eventually return to the direction of reliable product quality and innovation. As national policies continue to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction, market demand is also changing rapidly, but with the continuous improvement of efficiency, the demand for Medium Voltage Variable Frequency Drive will definitely increase . In addition, in terms of the reliability and accuracy of production control, there will definitely be more and more new demands for the performance iteration of Variable Frequency Drive in high-end production and manufacturing . With the electrification of more and more traditional drive projects, there is a great demand for large motors, so Variable Frequency Drive has shown an explosive trend in terms of speed regulation and grid friendliness, and there will be certain growth opportunities.

At the end of the interview, Shan Yajuan said that as a leading company in the industry, Innomotics will continue to uphold the development concept of innovation, cooperation and win-win, focus on the field of motors and large-scale transmission technology, promote the digital transformation and sustainable development of the industry through Innomotics ' business, focus on green and intelligent product innovation, and create more diversified high-quality solutions for customers, to help China's economy and society develop with high quality.