With our bold commitment to green hydrogen, long before its breakthrough, Sunfire is a driving force of the electrolyzer and hydrogen industry. We pushed boundaries and disruptive technology developments, which are now paying off for all players that want to drive decarbonization.
Story of Growth to Become the Electrolysis Specialist for Industry
Carl Berninghausen, Christian von Olshausen and Nils Aldag want to solve the world’s energy problems in transportation. They know that electrification alone is not enough. Therefore, they are researching technologies for the production of alternative fuels.
With a vision of a world without fossil fuels, Carl, Christian and Nils found Sunfire. They become global pioneers in the development of synthetic fuels and green hydrogen technology.
Recognizing the high potential of highly innovative SOEC electrolysis at an early stage, Sunfire acquires the leading SOEC stack developer, Staxera, based in Dresden, Germany for its own product development.
At its headquarters in Dresden, Germany, Sunfire opens the world’s first industrial-scale power-to-liquids plant with a production capacity of 1 barrel of e-fuels per day.
Sunfire strengthens its leadership position in SOEC technology with the successful validation of its new SOEC electrolyzer at industry partner Salzgitter. The company opens an in-house SOEC competence center for electrodes and stack ceramics in Dresden, Germany.
Sunfire focuses its business model even more on hydrogen electrolysis, recognizing that global industry transformation is the key lever for decarbonization. Meanwhile, Carl Berninghausen hands over his role as CEO to Nils Aldag and joins Sunfire’s Supervisory Board.
Sunfire adds industrially proven pressurized alkaline electrolysis technology to its portfolio through the acquisition of Swiss IHT SA, an AEL expert with more than 70 years of experience.
Sunfire acquires the 75+ year experienced electroplating company MTV NT in Solingen, Germany. The company is a global leader in functional surface coatings for large components. This acquisition provides Sunfire with a quality advantage in the field of special coating and electroplating of its electrolysers.
As part of the EU-funded GrInHy2.0 project, Sunfire’s GEN 1 SOEC electrolyzer achieves a proven world record efficiency of 84 % LHV AC.
At MPREIS, an Austrian grocery retailer, Sunfire successfully commissions what was at the time the largest single-stack alkaline electrolyser in Europe.
In addition, the first order for a double-digit megawatt AEL electrolyser is received from one of Germany’s largest utility companies, RWE, for its Lingen plant. Further orders in the double and triple-digit megawatt range will follow.
Image ©: MPREIS
Sunfire expands industrial production to the gigawatt level and opens the first automated electroplating line at the Solingen site. Sunfire also partners with Schaeffler Limbach-Oberfrohna, formerly Vitesco Technologies, Germany, a manufacturing and assembly company with more than 70 years of experience.
Sunfire secures a total of €500 million in Series E financing and an EIB (European Investment Bank) loan, enabling accelerated growth to become the market leader in electrolysis.
With the spin-off of its fuel cell business, Sunfire is fully focused on its core portfolio: providing SOEC and alkaline electrolyzers on an industrial scale.
To date, Sunfire is one of the world’s leading electrolysis companies, with an electrolyser order backlog of more than 800 MW and industrial electrolysis plants already commissioned.
Image ©: RWE
Every day, our 650+ employees live our values. We focus on our customer, combining high ambitions with a hands-on approach. Every day, we turn ideas into action. All Sunfire employees strive for innovation and contribute to a fossil-free future. Our culture of collaboration, camaraderie and commitment is crucial for our success. It began in Eastern Germany and now contributes to German technological leadership in the global hydrogen economy.
»We have a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity to supply the world with electrolysis technologies to enable the green industrial transformation! We have already come very far, now we must make hydrogen technologies Europe’s and Germany’s next leading industry. Everyone knows BMW or Mercedes. In the future, everyone will know German electrolysis companies.«
»Innovation is in our DNA, and that's what sets us apart as a leading electrolysis company today. We're pushing the boundaries of technology with one of the largest, most skilled teams in the industry.«
»Sunfire is positioned at the forefront of one of the most innovative industries of this decade, and we’re seeing strong, sustainable growth. With our solid market presence and increasing demand for electrolysis technologies, we’re well-prepared to scale our operations responsibly and drive continued success.«
»We’re at an exciting stage where we’re scaling up our electrolyzer production to meet increasing market demand. By ramping up serial production, we’re putting ourselves in a strong position to deliver reliable solutions at scale and support the global shift toward clean energy.«
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We are part of a new generation of cleantech scale-ups helping Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent. While we strive to bring our innovative solutions to customers all over the world, we believe in the potential of electrolysis as a new lead industry for Europe. Electrolysis draws on Europe’s traditional strengths: A cutting edge in machine engineering, cross-industry partnerships and the ability to differentiate a product for project-specific execution. We are actively engaged in industry initiatives advocating for measures to strengthen Europe’s economic resilience.
Links
Net Zero Industry Act
Electrolyzer Declaration
Industry Letter to Commission Leadership
We have been honored with national and international awards for our innovative electrolysis technologies. We are proud of our achievements towards a better and cleaner world. And our journey has just begun.
