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Author: Kerstin Reisch

STOFF2 and iFAKT are working on building a lean, digital manufacturing process

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Lars Schubert heads the software and consulting company iFAKT. The Industry 4.0 software controls logistics, production and business processes and can make predictions using artificial intelligence. Uwe Winter is responsible for operations at STOFF2 and, thus, for ramping up production capacities for Zink-Zwischenschritt electrolysis. We met the two of them with their team colleagues after a two-day workshop in our office in Berlin-Tegel and asked them:

What is STOFF2’s goal when planning production?

Uwe Winter: Our strategy is to use the value stream method to plan our manufacturing process to create a digital twin of our production. In this digital twin, we can virtually optimise our production to be “lean” from the outset. Changes to the design or the make-or-buy strategy can be checked directly in the digital twin for their impact on production, thus making decision-making and subsequent implementation easier.

How does the iFAKT STOFF2 offering help in the planning phase?

Uwe Winter: The Polaris software supports us by recording and visualising data and enabling us to evaluate the production simulation in different scenarios in the planning phase. The digital twin created in Polaris becomes the basis for the detailed operational planning of our production capacity and resource planning and adjustment based on honest feedback from production. This feedback in operations enables us to identify and resolve weak points. In this way, we ensure that we optimally use our resources in the long term and supply our customers with high delivery reliability and quality.

Why should start-ups deal with processes at an early stage?

Lars Schubert: The company and production process are decisive in achieving margins and reliability. If the process is poorly designed, you pay a high price with every product sold—and often over the entire product life. The more that is sold, the worse it gets! Therefore, the initial effort to introduce our software has paid off many times.

What have you taken away from your collaboration with STOFF2 so far?

Lars Schubert: We really appreciate the collaboration because we have a similar approach: pragmatic, open, and innovative. However, working with start-ups is atypical, as our “usual” customers tend to be corporations or large, medium-sized companies with established structures. In short, it’s very refreshing!

Thank you very much for the interview!

STOFF2 receives a prestigious award as “Electrolyzer For Green Hydrogen Company of the Year in Europe 2024” 

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Great success for STOFF2: The company has been named “Electrolyzer for Green Hydrogen Company of the Year in Europe 2024” by Energy Business Review. Energy Business Review is a print and digital magazine that focuses on comprehensive coverage of the energy industry. The magazine offers insights into technological innovations and solutions and is aimed at decision-makers and professionals in the energy sector. 

“This award is an important step on our way to making green hydrogen marketable on a large scale,” emphasizes Sebastian Sipp, Managing Director of STOFF2. 

Our innovative zinc intermediate step electrolysis from STOFF2 makes it possible to rely entirely on renewable energies in all sectors. We use particularly cheap green electricity and store it efficiently in the form of zinc. This stored energy can be released at any time in the form of green hydrogen, exactly when it is needed. In this way, we are creating a reliable and sustainable solution for energy supply that responds flexibly to demand and can replace fossil fuels. 

The award gives us additional momentum in the market launch of this groundbreaking ZZE technology. STOFF2’s goal is to use this innovative solution to replace fossil fuels in the long term and thus pave the way for a sustainable energy future. The award underlines STOFF2’s leading role in the hydrogen economy and the importance of our technology for a successful energy transition.

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A successful ramp-up of the hydrogen economy must create H2 security of supply – but how exactly?

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The use of hydrogen is not just a trend but a crucial tool in the implementation of national CO2 reduction targets and the fulfilment of European and international climate protection agreements. This recognition by politicians is a significant step. The revised national hydrogen strategy in the summer of 2023 and the agreement on the H2 core network laid the foundation for transforming the gas supply in collaboration with the gas industry. In addition, the law on municipal heat planning passed by the Bundestag at the end of 2023 and the gas network area transformation plans (GTP) initiated by the gas industry form the first essential basis for planning security for all players along the energy supply value chain.

At the same time, it is still unclear how H2 security of supply will be organised on a market basis in the emerging H2 network. The landscape of actors is diverse: On the one hand, there are H2 producers who provide green H2 from fluctuating wind and PV power, and in the future, H2 producers of blue hydrogen, for example, in Norway. On the other hand, there are H2 customers with relatively constant demand, such as industry and commerce, those with seasonally fluctuating demand, such as heat customers, and customers with high H2 demand precisely when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining, such as H2 backup power plants. In addition, depending on requirements and with different lead times, investments can be made in other storage technologies – from decentralised energy storage to H2 caverns.

For the future H2 market design, we propose a non-discriminatory market environment that allows all technically available solutions to make their best possible contribution to H2 supply security. This approach, called the 3-stage model, ensures fairness and effectiveness in the upcoming H2 market.

Level1 „Foundation of the market“ 2 „Market ramp-up“3 „Liquid market “
1 supplier2 to X suppliers / customers>X suppliers / customers
H2 SupplyContract between H2 supplier and H2 customer, hourly balancingContract between H2 supplier and H2 customer, 6h balancing
H2 Balancing MarketTender of H2 grid operator to balance H2 supply and H2 demand on an hourly basis *
H2 Network ServicesH2 grid operator tenders first H2 filling of the H2 gas gridH2 grid operator tenders’ services to stabilise pressure within the grid*
* Potential participants of the tender: H2 supplier, H2 storage, H2 customers

With this first approach, we invite all interested stakeholders and interest groups to develop our idea further or to bring alternative ideas into the specialist discussion that is now beginning. How can we best use the flexibility potential of H2 suppliers, H2 storage facilities and H2 customers? What can we learn from the rules of the electricity and natural gas market? How do we deal with the initially low liquidity in the future H2 flexibility market? All this needs to be clarified together; we look forward to the debate.

Zinc intermediate step electrolysis from STOFF2 becomes part of the innovative “Hydrogen Terminal Braunschweig” research project

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  • STOFF2 and Steinbeis Innovation Centre energieplus in Braunschweig launch a pioneering collaboration
  • As part of the “Hydrogen Terminal Braunschweig” research project, the partners intend to build and operate an electrolyzer produced by STOFF2 

Berlin, 30 July 2024: STOFF2 has developed a technology that combines the functions of a battery and an electrolyser in a single system, the Zinc intermediate step electrolysis (ZZE). STOFF2’s technology addresses both the sustainable and efficient production of green hydrogen and the optimal use of fluctuating renewable energies made available for all sectors.

The “Hydrogen Terminal Braunschweig” research project was launched in 2020 by Steinbeis Innovation Centre energieplus (SIZ) and the Technical University of Braunschweig. In particular, it aims to pool expertise along the H2 value chain and to realise important research projects in this area. 

First application of the zinc intermediate step electrolysis in an industrial environment

Participation in the “Hydrogen Terminal Braunschweig” project is an important milestone for STOFF2, as its ZZE is to be installed in an industrial environment for the first time worldwide. STOFF2 will be responsible for the technical design of the for the research project at SIZ. In particular, this will involve the interaction of the ZZE electrolyzer with the existing power and H2 infrastructure on site. In a second step, the project partners intend to commission the designed STOFF2 electrolyzer on site.

Utilisation of green hydrogen for heavy-duty mobility and testing environment

The green hydrogen will be produced on site with electrolyzers from STOFF2 as well as Enapter and a ZZE electrolyzer. The produced GH2 will be used in test benches for research work as well as injected into the local H2 gas network to supply other external consumers such as the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Energy Storage and Systems (Fraunhofer ZESS) and the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Automotive Engineering (NFF). At the “Hydrogen Terminal Braunschweig” site, the hydrogen produced is also used to operate a hydrogen refuelling station for heavy goods vehicles with the support of a compressor from Maximator. 

Forward-looking cooperation

With this joint project, STOFF2 and SIZ energieplus are taking an important step towards the further development and implementation of advanced energy technologies. 

“We are excited to start driving innovation in this partnership and look forward to contributing our highly innovative technology to this pioneering project,” says Sebastian Sipp, Managing Director of STOFF2.

“With the zinc intermediate step electrolysis, we will open up completely new possibilities to enable optimization modes of operation utilizing fluctuating renewable energies to secure continuous supply of green hydrogen,” says David Sauss, Scientific Director of SIZ energieplus.

Further information can be found at: www.stoff2.com 

Press contact:

STOFF2 GmbH

Timo Bovi

Phone: +49 30-5200057806

Mobile: +49 177-8830622 
E-mail:  

STOFF2 at GREENTECH FESTIVAL: With 14,000 visitors a complete success

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On 16 and 17, The GREENTECH FESTIVAL took place at the Berlin exhibition grounds, where everything was about decarbonizing the economy. With an impressive 14,000 visitors, 200 exhibitors, and 350 speakers spread across 4 halls and 6 stages, the festival was a hotspot for innovation and sustainability. And in the middle of the story: STOFF2, present in the dynamic START-UP area.

A particular highlight was the visit of Dr. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. She showed great interest in STOFF2’s innovative technology. 

“What is particularly new to this technology?” the Secretary of State asked. Sebastian Sipp, CEO of STOFF2, said: “The zinc intermediate step electrolysis allows energy storage and hydrogen production in one device. As a result, renewable energy can be stored if it is available in excess and inexpensive, which reduces the price for green hydrogen.

STOFF2’s participation in the GREENTECH FESTIVAL was a great success. The opportunity to present our innovative Zinc Zwischenschritt Electrolyzer (ZZE)to a wide and interested audience has shown us that the industry is ready for new technologies. We thank all visitors at our stand for their great interest and for their many valuable questions and suggestions. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event such an inspiring experience!

Implementation of §13k EnWG “Switchable loads” for the energy transition?

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§13k in the EnWG was passed in the Bundestag in autumn 2023. This paragraph has the great potential to translate the economic benefits of sector coupling technologies into concrete investments. We are also committed to this. The core idea of the paragraph is to make otherwise curtailed renewable electricity usable for other sectors such as hydrogen.

With the current implementation proposal from the transmission system operators, only projects that will be built anyway will be able to tap into a small additional source of income. However, from our point of view no new projects are being constructed because of §13k. Therefore, the sector coupling technologies continue to remain far behind their potential. In our view, the proposed implementation contradicts the Bundestag’s intention in its decision last autumn, and we hope for a better implementation.

Here is our detailed positioning on the current debate.

EU Commissioner for Climate Protection Wopke Hoekstra visits STOFF2 – What a day!

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“It’s very good to be back in Berlin,” says Wopke Hoekstra during his visit to the Urban Tech Republic | Berlin TXL last Friday. “What you are doing here is the future. I look forward to hearing about your experiences and what Europe can learn to provide the best possible support.” The overarching goal is clear: “We want to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. “Fossil energies must finally become history,” said Hoekstra. “We work on that here every day,” confirmed Nora Oberlaender.

Our co-founder and advisory board member, Alexander Voigt presented the developments in HH2E’s large hydrogen projects in Lubmin and Tierbach. Christian Friebe explained how our innovative electrolyser will make green hydrogen significantly cheaper. Our first EU-funded field test in Alkmaar as part of the REFORMERS project also shows how our technology creates added value in a decentralised manner.

After a tour of the .GUT Am Flughafen 1 community, the EU Commissioner could directly experience our prototype and discuss it with our CTO, Andrew Zwinkels.

“Success depends on public and private collaboration.” This is the common conclusion after the exchange. We can only confirm this as a privately financed start-up with many tailwinds from public funding from BMBZ, BMWK and the EU. It also shows that, despite all the debates, the EU Commission is firmly behind the CO2 reduction targets. At the national level, politicians are now faced with translating the implementation of the RED3 targets to ramp up hydrogen into practice. Planning security is created primarily due to the stringent and binding EU policy. Particularly relevant for EU Commissioner Hökstra was Europe’s economic resilience and solid domestic industry in producing electrolysers and other climate protection technologies and infrastructure.

As a farewell, Hoekstra gave the .GUT Am Flughafen 1 community the following message: “There is only one group of people who are not enthusiastic about Germany: The Germans. I would encourage you to be proud of yourself!”

Thank you very much for the time you took for us and the Urban Tech Republic!

Launch Event – Innovations in the heart of Berlin

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On March 21st we conducted a launch event in our office and workshop in the Urban Tech Republic in Berlin Tegel. Our new electrolyser with integrated storage function met with great interest of a total of 120 experts from all areas of the energy transition: project developers, energy suppliers, electricity and gas network operators, suppliers, and industry associations.

Dr. Severin Fischer, State Secretary in the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Enterprises of the State of Berlin, warmly welcomed this diverse group of H2 enthusiasts. He particularly emphasised the need for innovation in the hydrogen sector and the advantages of Berlin as an innovative and high-tech location.

With this overview, Sara Sperling from Tegel Projekt GmbH impressively explained to all participants what a memorable place of transformation they celebrate the launch of our electrolyser. Something new is being built around the former Tegel Airport: a research and industrial park for urban technologies, the new residential area “Schumacher Quartier” and a landscape park.

Sebastian Sipp, Managing Director of STOFF2, then explained how our zinc intermediate-step electrolyser works in detail and how we will continue the path to market launch in 2026 with our partners and customers.

The challenges and opportunities of the energy transition in all sectors were discussed intensively in a panel discussion. Wolfram Axthelm from the German Renewable Energy Association (BEE) highlighted the central role in ramping up renewable energies. Renewable energies are the foundation for all further steps. Werner Diwald from the German Hydrogen Association (DWV) e.V. showed how the H2-projects and the H2-grid infrastructures must be planned and implemented in a coordinated approach. He also spoke about the high value of system-serving electrolysers. From Johannes Daum from the National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology, NOW, the listeners learned a lot about the current uncertainty in the provision of public funding. This uncertainty can only be avoided if the ramp-up of hydrogen is organised independently of public funding by taxpayers. Quotas, i.e. legal obligations to use hydrogen instead of natural gas, can be an essential building block. According to Peter Müller-Baum, VDMA, stable framework conditions would allow Germany’s industry to create many high-quality, future-proof jobs and facilitate export opportunities.

The cozy part of the evening began, discussions continued, and new contacts were made with good food and drinks. At the same time, the participants were able to view our current prototype in small groups and get their own impression of the technology and his enthusiasm for the zinc intermediate electrolyser together with Andrew Zwinkels, founder, and technical director of STOFF2.

A big thank you to Nora Oberländer, Head of Business Development, for moderating the panel discussion, Katharina Krause for organizing the event, Timo Bovi for moderating and his many activities behind the scenes. It was a wonderful evening together, with lots of new impulses, a good exchange among H2 industry experts, and very tasty food in the Urban Tech Republic!

Position paper on the 37th BlmschV – An important step forward, open questions remain

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Federal politicians are currently working on revising the 37th Federal Immission Control Act (BlmschGV). This amendment is expected to be passed in March 2024. This project sets several important steps for ramping up the hydrogen supply in Germany. But what exactly is it about?

A central point is the precise definition of green hydrogen. The 37th BlmschV implements the long-awaited EU Delegated Act from RED II national law and thereby describes how to implement the basic principles of “renewable energy”, “temporal correlation”, “geographical correlation” and “additionality” for our customers. Due to the integrated storage function of our ZZE technology, our electrolyser is particularly suitable for meeting these criteria today and in the future.

Another central point is recognising how green hydrogen can be counted towards meeting the transport sector’s greenhouse gas reduction quota. The transport sector must reduce its emissions yearly through a greenhouse gas reduction quota. With the reform of the 37th BlmschV, green hydrogen will be counted three times towards quota fulfilment, giving market development a big boost.The life cycle emissions must also be calculated to use green hydrogen in the transport sector. There is already another EU Delegated Act for this from RED II. These life cycle emissions include, for example, the transport of green hydrogen to the H2 filling station, which for safety reasons can only be done with diesel trucks, or the electricity consumption of the H2 filling station, e.g., in the compressors. We believe there is still a need for federal policymakers to take action. These details can significantly facilitate or hinder the ramp-up of the use of green H2 in mobility. More information can be found here (German only).

Project ZZE-GREEN-H2 started together with partners

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Great things are happening in the Urban Tech Republic at the former Tegel Airport: All project partners met yesterday to kick off the ZZE-GREEN-H2 project. In addition to STOFF2, the Landshut University of Applied Sciences, the Technical University of Berlin, and the project sponsor Jülich joined in.

The project aims to further research and develop our zinc intermediate-step electrolysis technology regarding function, design parameters, industrial production, and scalability. Questions regarding cell, component and stack construction, scaling and the control of multiple stacks are worked on intensively together. The cell design will also be further developed based on previous work by the project partners. As a result, we aim to build a multi-stack test facility in the MWh range (concerning H2 storage capacity) and put it through its paces here in Tegel.

The project has a special meaning for STOFF2. We want to develop further the technological maturity level (TRL) of the zinc intermediate step electrolysis technology to TRL 7 and lay the foundation for series production. The STOFF2 project manager Stephan concludes from the day: “Many people involved in the project met in person for the first time today. We have planned the next steps together and already had many technical discussions. I’m looking forward to an intensive and successful project together!”

We thank the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for the financial support and look forward to working closely with our partners and the project sponsor.