Wintershall DEA investing in AMBARtec AG

Wintershall Dea is excited about AMBARtec’s unique HyCS (Hydrogen Compact Storage) technology, as the system offers what is currently the most compact as well as one of the most cost- and energy-efficient methods to store and transport hydrogen.
- Wintershall Dea invests in hydrogen storage and transport solutions for a decarbonised energy supply

- AMBARtec’s unique HyCS technology offers one of the most compact and efficient ways to store and transport hydrogen

- The HyCS storage system can flexibly get hydrogen to end consumers using standard 20-foot containers – by road, rail or sea

As part of its efforts to position itself along the hydrogen and CO2 value chains, Wintershall Dea is investing in a promising new technology for storing and transporting hydrogen developed by the Dresden-based start-up AMBARtec AG. In the latter’s recent funding round, Wintershall Dea became the start-up’s lead investor via its fully-owned subsidiary Wintershall Dea Technology Ventures GmbH. In addition to underlining its confidence in AMBARtec’s new technology, this investment also highlights Wintershall Dea’s commitment to supporting the development of a hydrogen market in Germany and Europe.

Wintershall Dea is excited about AMBARtec’s unique HyCS (Hydrogen Compact Storage) technology, as the system offers what is currently the most compact as well as one of the most cost- and energy-efficient methods to store and transport hydrogen. “We are continuously expanding our carbon management and hydrogen portfolio to help enable the decarbonised economy of the future,” says Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Dea’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). “To scale up the hydrogen market, it will be key to have an efficient and flexible way to transport it – which is precisely where AMBARtec’s smart HyCS technology comes in.”

The HyCS technology is based on a process of loading and unloading hydrogen into a storage unit containing iron. The loading process involves reducing the iron by introducing hydrogen, which releases steam. To unload the hydrogen, steam is reintroduced into the storage unit, which oxidizes the iron.

This novel technology, which has the potential to become a game changer in the storage and transportation of hydrogen, offers several advantages over conventional methods, including:

- Compactness: The HyCS technology offers the highest storage density available. For example, one litre of HyCS storage can store twice as much hydrogen as other hydrogen storage technologies – or 10 times as much energy as lithium-ion batteries.

- Cost & Energy Efficiency: This advantage in terms of compactness also translates into additional savings for transportation and storage space.

- Sustainability: Iron is available readily, widely and in sufficient quantities to serve as a storage medium.

AMBARtec’s HyCS storage system uses a standard 20-foot intermodal container (TEU) that can hold 600 kg (20,000 kWh) of hydrogen. These containers, which do not have to be cooled nor bear the danger of hydrogen losses, can be transported by truck, train or ship. At present, there is only a single vessel worldwide that is capable of and purpose-built for transporting liquid hydrogen. The hydrogen, which is maintained at a temperature of -253°C, is held in a single tank with a maximum capacity of 1,250 cubic metres. In comparison, this same volume could collectively fit into just 134 containers using the AMBARtec technology. Currently, the largest container ship can carry slightly over 24,000 TEU which represent 24,000 containers of the AMBARtec system.

“With our new shareholders, we are ideally positioned to roll out our technology into all relevant markets and applications,” said AMBARtec CEO Matthias Rudloff. “Wintershall Dea is opening the door to the international energy business and enabling new business cases, and private investors will push us forward to decentralised and independent power islands based on green hydrogen.”

Wintershall Dea, Europe’s leading independent gas and oil producer, recently announced that it is expanding its activities in carbon management and hydrogen solutions. More detailed information on its plans for low-carbon hydrogen as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects can be found online at: Hydrogen & CCS | Wintershall Dea AG

AMBARtec at H₂ Expo and Conference 2022

From 27-30.09.2022 the H₂ Expo and Conference took place in Hamburg. We were there – with several experts and our own booth.
The H₂ EXPO & CONFERENCE represents the entire hydrogen value chain. Here, where everything revolves around the production, transport and storage of green hydrogen, we were right on target with our innovative HyCS technology. Many industry experts and other stakeholders showed great interest in our technology. We used the trade show days for intensive networking and continued to set the course for growth.

AMBARtec at Energy Saxony Summit on 2 June 2022

On 2 June 2022, the Green Economy was the topic of exhibitions, lectures and meetings at the Dresden Trade Fair Centre. AMBARtec was there.
Mit welchen Lösungen gelingt die Gestaltung des Wandels hin zu einer auf Nachhaltigkeit, Klima- und Umweltschutz ausgerichteten Wirtschaft bei gleichzeitiger Gewährleistung einer bezahlbaren und sicheren Energie- und Rohstoffversorgung? Der ENERGY SAXONY SUMMIT ist eine Konferenz zur Vernetzung der Akteure der sächsischen Energiebranche und vereint neben Keynotes aus Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik zukunftsweisende Fachvorträge sowie eine begleitende Firmenausstellung. Auf dem jährlich stattfindenden Event werden Trendthemen diskutiert und innovative Technologielösungen und Dienstleistungen vorgestellt, mit denen die Energiewende sowie der Übergang zu einer "Green Economy" erfolgreich gestaltet werden können.

Publication in gwf Gas+Energie 2022 03

In the current issue of gwf Gas + Energie, Matthias Rudloff and Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Lutsch are featured with a technical article on the HyCS® process.
In order for the energy transition to succeed, the volatile amounts of energy generated from wind power and photovoltaics (PV) must be made available through storage for times of low energy production up to the "dark lull". The conversion of electrical energy into hydrogen (H2) and its storage are a relevant option for this. H2 storage in particular must become efficient, compact and cost-effective.

In the following, the innovative HyCS® technology for energy storage based on iron masses and H2 is described and compared with market-available technologies for H2 storage. Furthermore, two application cases are explained.

Download the complete article >

AMBARtec at Dresden District Heating Colloquium

At the 26th Dresden District Heating Colloquium of the AGFW on September 29, 2021 Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Lutsch presented the process engineering principle and the mode of operation of the HyCS® technology to an expert audience.
Der Vortrag war im Themenfeld Neue Technologien angesiedelt und stieß auf großes Interesse der rund 220 Teilnehmenden. In den nächsten Tagen werden die zahlreichen Kontakte aus den Nachgesprächen vertieft werden.

Die Präsentation können Sie hier herunterladen.

HyCS® test plant is assembled

After a planning and preparation period of around 5 months, the HyCS® test plant was delivered to Dresden for final assembly on September 20, 2021.
Dort werden die noch fehlenden Komponenten ergänzt, bevor die Anlage zum Versuchsstandort nach Freiberg/Sachsen gebracht wird. In Freiberg wird sie in die Standort-Infrastruktur eingebunden und zeitnah in Betrieb genommen. „Wir sind sehr froh, dass wir trotz coronabedingter Lieferengpässe annähernd im Zeitplan diesen Meilenstein erreichen konnten“ so Uwe Pahl, technischer Geschäftsführer der AMBARtec. „Vielen Dank an das Team und die Partner, die das möglich gemacht haben!“