MAN Energy Solutions subsidiary opens new electrolyzer gigahub in Germany
Hydrogen

MAN Energy Solutions subsidiary opens new electrolyzer gigahub in Germany

At full capacity, the new gigahub will enable the automated series production of PEM stacks with a potential total electrolysis capacity of over five gigawatts per year

  • By ICN Bureau | October 04, 2024

Electrolysis specialist Quest One, a subsidiary of MAN Energy Solutions, has opened its new ‘Gigahub’ for the serial and automated production of electrolysis stacks in Hamburg. In the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the German city Hamburg, Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, and Quest One CEO Robin von Plettenberg kicked off a new phase in the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy.

The series production of stacks will increase the availability of green hydrogen, as they are the technological centrepiece of an electrolyser that can be used to produce green hydrogen.

German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “Today, Hamburg-Rahlstedt is sending out a signal. Until now, electrolysers have been made by hand. If the step towards automated production on an industrial scale is successful, the costs and time required for production will fall. Serial production should reduce the production time here in Rahlstedt by 75 percent. This is a real milestone for the rapid hydrogen ramp-up and shows what is possible in our country.”

The hydrogen technology specialist is starting the serial and automated production of so-called PEM electrolysis stacks for the production of green hydrogen at the new site. The new production and development site plays a central role in realising the Quest One mission of avoiding one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through the use of its own electrolysers.

Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions: “Today we are opening Europe’s most modern production plant in the hydrogen economy. MAN Energy Solutions and Quest One are thus making a substantial contribution to the establishment and industrialisation of sustainable future technologies in Germany and Europe. We are thus investing in the future of Germany as a business location and in the energy transition as a task for society as a whole. Because there is no alternative for a climate-neutral future. MAN Energy Solutions, as one of the oldest industrial companies in the world, will continue to work towards this goal.”

At full capacity, the new gigahub will enable the automated series production of PEM stacks with a potential total electrolysis capacity of over five gigawatts per year. Stacks are the technological centerpiece of electrolysers and split water into oxygen and hydrogen with the help of renewable electricity. They therefore play a key role in the ramp-up of the future hydrogen economy. This is why the MAN Energy Solutions subsidiary in Hamburg is also researching new generations of stacks. 

Robin von Plettenberg, CEO of Quest One: “The hydrogen economy will change massively in the coming years and decades, and we will be dealing with volumes that are almost unimaginable today. Thus, the electrolysis industry will become one of the key industries of the future. With our gigahub, we are opening one of the most modern sites for PEM technology, development and production in the world here in Hamburg. However, this also emphasises that we want to become a leading player in the hydrogen economy. Our goal is to use our products to avoid one per cent of global greenhouse emissions by 2050.”

The Gigahub was built in just one and a half years on a site measuring over 26,000 square metres in Victoria Park, an industrial park in Hamburg, Germany, and sustainability played a central role in the development of the Gigahub.

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