November 10, 2020 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
FirstElement Fuel Inc. orders a compressor system from Burckhardt Compression to support their growing hydrogen filling network serving the zero-emission mobility market in California
FirstElement Fuel Inc. is partnering with the State of California, Honda, Toyota, Mitsui, and Air Liquide to develop their "True Zero Hydrogen Network". They are committed to making safe, reliable, retail hydrogen available with their "True Zero" brand for the world’s next-generation of vehicles powered by fuel cells. FirstElement Fuel believes that fuel cell vehicles will change the world in a positive way. Burckhardt Compression has produced compressors for more than 140 years and has been compressing hydrogen for over 60 years in various critical applications. With the global increasing demand for hydrogen to meet mobility and energy needs, Burckhardt Compression launched a new team earlier this year dedicated to serving customers in this rapidly growing market.
FirstElement Fuel Inc. has ordered a compressor package to be installed at their upcoming hydrogen transfill facility in Northern California. Burckhardt Compression is providing a vertical non-lube API-618 compressor, type 3C4YC1.32_1, using their Persisto® sealing material in addition to their Redura® piston and packing configurations for longer running time between maintenance intervals. The unit including motor and supporting ancillaries will be mounted on a single skid for easier and faster installation at site and is designed and configured to ensure no oil contamination of the hydrogen stream. The equipment will be manufactured in Pune, India on an accelerated delivery cycle to support the overall project requirements.
Tim Brown, CTO of FirstElement Fuel declares: “We are excited to work with an experienced partner like Burckhardt Compression on this critical project – an organization that shares our vision for changing the future of transportation with hydrogen”. Fabrice Billard, President of the Systems Division at Burckhardt Compression declares: “This is our first compressor order in the US to specifically serve the growing hydrogen mobility market and we are honored to be working with FirstElement Fuel. We believe that our highly reliable compressor systems are well positioned to support the growing demand for hydrogen across the transportation sector.”
Global services provider
Burckhardt Compression’s global service network is capable to help customers to improve their compressor performance with component upgrades. Furthermore, its subsidiary Prognost Systems offers monitoring systems that help compressor operators plan preventive maintenance and detect damage or potential compressor failures at a very early stage. The PROGNOST®-NT monitoring system records all changes affecting the compressor system onsite in real time and relays this data to its head office.
