Lighthouse project of the German heat turnaround: Kremsmüller is part of it!
Kremsmüller is committed to playing its part in the energy transition. Aurubis AG commissioned Kremsmüller to participate in the “Industrial Heat 2” project – IH2 for short – in Hamburg.
Aurubis AG is one of the world’s leading suppliers of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers in the world. Together with enercity, the company has been supplying households in HafenCity with heat from a secondary process of copper production at the Aurubis plant in Hamburg since 2018.
From the coming 2024/25 heating period, around 20,000 more households are to be supplied with heat energy. This requires a conversion in the so-called contact plant, a part of the copper refining process in which sulphuric acid is produced in several process steps. This process is an exothermic chemical reaction that produces CO2-free heat at a temperature level that is well suited for climate-neutral district heating.
Kremsmüller has been carrying out the IH2 sub-project for Aurubis for around 2.5 years, which will be completed when Aurubis comes to a standstill in summer 2024. Following the planning and engineering phase in 2022, prefabrication of the pipeline spools and templates as well as intermediate absorber segments began at the start of 2023. In August, Kremsmueller set up the construction site in Hamburg and began intensive preparations for the shutdown on site.
One of the first measures was to install the delivered factory-made templates in the plant and then to line them with acid-resistant bricks. At the same time, work began on the site production of the two intermediate absorbers, the heart of the IH2 project. In mid-December 2023, the two intermediate absorber bases were completed and rising up next to the plant, protected from the weather. The impressive dimensions of the lower sections, with a diameter of 6,800 mm and a height of approx. 10,800 mm, were surpassed by what followed. To ensure acid resistance during future operation, the lower sections were each lined with 168 tons of acid-resistant bricks including ceramic dome grating. As a final preparation, the stainless steel intermediate absorber upper parts were manufactured on site.
Kremsmüller’s other role is to implement the preparatory measures in pipeline construction. Since August 2023, pipelines made of acid-resistant “silicon stainless steel” and PTFE-lined stainless steel have been continuously welded and assembled while the sulphuric acid plant has been in full operation and under sometimes adverse weather conditions.
The Kremsmueller project and construction site team professionally met the challenge of working in a very confined space in a brown-field plant, taking into account the various progress statuses of other trades, to the complete satisfaction of the customer.
Final preparations are currently underway for the shutdown and conversion phase.
Further reports on the project will follow!
From the coming 2024/25 heating period, around 20,000 more households are to be supplied with heat energy. This requires a conversion in the so-called contact plant, a part of the copper refining process in which sulphuric acid is produced in several process steps. This process is an exothermic chemical reaction that produces CO2-free heat at a temperature level that is well suited for climate-neutral district heating.
Kremsmüller has been carrying out the IH2 sub-project for Aurubis for around 2.5 years, which will be completed when Aurubis comes to a standstill in summer 2024. Following the planning and engineering phase in 2022, prefabrication of the pipeline spools and templates as well as intermediate absorber segments began at the start of 2023. In August, Kremsmueller set up the construction site in Hamburg and began intensive preparations for the shutdown on site.
One of the first measures was to install the delivered factory-made templates in the plant and then to line them with acid-resistant bricks. At the same time, work began on the site production of the two intermediate absorbers, the heart of the IH2 project. In mid-December 2023, the two intermediate absorber bases were completed and rising up next to the plant, protected from the weather. The impressive dimensions of the lower sections, with a diameter of 6,800 mm and a height of approx. 10,800 mm, were surpassed by what followed. To ensure acid resistance during future operation, the lower sections were each lined with 168 tons of acid-resistant bricks including ceramic dome grating. As a final preparation, the stainless steel intermediate absorber upper parts were manufactured on site.
Kremsmüller’s other role is to implement the preparatory measures in pipeline construction. Since August 2023, pipelines made of acid-resistant “silicon stainless steel” and PTFE-lined stainless steel have been continuously welded and assembled while the sulphuric acid plant has been in full operation and under sometimes adverse weather conditions.
The Kremsmueller project and construction site team professionally met the challenge of working in a very confined space in a brown-field plant, taking into account the various progress statuses of other trades, to the complete satisfaction of the customer.
Final preparations are currently underway for the shutdown and conversion phase.
Further reports on the project will follow!
