Swiss manufacturer Zund, Dutch firm Airborne expand collaboration

• January 27, 2022

Zünd and Airborne will jointly promote these production solutions through their sales and servicing networks. Both companies are technology leaders offering solutions for composites manufacturing and processing – Zünd develops and manufactures digital flatbed cutting systems capable of processing reinforced fiber materials such as CFRP or GRP. Airborne, based in Den Haag in the Netherlands, provides fully integrated automation solutions for efficient composites processing.

The goal of this partnership is to make it easier than ever for customers to access state-of-the-art digital cutting and automation solutions. In that endeavour, the competencies of both companies complement each other perfectly. Their combined expertise manifests itself especially in the areas of fully automated cutting, performing, offloading, and sorting, Zund said in a press release.

Airborne’s automated kitting solutions reduce operating costs by maximising material yield through optimised nesting. At the same time, they resolve the challenges inherent in sorting and grouping cut parts from complex nested layouts into laminate-ready kits with minimal operator intervention. Airborne offers a portfolio of solutions tailored to meet the individual needs of customers from affordable entry-level semi-automated products through to fully integrated and high productivity systems. All systems are "plug and play" and require no additional special programming. Airborne’s software generates the required robotics code directly from information derived from the nesting data and permits static or dynamic nesting and a sorting solution that adapts “on the fly”.

Zünd has been designing, manufacturing, and marketing digital cutting systems for more than 30 years. Zünd high-performance modular cutters are now in use all over the world. The Swiss family-owned company now in its second generation has established a global network of Zünd sales and service organisations under the leadership of Oliver Zünd. “This is a situation where two strong partners complement each other in much the same way as in strong partnerships we have established in other industries. It is a continuation of a long-standing company strategy. Airborne has excellent know-how in developing and manufacturing automated solutions for processing composites. Together we can offer our customers state-of-the-art technology and provide a technological answer to the growing demand for high-performance, innovative production systems in the composites market," the release added.

"Our partnership with Zünd brings a great deal of added value to our customers. Zünd shares our goal of creating greater cutting-room productivity. The Zünd cutter is the key to converting materials with the greatest possible efficiency and maximum material usage," Joe Summers, commercial director for Airborne, said.

The colors of hydrogen

Stephan Laiminger, Chief Technologist at INNIO Jenbacher, discusses why hydrogen – both blue and green in color – will play a significant role in the future of power generation.

With CO₂ emissions still rising, global warming will continue if the planet does not decrease its reliance on fossil fuels. The switch from fossil fuels to renewable fuels in power generation clearly is a step in the right direction, but Europe cannot currently cover its energy demand with renewable energy alone. So, what are the available alternatives?

Stephan Laiminger, chief technologist at INNIO Jenbacher, investigates future green technology trends for his company. It’s a company, he says, that specifically focuses on how it can help shape a low-carbon economy. “INNIO is a shaper of the energy transition,” Laiminger says. “Already today, more than half of our installed fleet in Europe is operating on carbon-neutral fuels such as biogas, wood gas or biomethane. The question we ask ourselves is ‘what's next?’ How can we make power generation carbon-free?”

There are two possibilities, says Laiminger. First, to slow global warming, we must switch away from fossil fuels and move to alternative fuels such as hydrogen. For generation from surplus green power, hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. Hydrogen then can be stored directly or in the form of hydrogen carriers, such as ammonia, methanol or liquid organic hydrogen carriers. In this way, electricity can be stored for weeks or even months. “This will help to get the fluctuations in the renewable energy system under control and enables green energy generation during the dark and cold winter months, when wind and sun are not available,” he says.

Stephan Laiminger, Chief Technologist at INNIO Jenbacher: "Also for us, blue hydrogen can accelerate the build-up of a green hydrogen infrastructure. We cannot simply switch from one day to the other. We need a ramp-up phase to make the infrastructure hydrogen ready.”

The other process is to remove carbon from fossil fuels and store the carbon, so it's not released into the atmosphere. “In this process, we discuss the ‘colors’ of hydrogen,” says Laiminger. “With ‘blue’ hydrogen, we remove the carbon out of the natural gas and use the remaining hydrogen to operate the engine. If executed properly, CO₂ can be stored and is not released into the atmosphere.”

Those two methods are a way forward to counter global warming. For the engine, it doesn’t matter if the hydrogen is ‘blue’ or ‘green’ – it's simply the energy carrier. But for the global economy, we must find the most cost-effective solution, says Laiminger. Because, if a process is prohibitively costly, it will not be embraced.

Ready for a change

With INNIO’s green technology, customers can reduce their carbon footprint and reach their climate goals, he says. “Our engines are highly energy efficient, and we are setting up our products to be ready for a change. If hydrogen is available in large quantities, we will have a product to convert it into heat and power in the most economical way. The primary challenge is that there is not yet enough hydrogen provision to fully move the energy generation onto it. It's too expensive at this point.”

The main advantage offered by green hydrogen is that it does not release CO₂ into the atmosphere. It is an excellent energy storage option to transfer surplus renewable energy from summer in the cold and dark winter season. Energy must be stored in large quantities for many weeks, and batteries simply are not large enough. Energy needs to be stored in a chemical form, such as hydrogen. To increase power density for transport over long distances, hydrogen can be carried in the form of ammonia or methanol. “There are scenarios of renewable energy production in large quantities in Saudi Arabia, converted into green hydrogen and ammonia and shipped to Europe,” says Laiminger. “That is a potential way of securing Europe’s green energy supply.”

Utilizing blue hydrogen now until the green hydrogen infrastructure catches up

To produce green hydrogen requires a lot of electricity. So, there remains a chicken and egg problem in terms of when to make the transition – because the world is switching increasingly toward an electric economy with a growing electricity demand for electric vehicles and electric heating via heat pumps.

The trouble at this point is that not enough surplus green electricity is available to produce green hydrogen. In the longer term, however, green hydrogen will be the right direction.

Now, blue hydrogen can help to transfer parts of the fossil fuel industry into the hydrogen industry while also reducing carbon emissions because the carbon is separated upfront. “Blue hydrogen production centralizes the process and uses the hydrogen in the grid to decarbonize the industry. It is also available for other sectors, such as steel production,” Laiminger says. “Also for us, blue hydrogen can accelerate the build-up of a green hydrogen infrastructure. We cannot simply switch from one day to the other. We need a ramp-up phase to make the infrastructure hydrogen ready.”

So, how long will it take for this transition period of using blue hydrogen before the green infrastructure is ready? According to Laiminger, governments plan to massively ramp up renewable energy production. “On a European level, the initiatives are targeting 2030 for a massive extension of renewable energy and electrolyser availability. Also, to produce blue hydrogen, the infrastructure needs to be ramped up in the forthcoming years,” he says. “There is a push from governments to switch to non-fossil fuels. As production sites get larger, costs will go down and, finally, there will be a business case for those technologies. We need to ramp it up to a large scale to drive costs down.”

Laiminger feels that, fortunately, there is generally an openness in the industry to this change. “We are getting lots of questions from our customers. Specifically, ‘Can our installed power plant be converted?’ Or “’How future-proof or sustainable is our technology?’ Yes, we are set up for the future. What needs to change, though, is the cost of hydrogen. It has to make economical sense,” he says.

What is clear, says Laiminger, is that the industry needs to go in this direction now, to counter global warming. “There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution for how to stop climate change. It's not just renewable energy. We also need to store energy over a long period of time – and hydrogen will be a key part of the solution. We have to start now. There is no other option.”

INNIO Signs Agreement with Concord Group of Companies to Develop Four Biogas Power Plants, Supporting Malaysian Decarbonization Efforts.

• Agreement will encompass the development of four power plants operating with two high efficiency INNIO Jenbacher biogas engines each
• Eight Jenbacher engines will operate on biogas, providing a total generating capacity of more than 8 megawatts (MW)
• Eight INNIO Jenbacher engines will run on 100% palm oil wastes while capturing methane

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — February 22, 2022 — INNIO announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Concord Renewable Energy SDN BHD (Concord Group) to partner in building four power plants across Malaysia fueled by palm oil wastes. The MOU signing took place at Dubai Expo 2020, in a festivity ceremony organized and held by the Malaysian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) for Sustainable Energy and Natural Resources week at Malaysia Pavilion, which took place January 30 – February 5, 2022. The project emphasizes Malaysia’s efforts to achieve its COP26 commitments in moving away from fossil fuels and increasing renewable energy projects. The power plants, built in various parts of Malaysia, will deliver sustainable power to the grid while capturing methane. Each plant is expected to operate two INNIO Jenbacher high-efficiency biogas engines, collectively delivering more than 8 MW of power to the grid.

The Jenbacher Type 4 engines, for which INNIO will also supply long-term servicing, are known for their dependability, efficiency and fuel & solution flexibility. This makes them an excellent technology to advance Malaysia’s plans to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. As part of its COP26 commitment, Malaysia recently raised its National Renewable Energy Capacity target from a 20% increase to a 31% increase of renewables in the national energy mix by 2025.

INNIO has more than 500 Jenbacher engines currently operating on biogas and deploying about 1 GW in the ASEAN region. Our Jenbacher Type 4 biogas engine fleet delivers reliable and fuel-efficient heat and power, where the additional surplus energy is fed into the power grid as a renewable, dispatchable power source. We are pleased to partner with the Concord Group to provide technology that helps Malaysia meet its climate goals.

Carsten Dommermuth, Vice President and General Manager APAC at INNIO Jenbacher

While supplying clean energy throughout Malaysia, Concord Group and INNIO will be further advancing the country’s climate change mitigation objectives through the sourcing of the fuel. Methane gas emitted by existing palm oil mills will be reappropriated to produce power.

Having successfully worked with INNIO in the past, we can think of no better technology to support our clean energy goals. We look forward to continuing to work with INNIO’s advanced Jenbacher technology to help us meet growing energy demand while reducing emissions.

Datuk Khairuddin bin Tan Sri Mohd Hussin, Concord Renewable Energy Sdn Bhd CEO

About INNIO

INNIO is a leading provider of renewable gas and hydrogen-rich solutions and services for power generation and compression at or near the point of use. With our Jenbacher and Waukesha products, INNIO helps to provide communities, industry and the public access to sustainable, reliable and economical power ranging from 200 kW to 10 MW. We also provide life-cycle support and digital solutions to the more than 54,000 delivered engines globally, through our service network in more than 100 countries. We deliver innovative technology driven by sustainability, decentralization, and digitalization to help lead the way to a greener future. Headquartered in Jenbach, Austria, the business also has primary operations in Welland, Ontario, Canada, and Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S. For more information, visit the company's website at www.innio.com. Follow INNIO on Twitter and LinkedIn.