Partnership between Purem by Eberspaecher and AMBARtec

Esslingen / Dresden (Germany), 13 February 2025 – As industry and mobility decarbonize, the demand for hydrogen is growing. In order to counteract the two main challenges involved in the widespread provision of the energy source, Purem by Eberspaecher is entering into a strategic partnership with AMBARtec AG. Their common goal is the efficient transport and safe storage of hydrogen.

Market analyses show that hydrogen demand will increase in the coming decades in mobility, industry, and the energy sector. The start-up AMBARtec concerns itself with the challenge of widespread availability. The Saxony-based company is bringing a process for transporting and storing hydrogen onto the market, known as HyCS® technology (Hydrogen Compact Storage Technology). A strategic partnership signed between AMBARtec AG and Purem by Eberspaecher is intended to drive forward the scaling of the process developed by the start-up. The exhaust technology and acoustics specialist will take over the production of the storage containers in which the hydrogen is stored. "In our collaboration with AMBARtec, we see great potential for an emerging technology: thanks to our expertise in the area of materials science in relation to hydrogen and our competence in the area of industrialization, we provide considerable added value for the development of new storage and transport options for the energy source," explains Benjamin Brenkel, Executive Vice President Business Unit Europe. Uwe Pahl, Technical Director at AMBARtec, stresses that: "To implement our HyCS® technology, we need a partner with extensive practical expertise, particularly in automated welding and generally in industrial series production. We have found such a partner in Purem by Eberspaecher."

Efficient and safe
To store and transport the hydrogen, AMBARtec uses standard, commercially available 20-foot containers. In them, nuggets of iron oxide in vessels serve as a storage medium. During the loading phase, the nuggets are chemically reduced to iron through the addition of hydrogen. The resulting water vapor can be discharged from the vessels and channeled back in a self-contained, sustainable water cycle. During the discharge phase, water vapor is fed into the pressure vessels. An oxidation process of the iron nuggets takes place, thus releasing hydrogen, which can be used for the purposes of energy supply or mobility. The functional principle used is both simple and efficient: initial demonstration systems confirm the high efficiency of the HyCS® technology of over 80 percent electricity to hydrogen. At the same time, the process is significantly safer, less complex and more cost-effective than transporting and storing hydrogen in liquid or gaseous form. 

Expertise in flow routing and materials science
As the automotive industry transforms, Purem by Eberspaecher concerns itself with emerging technologies, including outside the familiar automotive environment. The utilization and production of hydrogen is one of the most promising business areas. Alongside initial approaches to the development and production of high-temperature electrolyzers, the partnership with AMBARtec AG is a further step towards diversification. For the production of the storage vessels and the subsequent integration into the containers, Purem by Eberspaecher contributes its expertise in materials science as well as industrial series production and the process knowledge required for this. 

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Global Media Contact: 
Anja Kaufer
Vice President Corporate Communications 
Eberspächer Group
Phone: +49 711 939-0250
press@eberspaecher.com

About Purem by Eberspaecher:
Purem by Eberspaecher is a subsidiary of the Esslingen-based Eberspaecher Group. To achieve clean and quiet mobility, around 7,500 employees develop and produce exhaust and acoustic systems for passenger cars, CVs, and off-road vehicles. The technologies make a significant contribution to meeting the strictest emission standards and noise guidelines. Its customer base includes the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers. In 2023, the area within the group of companies generated revenue of around 5.5 billion euros. Net revenue adjusted for transitory items amounted to 2.2 billion euros.

About Eberspaecher:
With approximately 11,200 employees at 80 locations worldwide, the Eberspaecher Group is one of the automotive industry’s leading system developers and suppliers. The family business, headquartered in Esslingen am Neckar, stands for innovative solutions in exhaust technology, automotive electronics and thermal management for a broad range of vehicle types. In combustion or hybrid engines and in e-mobility, the components and systems from Eberspaecher ensure greater comfort, higher safety and a clean environment. Eberspaecher is paving the way for future technologies such as mobile and stationary fuel cell applications, synthetic fuels as well as the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier. In 2023, the Group generated revenue of around 6.4 billion euros. Net revenue adjusted for transitory items amounted to 3.0 billion euros.

About AMBARtec:
AMBARtec AG, based in Dresden, is an innovation leader in the field of iron oxide-based hydrogen storage systems. The process consists of the reduction and oxidation of iron oxide or iron: During storage loading, the added hydrogen reduces the storage medium iron oxide. The vapor released in the process can be reused in electrolysis. During discharge, water vapor is added to the storage tank at the point of use. This causes the iron to oxidize, releasing hydrogen. The results of multi-stage practical tests at the demonstration plant in Freiberg confirm the excellent energy balance of the overall process, from hydrogen production to charging the storage tank, transportation and hydrogen withdrawal. Optimum system integration of high-temperature electrolysis (SOEC) enables efficiencies of over 80 percent electricity to hydrogen to be achieved. The possible applications of the AMBARtec storage system range from highly efficient energy storage to the safe transportation of hydrogen, even over long distances, to hydrogen drives in shipping. AMBARtec thus provides the “missing link” between hydrogen production and use, enabling the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy. To this end, the storage supplier AMBARtec is now also taking care of initiating trade in low-cost hydrogen.