(Augsburg / Friborg) – The Augsburg-based H-Tec Systems GmbH is initiating the first hydrogen project in western Switzerland together with the energy supplier Groupe E. For this purpose, H-Tec Systems will install two of its PEM electrolyzers (ME450/1400) on the Schiffenensee dam in the canton of Fribourg. From 2023 onwards, around 300 tonnes of green hydrogen will be produced annually using hydropower.
The electrolysers are supplied by a dotation turbine, which can be used to control the flow rate of the water. According to the information, the output is two megawatts. The energy source is transported by tanker trucks to nearby gas stations on the A12 and A1 motorways. The pilot project is breaking new ground and we are “confident about the upcoming implementation phase,” explains Urs Kröpfli from Groupe E. This is the first market entry in Switzerland for H-Tec Systems.
VW Group has taken over all shares in H-Tec
In June 2021, MAN Energy Solutions SE took over from Norddeutsche GP Joule GmbH all outstanding shares in H-Tec Systems. The Augsburg company, part of the VW Group, previously held 40 percent of the manufacturer of PEM electrolysis technology and provider of integrated container solutions in the megawatt range.
The takeovers were no coincidence: JP Joule had already announced in January last year that it would sell its stake “as part of the further focus on local and regional projects for the production and distribution of sustainable hydrogen”.
MAN is investing 500 million euros in H-Tec Systems
A few weeks ago, MAN Energy Solutions announced that it would invest up to 500 million euros in its subsidiary in the coming years in order to develop the hydrogen specialist into a large-scale manufacturer of PEM electrolyzers as quickly as possible. H-Tec Systems not only benefits from the global sales network and project experience of MAN Energy Solutions, but also from direct access to the competence and experience of the Volkswagen Group, especially in the area of production scaling and supplier-based series business, explained Managing Director Uwe Lauber.
Connecting electrolysers to wind farms
“The market for hydrogen production from renewable energies is currently focused on decentralized production and local use,” says H-Tec managing director Robin von Plettenberg about the growth strategy. “In the next few years” we will see increasingly larger systems, for example with the connection of entire wind farms. “We expect projects of more than 100 megawatts and, in the medium term, a structurally changed market for large-scale multi-gigawatt systems, which are used in particular for the export of hydrogen and the global supply of industrial sectors.”
The number of H-Tec employees has already doubled in 2021. In the next few years, “several hundred” new employees will be hired, especially in the areas of development and production.
Photos
Schiffenen dam in Friborg. © Group E
