How can seamless connectivity be ensured in a highly ramified industrial plant? Our visit to Limeco in Dietikon shows how a private 5G network (MPN) can increase the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants, solve several technological challenges at once and even contribute to sustainability goals in two different ways. And that’s just the start of an especially promising digital innovation journey.
It’s cool, it’s damp and there’s something in the air. The subterranean passages that Thomas Di Lorenzo leads us through don’t exactly feel like what you’d expect a modern working environment to be. But this first impression is deceptive.
We pass large concrete basins on narrow lattice footbridges. Wastewater is flowing from one septic chamber to the next. “Separating, settling and filtering the water makes it cleaner with every cycle,” explains the head of the company’s wastewater-management division. At the heart of the plant is biological treatment, where microorganisms purify the wastewater, the same principle that also helps streams, rivers and lakes to regenerate naturally.
Offline is so yesterday
Around ninety Limeco employees devote their time to wastewater management, waste disposal and clean energy for the entire Limmat Valley. The purification of wastewater aimed at protecting lakes and rivers is one of their core tasks. Regular tours of all the rooms are vital for ensuring safe operation and efficient system maintenance. Until now, these tours had to be performed without a connection to the company network. Anyone who wanted to check or look something up had to do so at their normal workstation or in specially equipped workrooms – outside the screened halls. «We did a lot of walking,» says Di Lorenzo.
This will soon no longer be necessary. In the future, employees will carry a tablet that they can use to inspect, document and control the system on site. «It will be much easier for us to inspect plant components. We’ll be able to do our work more efficiently, more systematically and with less effort,» he says.
Mobile private network with advantages over Wi-Fi
This extensive connectivity is made possible by a mobile private network (MPN) that Sunrise has implemented within the wastewater-treatment plant on a trial basis. MPN is a stand-alone, local 5G mobile network. It offers a fast, stable connection that’s ideal for environments like industrial plants, large sites or complex building structures, like the ones that Limeco operates.
Compared to Wi-Fi, an MPN operates with a much leaner infrastructure. To deliver Wi-Fi to the furthest corners of Limeco’s underground and above-ground plants, a large number of access points would be required. The routers, the cables, the signal boosters – the cost of installation and operation would be huge. «A major advantage of MPNs is that you can achieve full coverage with fewer transmitters,» says Di Lorenzo.
In addition, Wi-Fi often brings interruptions to the signal when users are moving between access points. Or the transmission speed slows if there are too many users on the network at the same time. This is where the technology – frankly speaking – reaches its limits. With a private 5G network, data transmission is always high and the connection is seamless, even when people are moving along Limeco’s complex passageways – an advantage that’s essential in critical work areas. I’ll find out later why «essential» is by no means an exaggeration when I speak to ICT Director Michael Meyer and CEO Patrik Feusi.
The official go-live of the private 5G network at Limeco is scheduled for April 2025, but the first test runs were carried out successfully last year as part of the proof-of-concept project.
Bye-bye DECT technology
«We’ve known for some time now that we needed a good solution to move away from the conventional DECT signal and switch to a more modern, stable technology,» says Meyer. It was always clear that Wi-Fi would never meet these requirements. «Now we see a way for MPN technology to solve not just one problem, but three all at once.»
Many companies are faced with the challenge of having to replace their outdated DECT technology because it no longer meets today’s requirements. DECT only offers voice transmission and no Internet connection, as it was developed specifically for wireless signals and doesn’t offer any data-transmission features. A private network is the obvious solution in this case: it combines the reliability of DECT with the flexibility and performance of 5G to create a future-proof communication infrastructure.
Patrik Feusi explains why a DECT replacement should be considered carefully, using the example of the dead man’s switch. The system ensures that people can trigger the alarm manually in an emergency or that a signal is sent automatically if the human operator becomes incapacitated. «If a technician has an accident and the latency time is too high or the system doesn’t react in time, we simply can’t accept that risk.» At Limeco, the dead man’s switch runs via the DECT phone. In the future, MPNs will make it possible to rely on an Internet signal being available without any interruptions.
The big idea of a future-proof energy supply
The Limeco site is huge, covering more than 36,000 square metres. This becomes noticeable as we make our way from the wastewater-treatment plant over to the waste-recycling plant. The earthy smell has given way to a drier, smokier one.
In 2018, Limeco acquired the neighbouring Coop site and plans to renovate and expand the facilities. Going forward, Limeco intends to offer additional contemporary environmental services. The company’s Board of Directors has therefore set out a vision to supply the entire Limmat Valley with CO2-neutral energy by 2050, and for Limeco to make a significant contribution to this.
A «multi-energy hub» is set to become the linchpin of the entire region. The intention is that it will combine different energy sources such as waste, wastewater and renewable energies to generate CO₂-neutral energy in the form of electricity, heat and green gas. The aim is to store energy efficiently and make it available flexibly in order to meet the needs of the region in a way that is both sustainable and reliable. «Energy will flow into this hub and energy will flow back out,» explains Feusi. The challenge here is to deliver the right quantity, form and quality to the right place at the right time.
A real game-changer
The vision is ambitious. It seems to be the right time to be thinking big in terms of connectivity and of following a sustainable, new path. «There’ll still be a lot of steel and concrete in the extension buildings, which won’t make signal transmission any easier,» says Feusi. By starting to use MPNs today and gaining experience, it makes you more open to new solutions. «You start to think ahead and realise what other problems could be solved. If you embrace a pioneering spirit and are open to trying new things, you often discover new, surprising solutions.»
Using the example of surveillance cameras, ICT Director Meyer explains how this kind of ball can get rolling and spur on innovation: «If we see in the initial test that the MPN is stable and works well, that it proves itself operationally, we’ll move forward with other concepts. I can therefore also imagine controlling our video cameras wirelessly via MPN in the future. This means we won’t have to replace every line and can save a huge amount of money.»
There’s also a significant advantage for security, as the MPN is completely separate from the public network. «Cybersecurity is a major issue for us,» says Meyer. An MPN offers a protected environment that makes external attacks much more difficult and keeps sensitive data secure. This aspect of stand-alone operations is highly relevant for Limeco. «If the world around us collapses, our operational technology must be able to continue working.»
Meyer’s conclusion after the initial test phase is extremely positive: «I’m very satisfied. I know that we have a technology here that can help us overcome challenges and that will benefit us greatly – and will do so over the long term. MPN’s a real game-changer.»
Unleashing the potential of big data with 5G
For Limeco, connecting up all its plant facilities with 5G also lays the foundation for technological developments in which large amounts of data and artificial intelligence will increasingly play a role.
Thomas Di Lorenzo cites plant monitoring and predictive maintenance as examples of this. «AI will make it possible for us to detect any anomalies in the systems. For example, it would be possible to detect incidents earlier and thus prevent disruptive situations,» explains Di Lorenzo. Intelligent systems could collect and evaluate data continuously to analyse trends, optimise maintenance schedules and increase safety further.
The stage is set: by combining modern connectivity and innovative technologies, Limeco is demonstrating that sustainable goals and digital transformation can go hand in hand. This makes the vision of a sustainable energy supply not only more tangible, but also a great deal smarter.
Private 5G: MPN Campus and MPN Slicing from Sunrise
Sunrise Business is the leading provider of private 5G networks in Switzerland. Sunrise Business has been implementing proof-of-concept projects successfully for «MPN Campus» applications since March 2023 and for «MPN Slicing» since October 2023. These private network solutions are based on the established 5G technology standard. They’re available throughout Switzerland and can be adapted flexibly to suit the varying requirements of different companies. While «MPN Campus» solutions have been optimised for use in production plants or closed areas such as hospitals, «MPN Slicing» solutions are suitable for applications in the public sphere, such as driverless transport, video transmissions of major events or reliable communication between emergency-response organisations to ensure public safety.
More information on the MPN from Sunrise Business