MAN Energy Solutions and H-Tec Systems join forces
MAN acquired 40 percent of H-Tec Systems, officially entering the hydrogen business MAN Energy Solutions acquired 40 percent of the shares of the electrolysis technology company H-Tec Systems. A contract confirming the partial acquisition that began with the agreement between Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, and Ove Petersen and Heinrich Gärtner, executive managers […]
MAN acquired 40 percent of H-Tec Systems, officially entering the hydrogen business
MAN Energy Solutions acquired 40 percent of the shares of the electrolysis technology company H-Tec Systems. A contract confirming the partial acquisition that began with the agreement between Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, and Ove Petersen and Heinrich Gärtner, executive managers of the GP Joule Group. H-Tec Systems will continue to be independent on the market with no changes in the level of commitment to its core business. The parties agreed not to disclose the price of the acquisition.
H-Tec Systems has more than 20 years of experience in the research and development of hydrogen technology. Across sites in Lübeck, Braak and Augsburg, a team of 20 employees develops and produces stacks and electrolyzers for manufacturing hydrogen with electricity. Since 2010, H-Tec Systems has been a subsidiary of GP Joule, a company specializing in renewable energies and sector coupling that retains around 60% of the remaining shares.
Strategic investment in hydrogen
Uwe Lauber, after the acquisition, said: «We view this partnership with H-Tec Systems as a strategic milestone and as our entry into the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen can be obtained from renewable energy sources in a climate-neutral fashion, and forms the basis for the production of a variety of synthetic fuels using power-to-X technology. These ‘e-fuels’, as they are known, are urgently required to bring about a change in energy policy, since they allow renewable energy sources to be used even outside of electricity grids. The production of hydrogen consequently constitutes an important interface in the coupling of the energy, transportation and heating sectors».
ELEVEN MAN TWO-STROKE ENGINES FOR ELEVEN VESSELS
For many years, MAN Energy Solutions has been a supplier of methanation reactors and of power-to-X technology that has come to offer plants on an industrial 50 MW scale. Besides H-Tec Systems, MAN is working together with other partners in the area of electrolysis. This collaboration will also continue into the future. «At present, we see this commitment as a developmental partnership,» added Lauber. «As the electrolysis market matures commercially, we estimate that it will become medium- or long-term in nature. By acquiring a stake in H-Tec Systems, we are positioning ourselves in this strategic future market at an early stage».
The words of GP Joule on the H-Tec Systems acquisition
Ove Petersen, CEO of GP Joule, explained the reasons for choosing the new investor: «The strategic partnership with MAN Energy Solutions provides the ideal conditions for the further development of our subsidiary H-Tec Systems. For the purposes of not only maintaining our innovative strength, but also entering into series production and international distribution, we now have the long-standing expertise of an international corporation to build on. We also share the conviction of MAN Energy Solutions that strategies and technologies for the decarbonization of industry and transportation will considerably determine the future development of the market. We know that we will be able to develop and promote the energy system of the future together».
Heinrich Gärtner, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of GP Joule, added: «H-Tec Systems will be able to continue to focus on developing and producing series production-ready technologies for converting electricity into hydrogen in a cost-efficient manner. In doing so, we will be able facilitate a rapid transition from fossil fuels to energy sources that are renewable and free of CO2».
