NKT Holding Strategy 2011 to 2015 – POWERED BY NKT

The strategy named POWERED BY NKT is inspired by NKT operating a number of business units and developing them organizationally and financially based on NKT’s long-term global mindset.

NKT is a modern industrial conglomerate with 120 years of history. Over time NKT has demonstrated the ability to develop successful industrial businesses under long-term ownership and – if appropriate – to divest those businesses if alternative ownership could realize the new potential and deliver the value created.

NKT’s corporate business strategy for 2011-2015 is entitled ‘Powered by NKT’. As an industrial owner, NKT pledges that its business units are operated in accordance with long-term, global thinking and with focus on financial performance

NKT is a modern industrial conglomerate with 120 years of history. Over time NKT has demonstrated the ability to develop successful industrial businesses under long-term ownership and – if appropriate – to divest those businesses if alternative ownership could realize the new potential and deliver the value created. This is NKT’s mission: To create value by exercising long-term and active ownership in segments where NKT is ‘best owner’.
We today own the power cable company NKT Cables, the global supplier of professional cleaning equipment Nilfisk-Advance, and 51% of NKT Flexibles, a supplier of flexible pipe systems for offshore oil and gas industry. We also own the Photonics Group of companies in which we are working to develop a new technology platform in the laser industry.
In the period since 2008 when we launched our previous corporate plan, ‘Building Power’, we have strengthened these businesses significantly, primarily by adding global presence, improving competitiveness through increased production and sourcing in low-cost countries, and focusing on higher-value products and associated manufacturing facilities. The start of the period coincided with the economic downturn. This meant that the financial targets we had set could not be realized. But the planned initiatives were moved forward, and the businesses have today been taken to a new level, enabling a new corporate strategy to be established.

NKT mission: To create value by exercising long-term and active ownership in segments where NKT is ‘best owner.

The NKT group companies are all BTB companies on the international market.

• NKT Cables is an actor in the electricity and energy sector
• Nilfisk-Advance is an actor in the cleaning industry
• Photonics Group comprises three companies – including LIOS Technology, all players in the optical industry
• NKT Flexibles, of which NKT owns 51%, is a player in the offshore sector

Powering Europe – new report sets out vision for the future European grid and markets – EWEA

A new report by the European Wind Energy Association – Powering Europe – which sets out its vision for the European grid of the future has been launched today at the Grids 2010 conference in Berlin.

‘Powering Europe’, launched today at the GRIDS 2010 conference and exhibition in Berlin organised by EWEA, argues there are no major technical barriers – but there are major economic benefits – to integrating large amounts of fuel- and pollution-free wind energy into Europe’s electricity grid.
The new report identifies infrastructure and markets as the two key barriers to hugely increasing the amount of wind power in Europe’s electricity supply.

In order to deliver the onshore and offshore wind energy from where it is produced to where it will be consumed, Europe needs:
•    extended, upgraded and better connected grids,
•    fair and effective competition in a truly internal European market in electricity.
The economic benefits of creating a single market in electricity and improve the infrastructure are substantial, according to the new EWEA report. The benefits of a better interconnected grid include a €1,500 million yearly reduction in total operational costs of power generation due to increased availability of all generation capacity.
The benefit of integrating 265 Gigawatt (GW) of wind into Europe’s grids by 2020 – compared to no further growth in wind power capacity – would be a saving of €41.7bn per year in the cost of electricity. This is a ‘merit order’ effect of €11 for every MWh produced not just those MWh produced by wind turbines. And if our electricity markets are functioning that is a saving that could be passed on to consumers.

The electricity grid infrastructure needed to accommodate increasingly large amounts of renewable energy  and create effective competition in a single market in electricity includes a new offshore grid in Europe’s Northern Seas (North Sea, Irish Sea and Baltic Sea), as well as a number of improved interconnections across continental Europe (especially between Spain and France but also between Germany and its neighbours, across the Alps and in eastern and south eastern Europe).

HVDC cables are an attractive new technological option for long-distance electricity superhighways such as the offshore grid that is required in the near future, says the new report.

The report also reveals that flexibility will need to be a key feature of European power systems in the future. This means power generation will have to be more flexible to take into account variable sources of power such as wind and solar. Smart grids will be needed to allow management of demand as well as improved management of supply, and largely national grids will have to be better interconnected. EWEA’s new report shows how Denmark, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands have managed their power systems much more flexibly than in the past.

Daniel Dobbeni, President of ENTSO-E, said: “this report is a very welcome publication with a clear view towards 2020, 2030 and 2050. Together with our Ten Year Network Development Plan, it helps building a common understanding on the major issues surrounding the integration of wind energy in the European grids. The report also provides arguments that will certainly be in the centre of policy debate as we can presently observe from the publication of the Commission’s blueprint for an integrated European energy network.”

Read the report: Powering Europe: wind energy and the electricity grid

EWEA – European Wind Energy Association asbl/vzw
Contact details:
Peter Sennekamp Media Officer: +32496919315

Read EWEA’s full press release here

LIOS Technology – Company Milestones – 10 Years On

The year 2010 marks the 10th year for LIOS Technology in the industry. The formal company launch dates back to August 2000. LIOS is a true story of successful innovation, which has reached its ambitious goals by being creative, responsive and agile. This list of exciting events and projects mark certainly the important milestones of LIOS’ first decade of history.

	Official Launch of LIOS Technology GmbH, 01.08.2000 Based on initiated development work at Felten & Guilleaume LIOS was launched to market its fibre optic sensing solutions actively for T&D assets, fire detection and oil/gas exploration.
	Mont Blanc Tunnel, 30.4.2001 Tunnel operators have chosen the LIOS fire detection system for the Mont Blanc tunnel where the disaster in 1999 triggered a widespread public debate.
	FibroLaser II® Protecting Bangkok Metro, 15.7.2001 LIOS Technology and Siemens BT Fire Safety are proud to supply FibroLaser II® for the surveillance of some 50 km underground tunnels in Thailand.
	World Premiere of the New Optical Coil Protection System, 10.6.2003 OTTO JUNKER GmbH and LIOS Technology GmbH have concluded a research and development contract for monitoring refractory linings of induction furnaces. In the meantime the system has an impressive track record and reached excellent market reputation: Crucible cracks and erosion are detected and localised reliably and precisely and normal refractory wear is under close control.
	Dynamic Rating of a 145 kV XLPE Power Cable in Sao Paulo, 20.12.2004 LIOS Technology provides its multi-channel distributed temperature measurement system to AES Eletropaulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil for dynamic power cable ampacity monitoring – it is the first installation of that kind in entire South America.
	Permanent Downhole Temperature Sensing – A Success even for Low Cost Wells, 23.08.2005 In a pilot project initiated by Shell International Exploration and Production (SIEP) with LIOS Technology the feasibility and economic added value of permanent downhole temperature sensing has been successfully demonstrated in a number of recently deployed on- and offshore projects.
	10km Within Reach! , 21.11.2005 LIOS Technology introduces its next generation temperature sensing instrument. The new product series delivers increased performance and an extended measurement range of up to 10 kilometres at a single end multimode fibre.
	Beijing Olympics 2008 – Enhanced Power Grid Monitored by LIOS, 7.6.2006 Commissioning of LIOS’ power cable monitoring systems was completed at Beijing, China. The newly built 220 kV circuits supply the Olympic Park and are operated by Beijing Electric Power Corporation.
	RTTR Went On-line in Stockholm, 23.10.2006 Together with Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) a parallel run of 245 kV cables installed in a tunnel near Stockholm (Sweden) is being continuously rated by RTTR. Real time temperature and current readings serve to compute the temperature of the conductor and perform emergency ratings looking into the future.
	Setting Standards for Highly Reliable DTS Performance, 19.12.2007 The LIOS OFDR design and its industrial production set standards in reliable DTS performance and smooth operation. Excellent Mean-time-between-failures (MTBF) figures of 28 years were reached based on the latest statistical field analysis of the current DTS product series.
	LIOS Head Office Moves Premises, 5.10.2008 LIOS Technology GmbH is excited to announce that due to the expansion of the company and to allow for future growth, our Head Office moves premises in October 2008.
	Investments in Smartgrid Technologies Encourage LIOS to Open US office, 1.9.2009 LIOS Technology announces that it has opened an office in Morganville, New Jersey to service the growing demand for distributed temperature solutions in the United States.
	Dynamic Wind Farm Load Patterns Recorded by Long Range DTS, 15.10.2009 The biggest Danish utility owner has successfully completed the installation of LIOS’ Single Mode DTS equipment to monitor the power cable temperature of an offshore UK wind farm.
	Turnkey Solutions for Various Markets, 01.08.2010 Building on an innovative development in the field of fibre optic sensor engineering, LIOS Technology provides turnkey solutions in various markets for modern asset management and global condition monitoring. Our comprehensive product line of DTS systems based on multimode and singlemode fibres with ranges up to 30 km and 16 channel multiplexing have become a well accepted and powerful tool in the power industry, in fire detection and downhole well monitoring.

Congratulation to LIOS Technology GmbH for 10 successful years!

The team of LIOS Technology, Cologne

This year LIOS Technology can celebrate its 10 years anniversary. But the activity which formed the basis of today’s LIOS Technology already took its start in 1995. An innovative group within the German cable company, Felten&Guilleaume (F&G) saw an opportunity for developing a distributed temperature sensing system technique for condition monitoring of power cables, and hence making it possible to exploit the full capacity potential of installed high voltage cable routes.

NKT Values – NKT Holding, parent company of one of Denmark’s major industrial groups

NKT Holding is the parent company of one of Denmark’s major industrial groups with a total of 8,500 employees. Approximately 1,500 are employed in the Group’s Danish operations – while nearly 7,000 are employed in group companies outside Denmark

The NKT group companies are all BTB companies on the international market.

• NKT Cables is an actor in the electricity and energy sector
• Nilfisk-Advance is an actor in the cleaning industry
• Photonics Group comprises three companies – including LIOS Technology, all players in the optical industry
• NKT Flexibles, of which NKT owns 51%, is a player in the offshore sector

An Introduction to Distributed Temperature Sensing

Distributed Temperature Sensing Systems (DTS) are optoelectronic devices which measure temperatures by means of optical fibres functioning as linear sensors. Temperatures are recorded along the optical sensor cable, thus not at points, but as a continuous profile. A high accuracy of temperature determination is achieved over great distances.

Measuring Principle – Raman Effect
Physical measurement dimensions, such as temperature or pressure and tensile forces, can affect glass fibres and locally change the characteristics of light transmission in the fibre. As a result of the attenuation of the light in the quartz glass fibres through scattering, the location of an external physical effect can be determined so that the optical fibre can be employed as a linear sensor.

Optical fibres are made from doped quartz glass. Quartz glass is a form of silicon dioxide (SiO2) with amorphous solid structure. Thermal effects induce lattice oscillations within the solid. When light falls onto these thermally excited molecular oscillations, an interaction occurs between the light particles (photons) and the electrons of the molecule. Light scattering, also known as Raman scattering, occurs in the optical fibre. Unlike incident light, this scattered light undergoes a spectral shift by an amount equivalent to the resonance frequency of the lattice oscillation.

The light scattered back from the fibre optic therefore contains three different spectral shares:

• the Rayleigh scattering with the wavelength of the laser source used,
• the Stokes line components with the higher wavelength in which photons are generated, and
• the Anti-Stokes line components with a lower wavelength than the Rayleigh scattering, in which photons are destroyed.

The intensity of the so-called Anti-Stokes band is temperature-dependent, while the so-called Stokes band is practically independent of temperature. The local temperature of the optical fibre is derived from the ratio of the Anti-Stokes and Stokes light intensities.

Measuring Principle – OFDR Technology
Latest DTS evaluation units deploy the method of Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR) .  The OFDR system provides information on the local characteristic when the backscatter signal detected during the entire measurement time is measured as a function of frequency in a complex fashion, and then subjected to Fourier transformation. The essential benefits of OFDR technology are the quasi continuous wave mode employed by the laser and the narrow-band detection of the optical back scatter signal, whereby a significantly higher signal to noise ratio is achieved than with conventional pulse technology (OTDR). This technical benefit allows the use of affordable semiconductor laser diodes and electronic assemblies for signal averaging.

The optical frequency domain reflectometry has been developed as a high-resolution measurement process for the characterisation of optical wave guides with length dimensions of just a few millimetres. In contrast, its application for the Raman backscatter measurement was introduced and patented by the company LIOS Technology.

Schematic system set up
The temperature measuring system consists of a controller (frequency generator, laser source, optical module, HF mixer, receiver and micro-processor unit) and a quartz glass fibre (fibre optic) as line-shaped temperature sensor.

The design is three-channel, since an additional reference channel is required besides the two measurement channels (Anti-Stokes and Stokes). Corresponding to the OFDR system, the power output of the laser runs through the sinus-shaped frequency starting from a starting frequency in the kilohertz range through the ending frequency in the high megahertz range within a measurement time interval with the help of the High Frequency (HF) modulator. The resulting frequency shift is a direct measurement of the local resolution of the reflectometer. The frequency-modulated laser light is connected to the fibre optic-sensor via the optical module.

The continuously back-scattered Raman light  is spectrally filtered  in the optical module and converted into electrical signals by means of photo detectors. Then the measurement signals are amplified and mixed in the Low Frequency spectral range (LF range). The Fourier transformation of the averaged LF signals results in the two Raman backscatter curves. The amplitudes of these backscatter curves are proportional to the intensity of the Raman scattering of the viewed location. The fibre temperature along the sensor cable results from the amplitude ratio of the two measurement channels.

Superior Technology and Industrial Strength – State of the Art DTS Production

The LIOS’ DTS (Distributed Temperature Sensing) technology has been successfully proven in critical applications like fire detection in road and rail tunnels,  power cable and transmission line monitoring, in oil & gas exploration for permanent downhole monitoring and for industrial induction furnaces surveillance, where these systems have been equipped in worldwide projects with more than 2000 permanent installations since 1997.

Key advantages of Raman OFDR distributed temperature sensing (DTS) systems by LIOS Technology:

• Reliable system design with approved key components from the telecom industry
• The OFDR technology enables to provide sophisticated temperature surveillance at commodity prices
• Invariant spatial resolution along the entire sensor length of 1 m or 50 cm even at most remote distances.
• Direct link to SCADA systems and flexible data handling
• International Approvals and Certificates – type tested and accredited
• Impressive track record of more than 2000 installations in permanent operation

At LIOS’ new facilities at Seiler Höfe, Cologne, Germany we experience ideal surrounding conditions as an industrial manufacturer of fiber optic DTS sensor systems. In conscious of the strong requirements being made in the safety market, we provide a highly proven product based on the compliance with international quality standards recognised by impartial and competent partners for type testing our products like the VdS (Association of German Property Insurers), Deloitte or EXAM and is furthermore reflected in our implemented quality management system, certified according to DIN ISO 9001 / Edition 12/2008 and our environmental management system according to ISO 14001.

• Industrial DTS production with impressive track record
• Modern and efficient production procedures
• Comprehensively type tested
• 100 % applied Factory Acceptance Test (FAT)
• Customised Site Acceptance Test (SAT) through experienced staff on site
• High Tech made in Germany

LIOS DTS production facilities in Cologne, Germany

LIOS DTS production facilities in Cologne, Germany

Assembly and testing site for LIOS DTS systems

LIOS DTS Factory Acceptance Test (FAT): data recording and test bench

Related information on LIOS DTS technology:

• The technology behind LIOS OFDR distributed temperature sensing systems

Join us in Cologne – LIOS Festive Head Office Opening Event

LIOS Technology GmbH – Linear Optical Sensors has inaugurated its new head office building at Seiler Höfe, Cologne, Germany with a festive opening event on 27 May 2009. The Power-GEN / POWERGRID Europe trade fair which was held in Cologne this year served as an appropriate occasion for LIOS’ official launch party. The joyful gathering was well attended by customers and partners of LIOS coming from all parts of Europe, Asia and Oceania.

The 1912/13 built warehouses for cable and wire products were recently refurbished and converted into modern office and production space building the ideal showcase for LIOS’ innovative online condition monitoring solutions utilized in modern power management.