Bilfinger and Hydrogenious to Enable Safe and Efficient Hydrogen Transport
International industrial services provider Bilfinger and LOHC market pioneer Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies are entering into a strategic partnership and pooling their complementary expertise. The companies aim to make green hydrogen commercially available on a large scale in Europe by offering a turnkey, stationary Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) plant infrastructure based on Hydrogenious’ proprietary technology. For the owners or operators of these systems of hydrogen storage and hydrogen release facilities, the partners aim to provide one-stop services in engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and maintenance.
“As long-term partners at equal level, we want to contribute to further advancing the energy transition,” says Christina Johansson, Interim CEO and CFO of Bilfinger. “Green hydrogen plays a crucial role as a sustainable energy source for our customers and for European countries to achieve their climate goals. With the appropriate scaling, Hydrogenious’ LOHC technology can become a game-changing solution for this.”
“With Bilfinger, we are gaining our partner of choice for the turnkey construction of large-scale LOHC plants with comprehensive expertise in engineering, installation and maintenance,” says Dr Daniel Teichmann, founder and CEO of Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies. “Our partnership positions us perfectly for the market ramp-up in the hydrogen economy. By further improving the competitiveness of our technology through scale-up and standardisation, all players in the future green hydrogen value chains will benefit.”
For the flexible transport of hydrogen, Hydrogenious’ LOHC technology is both an efficient and safe solution: In its storage plants, the hydrogen is chemically bonded to the LOHC material benzyltoluene, a thermal oil. This carrier oil can be transported under ambient conditions inconventional and existing logistics infrastructures comparable to the delivery of e.g., petroleum or diesel. Once at the hydrogen consumer, the hydrogen is released from the LOHC in Hydrogenious’ release plants (in the appropriate purity as required), while the carrier material is reused many hundreds of times in the cycle. Thus, the Hydrogenious LOHC technology has significant advantages over other technologies for transporting hydrogen.
Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies had shipped its first LOHC storage and release facilities for commercial use to the US in 2018. A demonstration plant was previously in operation at Fraunhofer IAO in Stuttgart. Construction of an industrial-scale LOHC storage plant at Chempark Dormagen (North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne) is scheduled to begin in 2023/2024 – at the same time the world’s largest facility of this kind (hydrogen storage in LOHC: approx. 1,800 tonnes per year). For the construction of the plant, Bilfinger is providing services in the areas of basic engineering, civil engineering, and support in applying for permits at the chemical park.
About Bilfinger
Bilfinger is a leading international industrial services provider. The Group enhances the efficiency of assets, ensures a high level of availability, and reduces maintenance costs. The portfolio covers the entire value chain from consulting, engineering, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, and plant expansion to turnarounds and also includes environmental technologies and digital applications.
The company delivers its services in two service lines: Engineering & Maintenance and Technologies. Bilfinger is primarily active in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Process industry customers come from sectors that include chemicals & petrochemicals, energy & utilities, oil & gas, pharma & biopharma, metallurgy, and cement. With its ~ 30,000 employees, Bilfinger upholds the highest standards of safety and quality and generated revenue of €3.5 billion in financial year 2020.
About Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies
Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies adds the missing link to high-performing hydrogen value chains globally. Based on its proprietary and proven Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology with benzyltoluene as carrier medium, Hydrogenious LOHC allows for superior, flexible hydrogen supply to consumers in industry and mobility across the globe – utilizing conventional liquid-fuel infrastructure. The leading LOHC pioneer offers (de-)hydrogenation turnkey plants (EPC), Operation & Maintenance and LOHC logistics services – ensuring safe, easy, and efficient hydrogen storage, transport, and distribution. The German-based SME was awarded with i.a. “The Innovation Prize of the German Economy” and has been recognized on the “Global Cleantech 100” list since 2018 and as “Technology Pioneer 2021” by the World Economic Forum. With its >120 staff members and investors AP Ventures, Royal Vopak, Winkelmann Group, Mitsubishi Corporation, Covestro, JERA Americas, Temasek, Hyundai Motor Company, Chevron Technology Ventures and Pavilion Capital, the midstream player is a major enabler and accelerator for the energy transition.
