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HPS Home Power Solutions Launches Production of the picea Hydrogen Power Storage System at Zollner Elektronik

By December 22, 2020 5   min read  (989 words)

December 22, 2020 |

Fuel cells works, HPS Home Power Solutions Welcomes EIT InnoEnergy as a New Shareholder
  • Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger and District Assembly President of the Upper Palatinate and Chamber of Commerce Franz Löffler give the go-ahead on site
  • The world’s first solar hydrogen power plant picea for private households for completely self-sufficient and CO 2 -free electricity use
  • Zollner plans scalable manufacturing capacities
  • An HPS storage system is in use at the Zollner factory in Altenmarkt

Berlin and Altenmarkt–Zero emissions through hydrogen: The Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger and Franz Löffler, President of the Upper Palatinate District Assembly and District Administrator, have the hydrogen-based energy storage system picea from Berlin-based HPS Home Power at the Zollner Elektronik AG site in Altenmarkt near Cham Solutions visited. Zollner started series production a few weeks ago. The mechatronics service provider uses a copy of the system itself on site to constantly supply the plant with electricity from solar energy all year round.

Minister of State Aiwanger: “In order to drive the energy turnaround, we need storage systems for excess renewable energy. If this is used for hydrogen production by means of electrolysis, a flexible energy source is obtained. As shown here, a fuel cell powered by hydrogen can generate electricity again. The task now is to bring the Bavarian technological lead quickly onto the market. ”

picea is the world’s first system for one- and two-family houses that combines power storage, heating support and living space ventilation in one compact product. It optimizes the use of photovoltaics in such a way that private homes can fully supply themselves with clean photovoltaic electricity via hydrogen storage – 365 days a year. This can save up to three tons of CO 2 per house in Germany per year. After the successful development and market launch, HPS is now aiming for the large-scale distribution of picea. With its many years of experience and expertise, Zollner Elektronik AG ensures the development of the corresponding production capacities.

“The start of series production is a milestone on our growth path for HPS. We also wanted to consciously produce in Germany in terms of sustainability and short transport routes picea production “, says Zeyad Abul-Ella, Managing Director of HPS Home Power Solutions. “The partnership with Zollner supports our business model by securing the production capacity for the market success of picea without us having to concentrate on the demanding, time-consuming and cost-intensive construction of processes and systems for mass production. HPS can thus continue to expand the Focus on market and technology leadership. ”

HPS Home Power Solutions Starts Series Production insert

Photo(from left to right): Franz Löffler (President of the Upper Palatinate District Assembly and District Administrator of Chamer ), Hubert Aiwanger ( Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs ), Martin Eisenhart ( SVP Business Development of Zollner Elektronik AG ), Zeyad Abul-Ella ( Managing Director of HPS Home Power Solutions GmbH ) (Copyright Zollner Elektronik AG)

The working principle of picea: The energy obtained on sunny days with a photovoltaic system can either be used immediately or converted into green hydrogen and stored. The green hydrogen is generated with the HPS own integrated electrolyser only from water and solar power from the own roof – completely CO 2-free. This stored solar energy can then be called up again in the low-sun winter time. The picea fuel cell converts the energy stored in hydrogen back into electrical energy and heat when required. On the basis of its own high-performance energy management, picea completely covers the electrical energy requirements of a single-family home. 365 days a year – even in winter. In addition, the waste heat generated is made available to the house as heating, thus reducing heating costs.

To ensure that the high quality requirements of the customers are met, the picea systems undergo extensive function tests before they leave Zollner Elektronik AG. “We have optimized the infrastructure and the test system at the Altenmarkt plant specifically for hydrogen. This has given us a technological lead in the EMS industry,” says Johann Weber, CEO of Zollner Elektronik AG . “During industrialization, it was very important to us to optimize picea’s costs in such a way that the environmentally friendly storage system also represents an economic alternative to the conventional energy supply systems.”

In this way, homeowners can gain independence in terms of energy supply. Picea can also play a role in energy policy. This is because the storage system, which is more than 1 MWh per system, can also absorb and release network energy. With many networked picea systems, large decentralized storage capacities and virtual power plants can be built in order to secure future power grids. If there are overcapacities in the network from wind and solar energy, which are now being sealed off at great expense, picea systems can absorb energy throughout Germany and release it with a delay in the event of insufficient coverage by renewable energies – as in the so-called dark doldrums. In this way, picea systems make a contribution to making renewable energies base load capable and driving the energy transition forward.

About Zollner Elektronik AG

The family company based in Zandt (Bavarian Forest) was founded in 1965. Zollner Elektronik AG specializes in complex mechatronic systems. Their range of Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) covers the entire product life cycle: development, consulting, production, supply chain management and after-sales service. Her customers, who come from nine different industries, include top global companies as well as small and medium-sized companies. Through organic growth, Zollner Elektronik AG has established itself among the top 15 EMS service providers worldwide. It currently employs over 11,500 people at 20 international locations.

About HPS Home Power Solutions GmbH (HPS):

HPS develops and produces integrated systems for the storage and use of solar energy for single and two-family houses. HPS stands for security, independence and sustainability in the decentralized power supply. The first HPS system picea is energy storage, heating support and living space ventilation in one compact product. HPS is based in Berlin. For further information please visit: www.homepowersolutions.de

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