(Dresden / Solingen) – Sunfire GmbH takes over the Solingen location of the electroplating specialist MTV NT GmbH. According to its own statements, the Dresden company wants to build a new value chain.
Next year, Sunfire plans to produce its pressurized alkaline electrolyzers for hydrogen projects on a 100-megawatt scale. An essential process step is electroplating, in which the cells, which are the core components of the alkaline electrolyzers, are coated with metal. Only a few companies are able to process components of the required size. One of them is MTV NT GmbH with locations in Solingen and Mülheim (Ruhr).
Acquisition instead of construction
“Building a completely new factory would cost us valuable time,” says Sunfire CEO Nils Aldag. “In Solingen we not only have optimal production conditions, but we can also rely on an experienced and competent team,” he explains the acquisition. Arwed Gößler will remain managing director in Solingen.
In the coming months, the location will be adapted to the requirements of the electrolysis company. For this purpose, the existing systems would be converted into a state-of-the-art electroplating system for fully automatic electrode coating. The first 250 megawatt coating system is scheduled to go into operation this year. The company plans to have an annual production capacity of 2023 megawatts in 500. An expansion to one gigawatt is to follow. The final investment decision is subject to the necessary financing.
In January 2021, Sunfire added pressure alkaline electrolysers to its product portfolio. The Dresden company has the Swiss for this IHT Industrie Haute Technology SA accepted. Their factory in Monthey is already at full capacity, so Sunfire is expanding its production capacities.
Funding and investor round
In May 2021, Sunfire said it was selected for funding as part of a joint European hydrogen project (“Hydrogen IPCEI” – Important Project of Common European Interest) by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The European Commission is currently examining its compatibility with EU state aid law.
In mid-October 2021, investors provided the Dresden company with 109 million euros for the industrialization of its electrolysis technologies. In addition to existing investors, the consortium also includes Lightrock, Planet First Partners, Carbon Direct Capital Management and Hydrogen One Capital.
In early January 2022, Sunfire had one Subsidies announced by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the amount of 60 million euros. According to the information, 33 million euros are available to prepare for series production of high-temperature electrolysers (SOEC). A further 27 million euros will be used to produce pressure alkaline electrolysers on an industrial scale.
Photos
HyLink alkaline electrolyser © Sunfire GmbH
