thyssenkrupp UhdeSolutions for the chemical industry

• Proprietary process to produce propylene from propane feedstocks, or iso-butylene from iso-butane feedstocks

• Reduction of CO₂ emissions and operating costs through lower energy consumption by up to 30%

• Significantly reduced investment costs and feedstock consumption

BASF and thyssenkrupp Uhde achieved measurable improvements in the STAR process^®, a proprietary dehydrogenation process from thyssenkrupp Uhde that can produce propylene from propane feedstocks, or iso-butylene from iso-butane feedstocks. The technology has been optimized to reduce CO₂ emissions and operating costs through lower energy consumption by up to 30%, while also reducing investment costs and enabling additional feedstock savings. Started in 2020, thyssenkrupp Uhde focussed in this joint development on the optimisation and further development of the STAR process^®, while BASF validated the targeted improvements through an extended test program.

“The cooperation between BASF and thyssenkrupp Uhde over the past 18 months since announcing the joint development agreement has been exceptional and seamless”, says Guido Daniel, Executive Director Petrochemicals and Polymers at thyssenkrupp Uhde. “In a joint team effort, both partners have provided their specific expertise to improve the dehydrogenation process. The results show that we significantly exceeded our goals to reduce the consumption of energy and resources of the STAR process^®.”

Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President, Process Catalysts at BASF, says: “We are proud to be part of this collaboration and to bring in our unique know-how as a world-leading catalyst manufacturer. This joint project is a perfect example of how we enable sustainability for our customers and partners.”

About BASF’s Catalysts Division

• Carbon capture by means of a new amine scrubbing process

• Goal is to reduce emissions in existing cement plants

The cement industry is working on reducing CO₂ emissions in a number of ways. Why? Because even with the sole use of renewable energies, the raw materials used in cement production result in CO₂ being released and emitted to the atmosphere. thyssenkrupp Uhde, Holcim and the Technische Universität Berlin have therefore partnered up in a joint project to investigate the use of a novel amine scrubbing technology for carbon capture. The goal is to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from existing cement plants and at the same time utilize the captured CO₂ for other applications. In concrete terms, this includes the development of new mass transfer process equipment that is more efficient and resilient to contaminations. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action under the funding number 03EE5103A.

Dr. Ralph Kleinschmidt, Head of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability at thyssenkrupp Uhde: "Amine scrubbing is already commonly used to recover CO₂ from process gases or exhaust gases. Now, we are developing the technology further and optimizing it for the cement industry. Additional applications for capturing CO₂ direct at source, such as in waste incineration plants, are also possible."

Arne Stecher, Head of Decarbonization at Holcim Germany: "Carbon capture will be a must for cement plants in the near future. That is why we are testing different processes to find the best carbon capture technology. Carbon capture by means of amine scrubbing is a promising solution. I am pleased that, together with our partners, we can test the use of this innovative process in the cement industry.”

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens-Uwe Repke, Chair of Process Dynamics and Operations Group at TU Berlin: "Developing innovative carbon capture technology for gas treating and improving the efficiency, environmental compatibility, and sustainability of existing carbon capture processes, as well as putting them into practice, is an urgent and crucial task that makes a direct contribution to climate protection. These goals can only be achieved if industry cooperates closely with research facilities like universities."

The performance and efficiency of this equipment is being tested using real exhaust gas at the cement plant located in Beckum, Germany. This is paving the way for commercial use. Various possibilities for using the captured CO₂ are also being examined, for example methanol or sustainable fuels. With this process, the partners are seeking to make a contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases, especially in existing cement production plants. These can then be retrofitted with equipment for capturing CO₂ from the process gas without further adapting the production process.

• Uhde High Pressure Technologies delivers modular high-end plant

• Pharmaceutical compliant hygienic design and control system

• Environmentally-friendly extraction using CO₂ as solvent

thyssenkrupp’s Uhde High Pressure Technologies won an order from a company in the specialty chemicals sector to fabricate and supply a pharma-grade Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) plant. The scope of supply includes the skid-mounted plant as well as on-site installation and commissioning support. The plant will be used to extract solids for the manufacturing of products which are needed in the health care sector. As solvent, supercritical CO₂ is used: A clean, non-toxic process to produce high-quality products which are free of solvent residues. This makes this technology ideal for applications with high demands concerning product purity, e.g. in the food and pharma industries, even for producing organic certified materials.

"Adapted to individual user requirements, this plant will serve two uses: for production, which primarily involves solids extraction, but also for pilot testing involving also liquids extraction," said Volkmar Steinhagen, product manager SFE plants. "We are happy to bring our decades of experience in building pharmaceutical-grade plants to meet our customer's requirements."

The plant includes extractors for solids extraction, a column for liquids extraction, separators, a buffer tank, heat exchangers, a CO₂ pump, a co-solvent pump and a feed pump. Fabrication of key components as well as the pre-assembly of the plant will take place in Hagen, Germany. The installation and commissioning of the plant will be done at site. By delivering a modularized, skid-mounted solution, setup and installation efforts are minimized. This allows for a quick start of the commissioning after delivery.

Pharma-grade plants from Uhde High Pressure Technologies meet the most stringent requirements.

While standard supercritical extraction equipment is suitable for food and chemical products, the pharmaceutical industry has even higher requirements concerning materials, surfaces, prevention of dead legs, cleanability, process controls, qualification, documentation and others. Uhde High Pressure Technologies has developed their well-proven technology to fit these needs. Some examples are hygienic high pressure pipe fittings and valves, specially modified equipment like the clamp closure system for high pressure vessels, and quality-focused fabrication procedures like orbital welding of pipes. The design, fabrication and documentation of the equipment is carried out according to current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), so it can be used for a wide range of processes in the pharmaceutical sector, such as particle processes, extractions and purifications in pressure ranges from 300 to 1,000 bar.

• Advanced sulphur recovery system minimizes emissions

• thyssenkrupp Uhde’s own CYCLASULF^® and MONOCLAUS^® processes enable high environmental benefits with low complexity

 ArcelorMittal Belgium has awarded thyssenkrupp Uhde an order for a desulphurization plant to be installed at its Ghent site. Main aim of this brownfield project is to enhance the existing coke oven gas treatment plant with a state-of-the art sulphur removal and recovery unit. The new units are planned to go into operation in July 2023.

 “This project marks another milestone in making our plant in Gent more environmentally friendly. It is a major effort for the whole industry, and we are taking diligent steps towards our aim to reduce SOx emissions”, says Jeroen Van Lishout, COO Primary of ArcelorMittal Belgium.

 The original coke plant was built by thyssenkrupp Uhde’s coke plant specialists 25 years ago, then under the name of Thyssen Still Otto company. “We are glad for the continued trust of our customer ArcelorMittal” says Michael Petzinna, Executive Director of the Coke Plant & Inorganic Acids operating unit. “With our advanced technologies and project execution capabilities we can deliver a technical solution that is tailor-made for their needs.” thyssenkrupp Uhde will install its proprietary processes CYCLASULF^® for desulphurization as well as the MONOCLAUS^® for a highly efficient sulphur recovery.

Smart integration of existing and new process units with low effort

As in all brownfield projects, specific requirements had to be met. In this case, the existing gas treatment unit also required a new back-up system for the existing part. thyssenkrupp Uhde was able to offer a smart solution which links existing and new process trains of the CYCLASULF^® process. This well-established, advanced solution for coke oven gas desulphurization removes hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and ammonia (NH₃) from coke oven gas very efficiently. The acid gas stream is concentrated and prepared for further processing, either to sulphur or sulphuric acid. In Ghent, elemental sulphur will be recovered. Modern mass transfer elements significantly reduce the size of the required equipment, keeping the footprint low.

 The same is true for the state-of-the-art MONOCLAUS^® process for sulphur recovery and ammonia decomposition. It enables the production of liquid pure sulphur utilizing a minimum number of equipment and pipelines compared to conventional Claus plants, which results in a very compact arrangement and footprint. One could say that the MONOCLAUS^® principle is: the simpler, the better – but with the same high product quality and process safety. By realizing this new back-up plant, ArcelorMittal Ghent will be able to operate a low-emission desulphurization plant during maintenance or inspection shutdowns, effectively replacing the former recovery plant which had a lower desulphurization capacity.

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• Presentation of strategy and first financials at Capital Markets Day

• Company will operate under its new name thyssenkrupp nucera as part of an extensive rebranding initiative going forward

• As of December 31, 2021 order backlog for green hydrogen is already around
  €900 million

• CEO Denis Krude: “With our strategic roadmap, we want to position ourselves as the number one technology leader in the electrolysis market. We are ready to shape a new era.”

thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers becomes thyssenkrupp nucera: At its Capital Markets Day in Essen at the thyssenkrupp Headquarters today, one of the world’s leading green hydrogen technology providers presents its new identity. The management team led by CEO Denis Krude also gives further information on the business model and especially the growth strategy. The company’s decade-long experience in chlor-alkali electrolysis provides a strong basis for its alkaline water electrolysis technology enabling its customers to transform into carbon net zero.

The Capital Markets Day marks an important milestone. thyssenkrupp AG is currently examining how to develop the hydrogen business in the best possible way preferring an initial public offering (IPO). A stock exchange listing would make it possible for the capital market to apply a market value to the business and the IPO proceeds could be used to finance further growth. To underline the new era of the hydrogen business, it will operate under its new name thyssenkrupp nucera from today onwards. The name nucera is composed of “new”, “UCE” and “era” and thus symbolizes the departure for the business into a new era of innovation, transformation, and green energy.

Volkmar Dinstuhl, CEO of thyssenkrupp’s Segment Multi Tracks: “The green transformation of the industry is a task for the next decades. The complete system change can only be accomplished together with a common vision and when we rethink existing systems. This needs the right investment, technology, business model as well as lean processes. thyssenkrupp nucera has a solid basis and the right competencies to pave the way. This new brand in our thyssenkrupp family is an important step towards fostering our electrolysis leadership position – with blueprint technologies and business cases for the world.”

“We are taking off from a strong position in the chlor-alkali market with best-in-class technology and a yearly gigawatt supply chain. It is our aim to become the number one technology leader for large-scale industrial green hydrogen production in the alkaline water electrolysis market”, says Denis Krude, CEO of thyssenkrupp nucera. “The industry is ready for the energy transition and we are ready to deliver the technology needed to achieve net-zero in sectors that cannot be electrified and for processes with hard-to-abate emissions.”

thyssenkrupp nucera: A technology leader in the hydrogen and chlorine market
thyssenkrupp nucera is a global technology leader for green hydrogen enabling its customers to transform into net zero and create a carbon-free industry. With over 600 projects, 240,000 electrolytic cell elements produced and over 10 GW of electrolyzer capacity installed, thyssenkrupp nucera is a market leader in the chlor-alkali sector. Its experience in the chlor-alkali business stretches over five decades, providing a strong basis for the alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) technology and scale-up. AWE is the leading large-scale industrial green hydrogen production technology. It enables to process hydrogen with a standardized modular approach at leading cost of ownership for large production volumes.

Renewable energy is expected to be the primary energy source for all market segments. With a clear strategy in place, thyssenkrupp nucera supports industrial customers to switch from grey to green. This includes the expansion of its international locations close to the customers to roll out the technology on a broad scale, the reduction of the total cost of ownership of the technology as well as strong, reputable partners like thyssenkrupp’s chemical plant engineering business unit Uhde and the Joint Venture partner De Nora.

Ready for future growth in the fast-developing AWE market

thyssenkrupp nucera offers an attractive financial profile ready to scale up quickly due to the modularized product business. The chlor-alkali business has generated stable revenues in the past years. Around half of the sales are generated by highly profitable holistic life cycle services which ensures recurring revenues and high visibility. At the same time, the company has all the advantages of an industrial supplier for green hydrogen production – including a strong order backlog that generates significant growth.

Revenues have grown by around 25 % from €255 million in 2019/20 to €319 million in 2020/21. As of December 31, 2021 order backlog for green hydrogen is already around €900 million. The EBIT of thyssenkrupp nucera developed with very slight fluctuations to €27 million. The focus on AWE growth will fundamentally change the scope of thyssenkrupp nucera in the years to come. By 2024/2025, the business aims to drive AWE and achieve around €600-700 million of revenues and continue to grow strongly thereafter. The hydrogen market is expected not only to increase sevenfold by 2050, but most of the previously fossil-based production will be converted to green hydrogen. The additional demand will come significantly from new applications and thus from many different sectors, such as power generation and storage, building heating and power supply, transport, and industrial energy and raw materials.

Two of the largest hydrogen projects already secured are significant milestones

The AWE order backlog includes two of the world’s largest hydrogen projects: In December 2021, thyssenkrupp nucera signed a contract to supply a more than two-gigawatt electrolysis plant for one of the world’s largest green hydrogen projects at NEOM in Saudi Arabia. In addition to this, thyssenkrupp nucera collaborates with Royal Dutch Shell on Europe’s largest green hydrogen project “Hydrogen Holland I” in the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. For this project, thyssenkrupp nucera will engineer, procure and fabricate a more than 200 MW plant. This backlog volume demonstrates thyssenkrupp nucera’s technology leadership and competitiveness in AWE as well as its expertise in the technology delivery for industrial green hydrogen production.