At Hannover Messe 2022, the company H-Tec Systems, from Augsburg, introduced the Hydrogen Cube System (HCS) to a wide audience. The HCS generates green hydrogen via PEM electrolysis. The modular system is suitable for use in large multi-MW electrolysis plants within the energy-intensive manufacturing and chemical industries or to store surplus wind power.

The Cubes are available as a closed container solution for outdoor installation as well as an open one for indoor installation. They are equipped with 18 S450 PEM stacks as well as integrated process water treatment and power supply. The system can optionally be expanded with a fresh water or hydrogen purification unit or a heat recovery unit, the manufacturer states.

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Several 2-MW Cubes can be combined to form a multi-megawatt system. A plant to reach 50 MW in the long term can also be planned and designed in this way. The Cubes achieve, according to H-Tec Systems, a system efficiency of 74 percent. They have an integrated process water treatment and power supply system. An HCS with five units, so with 10 MW electrolysis capacity, can thus produce 4,500 kg of H₂ per day. That makes 40 to 50 truck or bus tanks full. Through the modular construction, several units can be joined together as described and the entire plant can be centrally controlled and monitored.

The HCS is suited, according to H-Tec Systems, for various applications in industrial production such as for chemical plants, for fleet refueling of trucks or buses, or in steel production. Additionally, operators of renewable power plants have the option of using it as a power buffer. A specific example: According to the company’s own calculations, a 10-MW HCS could reduce the CO₂ emissions in the steel production industry by 117 tonnes per day and 42,000 tonnes annually.

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Because of increasing demand, the Augsburg-based company intends to further expand its production capacity. Together with large-scale plant manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, with its direct access to the large-series production knowhow of Volkswagen, an automated factory for the production of the electrolysis stacks is to be completed by the end of 2023, H-Tec Systems states. Through this, a production capacity of 1,000 MW is to be achieved, depending on demand, by 2025 – and continuously expanded in the following years, according to the current plans.

Author: Niels Hendrik Petersen