BMW Group Plant Leipzig is the first car plant in the world to launch the first fuel-flexible hydrogen-capable burner for paint dryers. This system can run with methane, hydrogen, or moisture. While the operation is going on, the fuels can also be switched. For now, the plant is going through trail runs.
The fuel-flexible burner system was developed in collaboration with the Bremen-based combustion plant company Saacke, and with the Fraunhofer Institute IFF in Magdeburg supporting the integration of the safety concept. To run hydrogen throughout, a pipeline will be needed to ensure sufficient quantities of green hydrogen are available at all times. The Leipzig plant has the opportunity to use a hydrogen network created in the region for this purpose.
Hydrogen has long been a staple fuel in-plant logistics. The first indoor hydrogen filling station in Germany was installed on the plant premises in 2013, to fuel forklifts and tug trains in intralogistics. Today, almost ten years later, Plant Leipzig has the largest fleet in Germany with over 130 fuel-cell-powered forklifts. There are also five intralogistics hydrogen stations on the premises. The latest offers fully automated refueling.
Sustainability
Reducing CO2 emissions is one of the central aims of the BMW iFactory with its Lean Green Digital approach. While sustainability, optimum use of resources, and circularity are the focus of Green, the Lean strand of the strategy works for efficient, precise, and highly flexible production. Digital makes effective use of digitalization in data science, artificial intelligence, and virtualization.
To become more sustainable, the BMW Group is devising site-specific solutions to reduce CO2 emissions, including geothermal, photovoltaics, and hydrogen. To run hydrogen throughout, a pipeline will be needed to ensure sufficient quantities of green hydrogen are available at all times. The Leipzig plant has the opportunity to use a hydrogen network created in the region for this purpose.
The H2Haul project in Belgium, Germany, France, and Switzerland is working to develop and pilot 16 hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks and install new, high-capacity filling stations for reliable fuel supplies. Launched in 2019, H2Haul will run for five years, with Germany contributing by trialing two fuel-cell trucks for transportation between Plant Leipzig and Nuremberg. “Sustainability is in Plant Leipzig’s DNA, as it were,” said Plant Director Petra Peterhänsel. “Efficient and sustainable processes were already very important to us when we were planning the facility, and one highly visible result of that is the four wind turbines that supply electricity to the plant.”
