MAXIMATOR HYDROGEN: Powerful Growth Continues for Leading Hydrogen Tech Business

HYDROGEN AT SCALE

“Our mission is to make hydrogen usable on a large scale and help infrastructure to become climate neutral. We are fuelling the future; we know that in the end there will be hydrogen,” Kurras said previously.

Now, serious growth is on the agenda as Maximator Hydrogen goes from project to product, and Kurras is excited about international rollout. He tells Energy Focus that new products and new markets are helping the business to boom.

“The company is still on a growth path. We are now more than 200 people. We have completed a move into our new office building and we are busy planning our own hydrogen refuelling station at our site in Nordhausen.”

On three hectares in Germany’s Thuringia, brand new production halls are busy creating hydrogen innovation for the filling station market around Europe and beyond.

“Right now, the prototype of the 250kW compressor is in operation, and it will be the first system that will be able to refill vehicles directly. That is something which we are promoting in the market as the most energy efficient ways to refuel cars and trucks.”

This ‘big brother’ of the previous MAX Compression 2.0 unit – known for its cost-effectiveness and efficiency compressing hydrogen for filling stations – this latest model can be adapted to quadruple performance, paving the way for large scale refuelling for the likes of ships and trains.

The increased output also means more vehicles can be fuelled at a station in the same period of time, with less storage required – a key hurdle when rolling out hydrogen infrastructure.

PIONEERING INNOVATION

At the same time, the company is also launching a new dispenser that is redefining safety for users across the industry. MAX Dispenser 1.5 is the latest generation in hydrogen dispenser and was debuted at the 2023 Hannover Messe. Launching across stations in 2024, this innovation brings a multimedia touch screen display with microphone, speaker, and NFC reader. Clear instructions can be given to users, and a service interface makes troubleshooting easy.

The design of the dispenser also focuses on a new hose breakaway coupling system that prevents damage to the refuelling system should the dispenser move away by accident. New safeguards have been added for over-pressurisation, unacceptable temperatures, and excessive mass flow or gas leakage.

Many other innovations have also been added to the MAX Dispenser 1.5 and Kurras says that this strategy of continuous improvement will endure.

“We are working on more to add to this innovation,” he says, adding that the company recently partnered with the Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences to allow students to gain practical hands-on experience while building a skilled, innovative workforce of the future.

“We are setting up the prototype for the first mobile refueller and, of course, there are mobile refuellers out there but this one utilises all of the hydrogen transported, unlike a standard gas trailer that might only use 20%,” Kurras details. “Our solution increases the range of hydrogen refuelling available. This is the next step for us, and it all plays into our plan to scale up hydrogen refuelling stations. We want to simplify stations and show that we are a product and no longer a project. We are on the route to modular station with each module having its own CE marking – easy to assemble.”

The MAX Mobile Refueler has been trialled in the construction sector and, in partnership with LIEBHERR. A first prototype of the product will be going to the test phase to enable the path for refuelling on quarry projects where it is simply inefficient to have stationary hydrogen fuelling infrastructure across so many small sites, with just one or two vehicles at each. It is also extremely harmful to the environment to continue with large diesel-powered trucks and vehicles that emit significant CO₂ emissions.

As a trailer or vehicle-integrated system, the MAX Mobile Refueler is driven directly to the construction machine, which is then fully refuelled to 700 bar in under 15 minutes. The smallest version of the MAX Mobile Refueler weighs about 1000 kg and can refuel about 40 kg of hydrogen at 700 bar and 15°C (59°F).

GLOBAL GROWTH

Hydrogen fuelling stations are in place across much of Europe as this blossoming sector continues to grow. Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Switzerland, and more have networks that are booming. But Sweden, Italy, Lativia, Spain, Norway, Austria, Poland, The Czech Republic, Iceland, the UK, and Estonia are among others that are in the earlier stages of deployment. This represents major opportunity for Maximator Hydrogen which can supply a comprehensive product portfolio from compressors, chillers, storage solutions, supply panels, dispensers, and all the associated equipment and expertise. The way the company will grow internationally follows a franchise-type model, where each country will have its own independent business partner that is closely tied to Maximator Hydrogen in the heart of Germany.

“We are looking to open stations in Italy and Sweden. We will have various stations in Italy around Milan and another large-scale project in Sweden, of which the lion’s share of the plants will be put in place throughout 2024,” explains Kurras. “This is important for us as we look to grow our presence. We are also exploring market opportunities in France and eastern parts of Europe. At the moment, we are getting ready to scale as we grow, and we are building a robust platform.

“Maximator Hydrogen is setting up companies in various European markets to roll out at scale. It starts with installation and commissioning, and then they look at the service side before operating as their own entities and only buying the modules from Maximator Hydrogen. The teams will grow from there as the local teams know their markets best, and they will know what resources are needed to further scale in those countries.”

As each territory grows in line with the development of the industry – expected to achieve growth of 47% by 2035 against 2022 – Maximator Hydrogen production capacity will also need to develop.

“Longer-term, we hope to copy-plot where we take our blueprint and reproduce plants across multiple sites through 2025 and 2026. We cannot look forward with anything but ambition and excitement,” states Kurras.

BUILDING CAPACITY

Asked for the challenges facing the business and its ongoing success, Kurras says venturing into the unknown is never easy. Establishing a hydrogen refuelling network is something that has never been done before. Much of the technology is novel, and a lot of the science is still being developed for various scale-level applications. For Maximator Hydrogen, this means driving innovation and scale across not only the customer base but the supply chain at the same time. Kurras labels the company ‘fortunate’ for working closely with so many industry leading companies including (between others) the Schmidt Kranz Group, the Maximator Group, Vernconex, Hyfindr, Schwer, Faber Industrie, Kustec, Zovos-Eko, PHM and the Freiberg Institute (with the software partner Edgar). Edgar for example is an important sparring partner for us in driving forward the scaling up and standardization of our product range. We are learning to understand our customers’ needs better and can therefore also make significant progress at an international level.

“The development of the supply chain is ongoing and we are constantly trying to deepen relationships,” he says. “We are talking to the supply chain intensely about new models for various markets including the US. We want to bring our teams closer with our suppliers and that is why we held our Suppliers’ Day in 2023, to see what they need to grow with us and show them what we are doing. We want them to see what we are doing and how we are growing so that they know what they are stepping into with us.

“We have onboarded some new suppliers across the dispenser product, from display and software to design and engineering. We are always looking for innovative new players to help us grow and to develop the H2 world together as partner at eye level.”

There is obvious appetite in the market, both because of incoming net zero targets for industries and countries, but also because people buy into the idea of using cleaner fuels to power life and progress.

In November 2023, Maximator Hydrogen partnered with the Weimar city bus service to rollout a new hydrogen filling station as part of a pioneering transport project. Now, the city has three hydrogen powered buses in operation, removing emissions from the system. Even on the more challenging routes, where elevation is a problem, the buses cope well and are perfectly suited to hydrogen power. Maximator Hydrogen supplies the systems for refuelling and is proven with a safety record of excellence across 50 systems and over 100,000 successful refuelling operations.

“We see that as a success story,” Kurras concludes. Next is to rollout in more locations, further prove safety, and yet again demonstrate hydrogen’s ability to add to the energy mix in a non-disruptive way. Currently, there are few better examples than the work being done by the team at Maximator Hydrogen.