The energy transition challenges the chemical industry to adapt its production facilities to the fluctuating availability of renewable energy. This requires significantly greater load flexibility to produce chemicals such as methanol in a climate-friendly, efficient, and cost-effective manner.
In collaboration with Forschungszentrum Jülich and TLK Energy, NEUMAN & ESSER has launched the funded project HyControl to demonstrate how the development process for future chemical plants can be significantly accelerated using a hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) test bench.
HiL saves time and costs in the development process by simulating real operating conditions. This allows results to be shown even before a plant has been built. At HyControl, HiL is used to adapt control and regulation strategies for future chemical plants to the fluctuating supply of green energy as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Load-flexible control systems for chemical plants will be of great importance in the future, as increasingly small, decentralized plants are being built and connected directly to local renewable energy generators. Energy fluctuations have a significantly greater impact on these plants than on current fossil-fuel-powered plants. NEUMAN & ESSER will supply a model of an electrolyzer as well as the integrated automation and monitoring system for HyControl.
“Decentralized production facilities will play a much greater role in the energy system of the future. Our 5-MW containerized electrolyzer fulfills this role. We see great potential in advanced control technology that increases the load flexibility of our modular system,” says Dr. David Jasper, HyControl Project Manager at NEUMAN & ESSER.
As part of the Energie.IN.NRW innovation contest, the HyControl project will receive a total of 1.96 million euros in funding over three years. The funds are provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and co-financed by the European Union.
The H2 Hub in Delfzijl is set to play a key role in the energy transition and in establishing a new hydrogen economy in the north of the Netherlands starting this year. The project, initiated by Edward Doorten with the company HyEnergy TransStore B.V., is supported by various subsidies and partners. The task is to fill trailers on site with green hydrogen produced by chlor-alkali electrolysis. Filling the trailers with green hydrogen allows fast, nationwide distribution to the existing and future hydrogen industry.
At the public trailer filling station built for this purpose, the existing hydrogen from the nearby chemical park is first purified and compressed before up to 4,000 kg of green hydrogen per day will be filled in the future. NEUMAN & ESSER's comprehensive expertise comes into play in this application. “We are delighted to be part of this future-oriented project with our compressor solutions. Pioneering projects such as this one make an important contribution to Europe’s energy transition and the establishment and expansion of the hydrogen economy,” says Ilya Asser, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Deutschland.
Four NEA|HOFER diaphragm compressors of the type MKZ KTD 180 will compress the purified hydrogen to up to 420 bar. The hydrogen has a purity of 99.999% and is fed into trailers with an operating pressure of up to 380 bar. The high-purity hydrogen can be used directly in fuel cells in hydrogen-powered vehicles, for example. “The hydrogen must still have a purity of 99.999% after compression. Our NEA|HOFER diaphragm compressors are capable of compressing gases without further contamination from oil or abrasion, making them ideally suited for this application,” explains NEUMAN & ESSER sales engineer Christian Böhr.
We are excited to announce that NEUMAN & ESSER is part of the groundbreaking research project “Kreislauf.IN.NRW.”. This initiative is a unique opportunity for us to leverage our industry-leading expertise in mills and classifier systems, working alongside reputable partners such as PEM of RWTH Aachen, Accurec Recycling GmbH, Iondrive EU GmbH, and Constantia Patz GmbH. Together, we’re paving the way for the first battery cells manufactured from over 80 percent recycled battery materials, setting new standards in sustainable technology.
We are pleased to announce the establishment of NEUMAN & ESSER Energy Project Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. This milestone brings together the complementary strengths of our existing companies, ARCANUM Energy and NEA GREEN, further reinforcing our expertise and capabilities in the development of energy projects and customer-focused solutions.
NEUMAN & ESSER Energy Project Solutions provides solutions for green gases, including biomethane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen applications, as well as e-fuels, covering the entire project lifecycle. From project development and implementation through to operation. In doing so, the company combines technical excellence with strong commercial expertise.
Sören Auricht will assume the role of Managing Director of the company, which is located in Holzwickede.
As we implement hydrogen projects worldwide, we are happy to be part of the Green Hydrogen Hub Viet Nam. The hub serves as an important platform to ramp-up the hydrogen economy and to intensify cooperation between Germany and Vietnam.
Therefore, we, together with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and PV GAS, are conducting a feasibility study to bring the first larger pilot project for green hydrogen production to Vietnam. The study examines an integrated end-to-end solution for electrolyzer, compressor and trailer filling application.
In April, our hydrogen experts Christian Kehren and Quoc An Khong visited Ho Chi Minh City to participate in a technical workshop on green hydrogen and its derivatives, hosted by the Green Hydrogen Hub Viet Nam under the H2Uppp project. A key highlight of the event was the signing of our new public-private partnership (PPP) with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, PV GAS and Vietnamese-German University.
Within a joint solution, we combine methane pyrolysis technology from our partner Graforce GmbH with our expertise in hydrogen compression, carbon processing, gas treatment and plant integration.
The system is designed to convert methane-containing gas streams, including natural gas, flare gas, landfill gas or biogas, into hydrogen, solid carbon and usable industrial heat or syngas.
In methane plasma pyrolysis, methane is split into hydrogen and solid carbon within the reactor without producing CO₂. The process achieves methane conversion rates of up to 98% and a specific energy consumption of approximately 10–15 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen.
The hydrogen produced can be compressed and purified for industrial applications, while solid carbon can be processed for use in soils or materials such as asphalt, concrete, metallurgy, batteries, pigments, or long-term carbon storage.
With this partnership, NEUMAN & ESSER and Graforce expand their portfolio of integrated solutions supporting the decarbonization of industrial processes.
Our advanced products, including the Impact Classifier Mill eXtra (ICX), Impact Classifier Mill (ICS), and Guide Ring Classifier (GRC), are at the heart of this innovation. With these solutions, we efficiently handle crucial processing steps like classifying and spheronizing recyclable anode graphite, transforming them into premium, high-quality materials ready for next-generation battery cells. What was once a complex process will be now streamlined and accessible.
By joining this project, we not only support EU goals of recycling and circular economy, but we also empower our customers at the same time. They are more sustainable by reducing CO2 emissions and establishing a robust regional value chain and they are more cost-efficient by reclaiming valuable materials. Moreover, they are more independent from international graphite markets, securing supply and boosting competitiveness.
This research project is co‑funded by the European Union and the State of North Rhine‑Westphalia under the EFRE Program NRW (Funding Reference: EFRE‑20801318).
In a ceremonial event organized by the HyMobility Association in Utrecht, Ilya Asser and Christian Böhr, together with Edward Doorten from HyEnergy TransStore B.V., signed a certificate publicly confirming the cooperation agreement. “We are delighted to have NEUMAN & ESSER as our partner in establishing a new hydrogen economy in the north of the Netherlands,” emphasizes Edward Doorten.
Another milestone has been reached in the “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project: energy service provider EWE has awarded NEUMAN & ESSER with the compressor technology for one of Germany's largest electrolyzers in Emden. The hydrogen production plant with an output of 320 megawatts will produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale from 2027. The three compressors that have now been commissioned are part of the essential peripherals of the plant and ensure efficient further processing of the hydrogen produced. These are dry-running, horizontal, 8-crank and 5-stage compressors of size 320.
"With this order for the compressors, we are taking another step towards industrial hydrogen production. Our aim is to produce hydrogen from renewable energies where it makes sense for the system and is economically viable. With its existing grid infrastructure and the high proportion of regulated wind power, Emden offers the ideal conditions. Together with strong partners such as NEUMAN & ESSER, we are driving forward the decarbonization of the energy system," emphasizes Stefan Dohler, CEO of EWE AG.
By awarding the contract to NEUMAN & ESSER, EWE is relying on experienced industrial expertise. "We are delighted about the trust placed in us by EWE and the opportunity to be involved in this forward-looking project. The development of a high-performance compressor solution for the electrolyzer in Emden shows how important innovative technology is for the success of the hydrogen economy. Together we are actively shaping the future of energy," says Jens Wulff, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Deutschland.
The hydrogen production plant in Emden is the core of the major four-part “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project. With an output of 320 megawatts, it will be the largest plant of its kind in Germany. With Clean Hydrogen Coastline, EWE is bringing together the production, storage, transportation and use of green hydrogen, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of a hydrogen economy in northern Germany. EWE received the funding approval for this major project as part of the European IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) program in summer 2024. EWE is currently in the detailed planning phase. At the same time, the site is being prepared for development. The deep foundations are due to start next winter, after which the buildings will be erected and the hydrogen production technology installed. The plants will produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale from 2027.
EWE awarded NEUMAN & ESSER the first compressor contract as part of the hydrogen ramp-up back in March 2025 - for the hydrogen storage project in Huntorf (Wesermarsch). The award of a further compressor to the family business NEUMAN & ESSER is a logical continuation of this development.
With the “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project and the 320-megawatt hydrogen generation plant in Emden, EWE is strengthening the regional economy and securing the future viability of the energy supply. At the same time, the energy service provider is actively shaping the energy transition.
The energy service provider EWE is driving forward the conversion of its gas storage site in Wesermarsch for the storage of hydrogen. NEUMAN & ESSER will supply EWE with two four-crank, horizontal piston compressors size 320 as part of the major four-part “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project. These compressors form a central component for future large-scale hydrogen storage in a converted natural gas cavern. EWE aims to store hydrogen in this from 2027. From that time, the green gas will be available when it is needed, not when it is produced. Large-scale hydrogen storage will thus improve the secure and flexible supply of future hydrogen users.
The project is an essential step towards integrating green hydrogen technology into the existing energy infrastructure and a key project for the energy transition. NEUMAN & ESSER and EWE are thus jointly making a significant contribution to the security of supply and the ramp-up of a hydrogen economy. “We are very pleased that we can make a decisive contribution to the development of the green hydrogen economy in Germany by supplying the centerpiece of the hydrogen storage facility,” says Jens Wulff, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Deutschland, “and that the funding commitments made by the German government and the state of Lower Saxony last summer for the EWE ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’ project have paved the way for strategically important projects such as this one. The signing of the contract with EWE shows our determination to realize these major projects quickly.”
Hydrogen Storage to Stabilize the Energy Supply
EWE is converting one of seven underground natural gas caverns at its cavern site in Huntorf in the Wesermarsch region for the storage of hydrogen. The Huntorf project is part of the large-scale “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project. This brings together the production, storage, transportation and use of green hydrogen and thus implements the political requirements. EWE received the funding approval for the four-part large-scale project as part of the European IPCEI program (Important Project of Common European Interest) in summer 2024. EWE is currently in the detailed planning phase and intends to store and release hydrogen in the next two to three years.
Proven Technology for Innovative Applications
The awarding of the compressors to NEUMAN & ESSER is a decisive milestone in the realization of the project. The family business was chosen for its extensive experience and technical expertise. The compressors play a central role in storing and releasing hydrogen from the cavern, ensuring maximum safety and efficiency.
Research for Applicability to Wesermarsch Cavern
EWE has proven that hydrogen can be stored safely in salt caverns in a pilot project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf near Berlin. EWE is now applying the knowledge gained from the construction and operation of the 500 cubic meter test cavern to caverns with a volume 1,000 times larger, such as the one in Wesermarsch. “Our aim is to establish large-scale caverns for hydrogen storage. With 37 salt caverns, EWE alone has 15 percent of all German cavern storage facilities that are suitable for storing hydrogen,” says Peter Schmidt, Managing Director of EWE GASSPEICHER.
The year 2025 has already begun at NEUMAN & ESSER. On November 13, 2024, Managing Partners Stefanie and Alexander Peters signed the contract to take over EVB Technik GmbH on January 1. The company, located in Velbert and Garbsen, was founded in 2006 and is specialized in integrated EI&C (electrical, measurement and control technology) and automation solutions that meet special technical requirements.
EVB Technik's solutions focus on gas technology systems with an accent on biogas feed-in systems, hydrogen feed-in and generation systems as well as process gas compressors. The newest member of the NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP offers customized solutions, services and products that are tailored to the specific needs of its customers.
With this acquisition, NEUMAN & ESSER is expanding its solution portfolio and can now provide even more expertise in the field of automation technology to its customers. NEUMAN & ESSER is thus continuing its development from a leading global manufacturer of reciprocating and diaphragm compressors, electrolyzers and reformers as well as mills and classifier systems into an integrated solution provider. Comprehensive control and automation technology is particularly important for the integrated solutions offered, for example in the hydrogen sector, which combine many different products and components. NEUMAN & ESSER's systems now include this in- house technology.
From January 1, 2025, EVB Technik GmbH will be part of the NEA GROUP as an independent company. In the first half of 2025, the company will be renamed NEUMAN & ESSER Automation GmbH in order to further promote integration into the NEA GROUP and also support international projects.
From the region for the region. This is the motto of the project to produce green hydrogen in Heinsberg soon. For this integrated approach, the local companies NEUMAN & ESSER from Übach-Palenberg, BMR Energy from Geilenkirchen, Frauenrath, Veolia from Heinsberg and WEP from Hückelhoven have joined forces to build a 2 MW electrolyzer including a hydrogen refuelling station. The electricity required for this will also come from renewable energy plants in the region. In a first step, 70 tons of green hydrogen will be produced here each year for the operation of 12 WestVerkehr fuel cell buses. Production can be increased to over 200 tons per year if required, and there are also plans to expand the plant if there is further demand from neighbouring industry. The entire hydrogen value chain is thus kept in the region and is a unique selling point of this project. “Hydrogen is an international megatrend. But we are showing that you don't have to wait for such megatrends to develop, you can be involved right from the start and make a regional and local contribution,” emphasizes Dr. Stefanie Kesting, Managing Director at NEUMAN & ESSER.
Guido Beckers, Managing Director of BMR Energy, briefly summarizes the three-year project development: “Approval procedures, market, business models? Nothing was available, but we accepted the challenge.” The issues were clarified and the project is now being implemented. Landrat Stephan Pusch (District Administrator) emphasizes: “The whole world is talking about the energy transition. But we don't talk about it, we do it.” Gereon Frauenrath also emphasizes the importance and uniqueness of the project: “It's not the first ground-breaking ceremony for a hydrogen plant, the Düreners were quicker than us. But this is the first ground-breaking ceremony for a plant in the administrative district of Cologne that has been fully approved.
As a first step, the transport sector is now being supplied with green hydrogen. Industry and the residential sector are already being considered for successful decarbonization. Veolia Managing Director Dr. Stefan Langer explains: “Industry should and will come. Our project is attracting a lot of attention within the international Veolia Group.” This makes the project in Heinsberg a blueprint for further hydrogen activities, even beyond the region. “The fact that we have the right potential in the Heinsberg district to implement something like this is a real strength. But you also need the right types of entrepreneurs who are prepared to go the extra mile,” concludes WFG Managing Director Ulrich Schirowski. These companies have come together in Heinsberg and will supply the region with green hydrogen in the future.
District of Düren. It is the next major milestone for the district of Düren on its way to becoming a hydrogen region: the construction of the hydrogen production plant in Jülich's Brainergy Park has now officially begun. The district of Düren and its partners celebrated this new chapter with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, July 3.
"This day marks an important step forward. As district of Düren, we want to show that it is possible to produce green hydrogen directly on site that is used regionally. A project that not only has a positive impact on climate protection, but also shows that we as a lignite region can also successfully manage structural change with the help of hydrogen and position ourselves for the future," says District Administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn.
The operator of the new hydrogen production plant is HyDN GmbH. This company is owned in equal parts by the district of Düren and Messer Industriegase GmbH (MIGG). It was founded in 2022 with the purpose of planning, building and operating the new production plant in the innovative industrial park.
"When implementing the project, we made a conscious decision to work with local and regional partners. Not only the suppliers of the production plant, but also the renewable electricity and the consumers of the green hydrogen are largely located in the Rhenish mining area. The project cooperation between the partners is going extremely well, we are on track and expect to produce green hydrogen in autumn 2025," emphasize Anne Schüssler and Frank Hopfenbach, Managing Directors of HyDN GmbH.
The first green hydrogen (H2), in other words hydrogen produced with the help of renewable energies, is primarily used in mobility. In future, it will not only be possible to refuel fuel cell buses, but also cars and trains. There are currently five H2 buses on the road in the district of Düren, which can already refuel in the Großen Tal in Düren. A further 20 vehicles will be added to the bus fleet at the end of this year. The advantage of the vehicles is that they emit environmentally friendly water vapor instead of harmful gases.
During production, water is split into its components hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electricity. The plant can produce up to 180 kilograms of hydrogen per hour at an output of ten megawatts. To put this into context: an H2 car consumes an average of one kilogram of hydrogen per 100 kilometers, a bus around six kilograms per 100 kilometers. With this output, the new production plant in Jülich is one of the first of its kind to be in operation in Germany.
The companies NEUMAN & ESSER and Messer SE & Co. KGaA (Messer) were commissioned to realize the project. NEUMAN & ESSER is supplying two NEA|HYTRON PEM electrolyzers for hydrogen production and two NEA|HOFER diaphragm compressors for compressing the hydrogen. Messer is responsible for the storage of the hydrogen produced, its filling and quality control.
"This is another important strategic project for Messer Industriegase, because in addition to the production of air gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, we will also have direct access to green hydrogen from 2025. Messer is not only involved in the engineering of the hydrogen production plant, but will also take over the long-term operation of the plant and distribute the green hydrogen," says Peter Laux, Managing Director of Messer Industriegase.
"We were immediately convinced by the idea of local hydrogen production and have been in close contact with the district of Düren and MESSER for a long time. We are very pleased to be able to contribute our entire solution portfolio along the hydrogen value chain to this project as a general contractor - including the 10 MW PEM electrolyzer. In addition to the conventional diaphragm compressors for this application, we are also using our dry-running piston compressors for 500 bar discharge pressure. The piston compressor enables significantly larger delivery volumes while at the same time complying with hydrogen purity requirements. The entire system is monitored by our digital XPLORE system and kept running optimally," says Alexander Peters, Managing Partner of NEUMAN & ESSER.
The construction of the new plant is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure with around 14.7 million euros. This is part of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen 2 (NIP 2). The total investment amounts to around 35 million euros.
In cooperation with the Swedish tech developer SurfCleaner, NEUMAN & ESSER wants to boost water treatment and sustainability across global industries.
Following a new distribution agreement, NEUMAN & ESSER will now integrate SurfCleaner’s world’s-first water skimmer-separator hybrid technology into its product portfolio. The core principle behind SurfCleaner’s technology was developed by clinical physiologist Dr. Stig Lundbäck, MD PhD following his discovery of the human heart’s Dynamic Adaptive Piston Pump (DAPP) functionality. A unique technology, it is capable of highly effective separation, removal and recovery of floating water contaminants. At the Petroleum Refining Congress May 13 to 15 in Amsterdam, Netherlands - Europe’s largest downstream event for refiners and petrochemical stakeholders, NEUMAN & ESSER joined forces with SurfCleaner to exhibit. “This kickstarted the thinking process that SurfCleaner could greatly support NEUMAN & ESSER’s new Sustainability Strategy,” says Jens Wulff, Managing Director NEUMAN & ESSER Deutschland. According to him, water is a scarce global resource. SurfCleaner’s super smart technology allows NEUMAN & ESSER to recapture water resources across many project sites, which would otherwise be hard to use and require transporting for complicated treatment. For example, refineries and chemical plants around the world as well as at hydrogen production sites that use NEUMAN & ESSER’s equipment.
More broadly, NEUMAN & ESSER is increasingly delivering ‘ecological audits’ for industrial plants to address areas such as energy consumption and water quality. “SurfCleaner’s technology adds another ‘piece in the puzzle’ providing a more ‘holistic’ view to help industry boost sustainability,” Stefanie and Alexander Peters, Managing Partners of NEUMAN & ESSER, say. In addition, the novel water treatment technology will also support NEUMAN & ESSER’s extensive work in the renewable energy sector, which includes the delivery of equipment for the production of green hydrogen.
“Our partnership with NEUMAN & ESSER opens up vast opportunities for the years ahead," Christina Lundbäck, SurfCleaner Founder & Chief Sustainability Officer, says. According to her, SurfCleaner’s technology has the ability to revolutionise the water treatment process across global industries. While it supports the reuse of precious water, it also crucially enables the recovery of resources like oil, diesel and petrol for use in the circular economy, while significantly reducing VOC, CO2 and methane gas emissions. “Through NEUMAN & ESSER we will now have even greater access to markets, through an extensive network of production sites, sales and service centres worldwide. This will help to unleash our technology further afield and maximise its true potential.”, Lundbäck adds.
In the aftermarket sector, it is also important to offer customers solutions that go above and beyond the traditional NEUMAN & ESSER products such as spare parts, field service and repairs, adds Ilya Asser, Managing Director of NEAC Compressor Service. “Building trustful relationships by solving our customer’s pain points when needed. Being at site, our technicians see the water ponds containing a rainbow-like oil sheen. It’s a win-win situation to be able to treat and reuse this water, while helping the refineries lower their carbon footprint.”
About SurfCleaner
SurfCleaner designs, develops and manufactures the world’s first hybrid skimmer separators for removal, separation and recovery of contaminants floating on the water surface – oil, diesel, petrol, floating sludge, and more. The SurfCleaner technology is unique; by combining variations in inflow velocity and direction with gravimetric separation, the process is very efficient – keeping pollutants from accumulating on the surface and therefore help minimising greenhouse gas emissions.
SurfCleaner makes it possible for water treatment plants to solve floating sludge problems and achieve a more effective and stable treatment process. They help refineries, industries and recycling companies to recover oil, diesel and petrol from contaminated water and significantly reduce VOC, CO2 and methane gas emissions. SurfCleaners can also be used for swift removal of oil in ports, rivers, lakes, mines and oil pits. Future models of SurfCleaner will remove microplastics and algae in rivers, ports and coastal areas and make the oceans cleaner.
In the industrial park Osterweddingen near Magdeburg, the energy transition becomes a living reality. Starting with 2024, the local industrial companies will obtain their hydrogen-gas needs from renewable sources.
The operator ENERTRAG, one of the largest renewable energy companies in Germany, will produce hydrogen at an industrial park, with the electrical energy required for electrolysis coming exclusively from renewable sources. In addition, hydrogen will be fed into ONTRAS' 100% hydrogen pipelines in the medium term. In the first stage of expansion, around two tons of green hydrogen per day will initially be produced using a 10 MW PEM electrolyzer. The electrolyzer is to be operated in a system-serving manner to compensate for fluctuations in the generation of electricity from wind and sun and thus relieve the power grid. Green hydrogen produced using the electrolyzer will be used to decarbonize heavy industry, as a fuel for long-haul transportation, to generate electricity during a "dunkelflaute" and to feed into hydrogen pipelines. At a later date, there is the possibility of expanding the electrolysis site.
Green Hydrogen From the Middle of Germany
The term “green hydrogen” is used in this case because the energy required originates exclusively from renewable sources. “ENERTRAG is very proud to accomplish this project, at this great location in the middle of Germany, with many possibilities of deployment, both in industry and in the mobility sector. With this reference plant, we will produce hydrogen from renewable energies on an industrial scale,” says Manuela Blaicher, Head of PtX Project Development at ENERTRAG SE.
For the compression, storage and filling necessary for further utilization of the hydrogen, ENRTRAG SE has concluded a contract with the companies STREICHER Anlagenbau and NEUMAN & ESSER. The company STREICHER Anlagenbau from Gommern is responsible for the technical and commercial project management, the planning of the overall plant and the coordination of the project partners involved. As solution provider for sector integration and hydrogen technology located in the near of the industrial park, STREICHER is also responsible for the piping, storage and system completion tasks in this project. "On the way to the energy transition, this project represents for us another important milestone in the right direction. We are very pleased to be able to contribute with the wide experience of our services portfolio," says Sandra Moder, Managing Director of STREICHER Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG.
In addition to direct use of the hydrogen produced in the electrolysis process by local consumers, the gas will be further compressed for transport and storage. The Übach-Palenberg-based supplier of hydrogen solutions, NEUMAN & ESSER, will supply the necessary compressor units and support STREICHER in integrating them into the overall plant. A total of eight diaphragm compressors (4+4, in two project phases) will compress the hydrogen for various applications. Four compressors will compress 90 kg of hydrogen per hour to 121 bar(a) for injection into the natural gas grid and another four will compress 45 kg per hour to 501 bar(a) for trailer filling. "Both the single-stage feed and the two-stage filling compressors are diaphragm compressors of the NEUMAN & ESSER brand Andreas Hofer Hochdrucktechnik and use the same proven compressor crankcase size. The diaphragm heads are of course adapted to the respective application. In the first project phase, two compressors each will be installed for pipeline feeding and trailer filling," explains Guido Harsch, the responsible Area Sales Manager at NEUMAN & ESSER.
Schwarze-Robitec is taking an entirely new approach to after-sales service as part of its collaboration with NEUMAN & ESSER (NEA GROUP), with the goal of strengthening long-term customer relationships in China while maintaining a high level of service quality. Tube bending machines will in future be inspected, maintained and repaired by trained staff from the global manufacturer of compressors and grinding systems.
Covid-19 had a huge impact on the global economy over many months, with strict rules in place in large parts of the world. China shut down the country, placing whole cities and regions into lockdown. This presented a difficult set of challenges in terms of providing customers with the servicing, maintenance and replacement-part services they had been accustomed to. It showed that, long term, a rethink in after-sales service was needed. “China remains an important market for us,” underlines Bert Zorn, Managing Director of Schwarze-Robitec. “We have enjoyed decades of success in the country. Moving forward, we aim to maintain the high level of availability of our tube bending machines and also provide our customers there with the best possible support.” The company’s collaboration with NEUMAN & ESSER provides an ideal foundation to build on.
Extensive range of services provided by experienced specialists
Based close to the German city of Aachen, NEUMAN & ESSER manufactures piston and diaphragm compressors, electrolysers and reformer technologies, as well as grinding and classifying systems. With around 1,400 employees across 10 countries, the family-owned company works on global projects, delivering full solutions from feasibility studies to digitally supported 360° services on an operational level. The NEA GROUP has been operating a site in China since 2008. The maintenance and logistics centre in Shanghai was established in 2015. In addition to supplying its Chinese customers with new systems, NEA BEIJING offers services including maintenance, modernizations, repairs, technical support and the supply of replacement parts. This extensive expertise is something that Schwarze-Robitec is now looking to leverage. The Chinese customers of the tube-bending machine specialist will in future receive comprehensive service support from NEA BEIJING’s qualified experts. These experts are the direct point of contact for maintenance, inspection and servicing, and also for installation and commissioning of new tube-bending machines. For this purpose, service technicians received in-depth training from Schwarze-Robitec’s experienced specialists. “Through our close collaboration with NEUMAN & ESSER, we are guaranteeing professional support for our customers,” emphasises Zorn. “This enables us to maintain and further enhance the good relationships we have with our Chinese business partners, even during challenging times.”
On June 10, the German Government adopted a National Hydrogen Strategy. “Hydrogen will be a key commodity for a successful energy transition”, said Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier. “This forward-looking source of energy will make an important contribution to meeting climate targets in Germany and across the world.”
The plan provides for 38 measures to create innovation and investment. By 2030, up to five gigawatts of electrolysis capacity is to be built up in Germany. Said Education and Research Minister Anja Karliczek: “We will continue to invest in research and innovation on green hydrogen: its production, storage, transport, distribution and application. A further €310 million will be made available for this in the period up to 2023.”
A National Hydrogen Council is being set up to help consistently further develop the strategy. Stefanie Peters, Managing Partner of NEUMAN & ESSER, was appointed as member: “Piston and diaphragm compressors play a central role in the infrastructure of the hydrogen economy. NEA has decades of expertise in this field. With our knowledge, we will contribute to the development of a successful hydrogen economy in Germany.”
The 52-hectare intercommunal industrial estate "Brainergy Park" in Jülich is part of the largest hydrogen infrastructure project in Germany. The "Helmholtz-Cluster Wasserstoff (Helmholtz Hydrogen Cluster) HC-H2" will help to boost the energy transition by developing the Rhenish Region into a pioneering hydrogen model region and creating 4,000 new jobs by 2030. Part of the project is an electrolysis plant with hydrogen filling, which NEUMAN & ESSER will plan and implement as general contractor together with MESSER SE for its customer, the HyDN GmbH. "The potential of structural change can be used if science and industry work together. The establishment of H2 clusters for the national production of green hydrogen is of huge importance for this, and we are therefore fully promoting this with confidence," say Stefanie and Alexander Peters, Managing Partners of NEUMAN & ESSER.
The service scope includes the integrated solution from hydrogen production and compression to the filling of "green hydrogen". NEUMAN & ESSER is supplying two 5MW PEM electrolyzers, each divided into two containers, to produce 2,000 Nm3 of hydrogen per hour. The renewable electricity for the electrolyzers is drawn from the power grid on a balanced basis via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Before compression, the hydrogen is buffered in two 45m3 low-pressure storage tanks. Two three-stage NEA|HOFER KTD180 diaphragm compressors are used for compression, which compress the hydrogen from 30 bar to 500 bar for intermediate storage in high-pressure storage tanks and for trailer filling. NEUMAN & ESSER is also responsible for the approval and construction planning with subsequent awarding of the building and civil engineering trades to subcontractors as well as for the installation of the plant infrastructure. Commissioning and maintenance are also part of the contract. MESSER SE, which is working closely with NEUMAN & ESSER, will supply the systems for filling the green hydrogen into trailers and the high-pressure storage tanks. The bottled green hydrogen will then be used in local transportation, both in buses and trains. "This project is the logical consequence of the expansion of our solution portfolio. We will realize a complete turnkey solution from electron and water to the compressed hydrogen molecule," says Jens Wulff, Managing Director of NEUMAN & ESSER Deutschland GmbH. In the long term, the electrolysis plant will be expanded to up to 20 MW and buses and cars will be refueled directly on site at Brainergy Park. "We have taken everything necessary for this into account in our construction planning. The plant is already being designed for future expansion," explains Project Manager Dr. Benedikt Hammermüller.
A Project Funded by the Federal Government
The electrolysis plant is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, handed over a certificate of funding of 14.8 million euros for the construction of the electrolysis system to the management of HyDN GmbH, Frank Hopfenbach and Anne Schüssler. In addition to the electrolysis system, trains powered by fuel cells (55.7 million euros), a hydrogen refueling station with 3.8 million euros and the expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure in Mechernich in the district of Euskirchen (7.3 million euros) will also be funded. "Our aim is to further accelerate the momentum towards climate neutrality in the transport sector. With our funding, we are supporting the market ramp-up of innovative drive technologies. We are providing technology-neutral funding because we are convinced that we need to keep all options open to achieve our climate targets. We need hydrogen-based buses and trains where we reach the limits of electrification. Here in the Rhineland, 17 hydrogen trains and the infrastructure required for green hydrogen as well as a hydrogen refueling station with an electrolysis plant for buses are being procured with our support. The region demonstrates how we envisage an optimal, local value chain - from the production and distribution to the use of hydrogen," says Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing.