SAMSON supplied the valves for an innovative hydrogen plant operated by Tyrol’s largest grocery store chain, MPREIS. The electrolysis system in Völs near Innsbruck, Austria is currently being put into service. The goal is to produce enough green hydrogen to fire up the ovens of the chain’s own Bäckerei Therese Mölk bakery and keep the truck fleet of the Tyrolean family business running.
“The first fuel cell trucks will be on the road soon. Our objective for the next few years is to generate enough sustainable hydrogen to power all of our 45 trucks,” says Mr. Ewald Perwög, head of MPREIS Sustainable Energy Solutions who initiated the project. The head of the SAMSON engineering and sales office for Austria’s west, Mr. Amir Habibelahian, is very proud that SAMSON products can contribute to the success of this project. The 59-year-old engineer operates out of the nearby town of Kematen, where the office of SAMSON Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH is located.
Large single-step electrolyzer
Mr. Habibelahian played an important role in having the Type 3241 Globe Valves selected for the ultramodern H2 plant. MPREIS had been using such valves in another field of application for years, trusting in their reliable, precise control behavior and their rugged, compact design. The single-stack electrolyzer being started up is currently the largest of its type in Europe. Mr. Habibelahian hopes that the project will serve as an example for grocery store chains in other countries as well.
SAMSON equips the H2 plant with state-of-the-art valve engineering Made in Germany. Co-financed by the EU as part of the Demo4Grid project, the system will initially stabilize the Austrian power grid. The first three MPREIS fuel cell trucks will also be the first of their kind in Austria, stopping at the chain’s very own H2 station to refuel.
Highest quality of products and service
“Our partner Sunfire selected the valves based on a long-standing cooperation with SAMSON,” says Mr. Thomas Trenkwalder, the MPREIS project engineer for Sustainable Energy Solutions. “The challenging hydrogen technology makes it essential to select reliable suppliers to deal with the crucial interfaces in the H2 plant.” Apart from the quality of the valves, MPREIS mainly made the deal with SAMSON as a leading valve supplier thanks to the comprehensive service package that is included.
Mr. Trenkwalder: “Our thorough commitment to green hydrogen also means that we will only accept the best in terms of quality, reliability and safety for this innovative project.” Quality assurance, also relating to the valves, is additionally guaranteed by the TÜV Austria technical association. It took six years from development to start-up of the MPREIS electrolysis plant, a lighthouse project that signals corporate commitment in times of climate change.
“That MPREIS entrusted us with supplying the valves for their green hydrogen production plant underscores that we are at the forefront of one of the most relevant topics of the future,” says Mr. Guido König, business development expert responsible for hydrogen service and sustainable industrial applications at SAMSON.
In cooperation with its subsidiaries SAMSON PFEIFFER and SAMSON VETEC, the valve manufacturer has already equipped several hydrogen electrolysis plants of various scales to help reduce the ecological footprint. “We are well versed in sustainable hydrogen production and bring to bear our full know-how, expertise and experience to advance this technology,” adds Mr. König.
