• Pilot project: Production of green hydrogen for bakery and transport of goods in fuel cell trucks
• Bilfinger delivers engineering, construction and installation of piping systems
• Successful transfer of expertise from gas plant construction to hydrogen

Innsbruck, Austria. Bilfinger supported Austrian supermarket chain MPREIS with the engineering, construction and assembly of the piping systems for a hydrogen production plant in Völs near the Austrian city of Innsbruck. As part of the pilot project, MPREIS is producing green hydrogen from renewable energy near its company headquarters. The hydrogen is used to operate the bakery and power the fuel cell trucks that deliver goods. It will also be sold to other companies in the region and supplied to local partners during the ramp-up phase.

“With our expertise in the field of hydrogen technology combined and our many years of experience in the gas sector, we were able to successfully support our customer MPREIS in this forward-looking project. Hydrogen is widely viewed as a groundbreaking technology for the industrial sector, and we are supporting our customers as a solutions partner throughout the entire value chain of this technology,” says Thomas Schulz, CEO at Bilfinger.

Bilfinger Bohr- und Rohrtechnik GmbH was responsible for the mechanical assembly of the electrolyzer on-site and for plant construction. This included engineering, erection and installation of all hydrogen, well, wastewater, nitrogen, district heating and thermal oil pipelines. Bilfinger also delivered the pumps and valves. Moreover, Bilfinger's Polish subsidiary Multiserwis conducted insulation work on the pipelines.

After preparatory work on the project started back in 2016, the electrolysis plant was successfully commissioned last year. It will initially be used as part of the EU project “Demo4Grid” to provide balancing energy services in the Austrian electricity grid. In the long term, MPREIS intends to be the first medium-sized company in Austria to convert its entire vehicle fleet to vehicles with alternative drive systems and to utilize the hydrogen from the plant to ensure zero-emission and carbon-neutral deliveries to its stores.

Bilfinger Bohr- und Rohrtechnik is active in plant and pipeline construction and offers customers a full range of services from a single source, including engineering, production, delivery and installation as well as commissioning. Bilfinger is successfully transferring its decades of experience in gas plant projects to hydrogen production plants. The company is, for example, playing a major role in the so-called HyGrid2 Study, which aims to convert Austrian natural gas pipelines so that they can transport pure hydrogen.

MPREIS employs more than 6,000 people in roughly 300 supermarkets. Acting responsibly is a priority for the Austrian family-owned company. With the construction of the hydrogen production plant, the company is continuing to forge ahead with its energy transition.