Slovenian power grid operator Eles has partnered with Germany's Siemens Energy to develop digital and sustainable solutions for the international energy market which they say will make a major contribution to reducing the carbon footprint in the sector.

As part of the strategic partnership, the two companies will develop augmented reality and virtual reality solutions, devise robots for inspections of transformer stations, and create digital twins of high-voltage transmission lines and transformer stations.

As the companies signed a memorandum of understanding on the partnership in Ljubljana on 7 October, Eles director Aleksander Mervar said Siemens Energy will invest €2.6 million in the joint research project, along with its expertise.

Eles is recognised as one of the most advanced grid operators, Mervar said. Siemens Energy had been looking for a partner and picked Eles because it is one of the few such operators with a functioning diagnostics and analytical centre.

Eles has an abundance of practical knowledge in grid management and had been involved in digitalisation for over a decade; now it is trying to achieve an even higher level, Mervar told the Slovenian Press Agency.

Adnan Chaudhry, a senior vice president for the digital grid at Siemens Energy, said the strategic partnership agreement was a major milestone and the enhanced cooperation proved the two companies had a shared vision of progress and innovation.

"Together, we can make sure that the energy transition is not just fast but also safe and sustainable," he said.

The increasing number of new energy sources make the electricity market more complex and advanced digital solutions are seen as the only way forward.

Eles' work and its close interconnection with neighbouring national grids and its integration into the European energy system on the one hand, and Siemens technology on the other, will allow the two partners to develop the most advanced solutions and put them into practice, Chaudhry said.

A global leader in energy technology, Siemens Energy employs almost 100,000 people worldwide, while Eles employs fewer than 600, according to Uroš Kerin, assistant director for asset and project management at Eles.

The companies have been working together for more than 30 years, cooperation that Kerin said produced several small and big successes.