Czech-designed and -manufactured clean energy generators help keep the lights on
25 May 2021, Vienna – There is significant value in having a mobile, independent source of electrical and thermal energy that can provide power in various situations – and hydrogen fuel cells are helping deliver the juice.
DEVINN s.r.o., – a Czech company founded in 2014 to develop and build efficient hydrogen systems for use in off-grid, on-grid and automotive applications – has introduced H2BASE, a mobile, clean-energy power source.
The company worked with Columbus, Ohio-based Worthington Industries, whose European network designed and manufactured the composite cylinders used for the storage and transport of the compressed hydrogen used in H2BASE, notes Radiša Nunić, Austria-based Worthington Director European Sales and Public Affairs – Alternative Fuels I Heavy-Duty Vehicles.
The H2BASE system consists of three modules: The output module (l), the fuel cell module (c), and the hydrogen storage module featuring Worthington Industries Type III 500 bar cylinders.
Each H2BASE unit has three cylinders containing 14.1 kg at 500 bar pressure, according to Jiří Vršínský, a DEVINN electrical engineer, and can deliver up to 100 kilowatts of power, with a total capacity of 230 kilowatt hours. A user can control and monitor the units via a remote, wireless interface, he notes.
DEVINN –– whose name is drawn from Development and Innovation –– sees the H2BASE as a reliable alternative to diesel generators, especially in low-emission (“green”) zones. It is a zero-emission technology that generates water as its only waste. It is mobile, quiet, easy to use, and provides a high-capacity energy source. The company notes there already exists a dense network of hydrogen (H2) filling stations across Germany and Denmark, with more such sites being added weekly.
The firm says the H2BASE units are competitively priced and will consult with each customer to come up with an appropriate pricing structure. This is because the price varies depending on a chosen set of parameters for the target application. The device consists of individual modules whose amount is dependent on the required performance and capacity. Once the market volume scales up, DEVINN expects the hydrogen units to cost roughly the same as diesel generators.
The company suggests all of the following as potential applications:
* Outdoor and town events (such as sports, cultural or commercial events);
* The building sector (such as construction sites with a limited supply of electricity);
* As an auxiliary power source (such as a vital backup for hospitals, data centers, refueling facilities and island applications); and
* Mobile vehicle charging (such as fast-charging DC stations, or for those electric vehicle charging sites known as CHAdeMO or the CCS Combined Charging System).
* Potentially for apartment complexes (replacing diesel generators when there is little to no electricity).
Since many of these applications require repeated transport of the module, Worthington and DEVINN worked to ensure the lightest possible load weight for the H2 fuel storage unit – in effort to keep transport costs and CO2 emissions to a minimum. Worthington supplies lightweight Type III composite cylinders from its facility in Słupsk Poland, which weigh 1/3 of a Type I steel cylinders.
The unit can operate indoors and outdoors in temperatures ranging from -20 to +50°C (or be kept in storage from -40 to +50°C), DEVINN says, and the H2 module can be replaced while the unit is running, or the cylinders can be refilled by a mobile refueler.
The H2BASE modules –– which are manufactured in the Czech Republic –– come in three configurations. Two of them measure 80 x 120 x 150 cm and weigh 323 kg, and the largest measures 80 x 120 x 240 cm and weighs 650 kg.
Jiří Vršínský, DEVINN electrical engineer, demonstrates H2BASE’s application as a mobile vehicle charging station.
About Worthington Industries
Worthington Industries Europe is the largest designer and manufacturer of pressure vessels in the region with over 1,600 employees working at facilities in Austria, Poland and Portugal. Worthington is the first in its industry to incorporate sustainable practices into its long-term business strategy and also the first to bring Cradle to Cradle Certified™ products to market. With the lightest composite and steel low- and high-pressure cylinders available, Worthington designs and makes solutions for technical gases, industrial gases, and alternative fuels. The Company invests strategically in production facilities that serve the sustainable mobility market with gas-storage, transport and onboard fueling systems for cars, buses, trucks and more.
Worthington Industries (NYSE:WOR) is a leading industrial manufacturing company delivering innovative solutions to customers that span many industries including transportation, construction, industrial, agriculture, retail and energy. Worthington is North America’s premier value-added steel processor and producer of laser welded products; and a leading global supplier of pressure cylinders and accessories for applications such as fuel storage, water systems, outdoor living, tools and celebrations. The Company’s brands, primarily sold in retail stores, include Coleman®, Bernzomatic®, Balloon Time®, Mag Torch®, Well-X-Trol®, General®, Garden-Weasel®, Pactool International® and Hawkeye™. Worthington’s WAVE joint venture with Armstrong is the North American leader in innovative ceiling solutions.
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Worthington operates 51 facilities in 15 states and seven countries, sells into over 90 countries and employs approximately 7,500 people. Founded in 1955, the Company follows a people-first philosophy with earning money for its shareholders as its first corporate goal. Relentlessly finding new ways to drive progress and practicing a shared commitment to transformation, Worthington makes better solutions possible for customers, employees, shareholders and communities.
About DEVINN
DEVINN s.r.o. is a Czech development company centered around its founder and CEO Luboš Hajský. As a stable partner of ŠKODA AUTO, the company has more than 7 years of experience in innovation and development in multiple technical fields. The company was able to grow thanks to a mix of collaboration with several automotive companies and its own development projects.
In 2019, DEVINN started penetrating the hydrogen application market and was able to develop multiple projects utilizing hydrogen as a fuel. The company’s current focus is the technical and business development of their mobile hydrogen-based energy generator H2BASE aiming to substitute conventional generators burning fossil fuels.
DEVINN is a part of multiple national and international clusters, including HYTEP – Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform, designed to support the development of hydrogen technologies and implement the hydrogen economy in the Czech Republic.
For more information, contact:
Kamil Korotnoky
Business Developer of H2BASE
DEVINN s.r.o.
+420 724 958 690
kamil.korotnoky@devinn.cz
Contacts:
Todd Cesaratto
Director of Communications + Marketing | Europe
Worthington Industries
+43 664 8868 2632
todd.cesaratto@worthingtonindustries.com