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17 July 2024 - Jann Raveling

“We’re blazing our own trail”

Investing in Bremen

Bremen-based combustion system specialist uses hydrogen

Dr. Christian Ausfelder
Dr. Christian Ausfelder, CEO of SAACKE © SAACKE/Pfau

SAACKE is a hidden champion renowned the world over for its combustion systems, which can be relied upon on tankers in international waters and in continuous operation in car factories. Leading the way in technology, the Bremen-based business has been setting a global example by using hydrogen for over 40 years.

The BMW factory in Leipzig. Around a thousand vehicles roll off the production line here every day. And they’re each coated with about four kilograms of paint. The car paint shop is a hive of activity. There’s no time to stand around and watch paint dry here. So powerful burners heat air to speed up the drying process for each layer of paint. Natural gas, a harmful fossil fuel, was the only way to produce that hot air for a long time. But the burners at the BMW factory in Leipzig have also been burning hydrogen for two years now – fuelled by expertise from Bremen.

That expertise comes straight from SAACKE GmbH. The Bremen-based business is a market leader in industrial combustion systems. “We’re blazing our own trail,” says Managing Director Dr Christian Ausfelder. SAACKE is the first choice for so many niche applications – including hydrogen burners. “Standard gas burners can add 20 to 50% hydrogen, while ours can handle as much as 100%,” explains Ausfelder.

SAACKE burners at the BMW plant
SAACKE Brenner im BMW-Werk © BMW/Leip

Expertise in all fuels

Not all gas is the same. Hydrogen burns at higher temperatures than natural gas, which means the burner design has to be adapted. This also stops harmful nitrogen oxides (NOX) from being emitted when hydrogen is being combusted. The thousand-strong team at SAACKE knows exactly how to handle challenges like this. After all, they design combustion systems for over fifty special fuels besides hydrogen, including sewer gas, furnace gas, molasses, oils and even wood dust. Around three hundred large industrial units leave the company’s three international production sites every year and make their way to customers in the industrial and marine sectors.

First hydrogen tanker combines expertise from Japan and northern Germany

Marine systems are SAACKE’s second-largest area of activity. This department at the family business based in Bremen supplies shipyards with burners and boilers for use on ships. For example, they might be used to provide the hot water required on tankers or floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. They also provide gas combustion units (GCU) to ensure the safe combustion of boil-off gases on tankers when fuels like liquefied natural gas are being transported on long journeys at sea. Even though the frozen gas tank is well insulated, a small proportion of the liquid gas heats up during the journey and turns into gas.

And this is where SAACKE’s expertise in hydrogen as an energy source comes to the fore again. “Even when liquid hydrogen is being transported, it’s still essential that the safe combustion of this surplus boil-off gas can be guaranteed to avoid the pressure rising dangerously in the tanks as a result of the liquid hydrogen evaporating. We’ve designed systems to take care of this very concern,” says Ausfelder.

One of these gas combustion units is in use on the Suiso Frontier, the world’s first liquid hydrogen tanker. The Japanese ship embarked on its maiden voyage at the start of 2022 and has been running with SAACKE technology on board ever since.

A Gas Combustion Unit made by SAACKE
Gas Combustion Unit von SAACKE - Schema und das fertige Produkt © SAACKE

Reliable technology made fit for the future

The BMW and tanker projects weren’t exactly uncharted territory for SAACKE. The company’s combustion systems have been equipped to handle volatile gas since 1966. It goes without saying that projects of this nature require a real eye for detail and an ongoing commitment to research and development when it comes to the burners. But Ausfelder is confident that the company is in a strong position as far as the energy transition is concerned. “Alternative fuels are what we do best. With industry and society still in the early days of using hydrogen, we could create far more systems than the infrastructure allows for. SAACKE is ready and waiting for a sustainable shift,” says Ausfelder.

Hydrogen isn’t the one and only focus. The company also has suitable solutions available for safely transporting other sustainable energy sources – such as methanol and ammonia – across the seven seas.

A talented workforce hired locally

“There has been so much hype surrounding hydrogen in recent years and there are still so many challenges to overcome whether in terms of the infrastructure or technical issues to do with tools, materials and industry standards. But I’m happy to say that Bremen is working hard on this,” says the Managing Director. The company attends major industry trade fairs with a view to accurately assessing what different sectors need.

The Managing Director is also full of praise for the excellent higher education background in the area, especially in the field of process engineering. “We’re committed to supporting the local community,” he says. That’s why SAACKE affords students the opportunity to write their theses at the company and some employees deliver seminars. This is an effective way of securing a talented workforce for the future. “Global players like Airbus and Mercedes obviously receive national attention that is on another level, so it’s all the more important for medium-sized businesses like us to build a personal connection with future employees as early on as we can.” Only this way can the company with over 90 years of experience in combustion technology hold on to its position as a hidden champion based in Bremen.

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