The Hannover Messe 2025 industrial trade fair is underway, with hydrogen technologies firmly in the spotlight.
High-pressure technology company Maximator has unveiled its ValvolutionX series, billed as a compact air actuated hydrogen valve.
Addressing delegates today, Robin Schreiber, Business Development Manager, said, “The valve has a completely different way of working inside an internal mechanism that hasn’t been there [before]. We were able to shrink a 60kg air drive all the way down to 8kg, meaning we can push all the hydrogen needed at refuelling stations and for heavy duty vehicles.”
The established German company’s products are mainly geared for 2,000 bar compression – but can go as high as 15,000 bar.
“We are focusing on having a very modular and flexible solution for the market,” he said.
“If you don’t need the high mass flow, you can simply take out one of the modules – or if you bought a smaller system and want to achieve higher volume flow, you can put one module on top.”
He said its compressors have a one-to-four compression ratio. “Technically we could go higher, but we wanted to ensure that we have a safety margin in there.
The modularity aims to help suppliers grappling with lead times and cost efficiencies – among the biggest hindrances in the stalling hydrogen market. Maximator has also come up with ‘swap modules’ so each one is more quickly interchangeable.
“Three years ago at Hannover everyone was on a high. Nowadays we are on sideways movement, or stagnation, with more barriers in terms of cost.”
Bosch promotes Hybrion at Hannover Messe 2025
German technology company Bosch is premiering two Hybrion PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis stacks as a modular container solution integrated into an electrolysis system.
The complete system, with an output of 2.5 megawatts (MW), is supplied by FEST, based in Goslar, Germany.
“Green hydrogen, produced with renewable energy, will play a vital role in massively reducing carbon emissions in the industrial, transport, and energy sectors. Producing this hydrogen requires electrolysis systems – and Bosch’s Hybrion stack is the key component for them,” said Dr Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the board of management of Bosch, which is planning to work on several projects in Europe with various partners.
It has already acquired orders amounting to some 100MW – for example, Neuman & Esser will be integrating 16 Bosch Hybrion stacks into an electrolyser with a capacity of 20MW.
Bosch is also working with AKA Energy Systems, Andritz, Pietro Fiorentini, Hyter, H2B2, iGas, IMI, Nikkiso, and Técnicas Reunidas. “Hydrogen is a strategic growth field for Bosch – we expect sales revenue to run into the billions by 2030,” said Dr Markus Heyn, member of the board of management and Chairman of Bosch Mobility.
In a recent exclusive interview, Carola Buse, Head of Business Unit Electrolyser Solutions, said it will expand electrolyser manufacturing capacity step-by-step in response to confirmed orders, as it eyes a flexible, regionalised production strategy – including possible manufacturing in China.
Asked for advice to graduates considering working in the hydrogen industry, Schreiber said, “Even though we see a side movement of the market now, it will grow, so trust the process and step in now.”
