Hamann Engineering Frankfurt am Main /
Process- & Mechanical Engineering /
Energy Concepts / Office / Sites
Since 2020, we have been working on the idea of efficiently bringing energy from regions more near to the equator to Central Europe.
As early as 2010, we tried to implement an environmental project to use periodically switched-off wind energy from a wind farm in Schleswig-Holstein for electrolysis
and either feed the hydrogen into a nearby natural gas pipeline or directly synthesize methane with CO2 from the Heide refinery. Unfortunatly the Ministry of the Environment did not grant any funding at the time.
In 2009, among other things, we designed the P&IDs for a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) plant for the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant.
From 2001 onwards, we were in the process of designing a Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) plant for Syntroleum in Australia.
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transporting solar energy as efficiently, as quickly and as flexibly as possible from the Northern Subtropical High-Pressure Belt (Horse Latitudes) with its stable and relatively calm high pressure systems and, compared to Germany, near as twice the hours of sunshine, to Central Europe resulted in the use of transport ships stacked full of batteries.
Solar fields are being installed in southern Morocco (and possibly in the future in Western Sahara /DARS). Direct current cables are being run to the Atlantic coast and batteries are being charged in ships offshore. The charged batteries are being transported to the calm Mediterranean behind Gibraltar and then connected to Direct Current cables that run as far as Baden-Württemberg and thus help to balance out fluctuating current in southwest Germany and its neighbors.
Our most recent plans in Europe included 16 GW direct current lines, undersea along the Spanish coast and later partly underground through the Rhone Valley. Ships with a net capacity of 16 GWh, for example, dock every day and can feed in high power whenever there is demand.
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At the beginning of 2021, we asked the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy /Germany for funding. But their commisioned institute, the Jülich Research Centre saw our project outline as a competing approach to the hydrogen future that was the preferred focus of that research group at the time.
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Our batteries were planned as expected quasi solid-state batteries, which are quite safe (quasi-solid electrolytes are kind of non-flammable) and less susceptible to the thermal runaway phenomenon, allow for quite high energy densities and are designed on the basis of sodium or potassium ions.
Our project concept included in the beginning the construction of a solar panel factory in Germany, a battery factory (JV with CATL or Northvolt), the entire engineering and logistics for the installation of the prefabricated HVDC technology as well as shipbuilding/shipyard support. In 2021, we also tried in parallel to contact Mercedes-Benz to become part of plannable quantities for battery production (via Factorial). The solid-state cells of the Solstice battery are manufactured using the dry cathode process. This process eliminates both the complex wet coating with toxic solvents and the complex sintering of the electrodes, which leads to a significant reduction in costs. Another cost advantage of the Factorial battery is the reduced cooling requirement. Thanks to the stable solid sulfide electrolyte, which works reliably even at operating temperatures of over 90°C, a much more safe and compact cooling system can be used. Other manufacturers of solid-state batteries point to the significantly higher energy density of this technology of up to 500 Wh/kg.
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Further advantages of solar fields located in the area of the Horse Latitudes are the reduced land use of photosynthetically active, Central European agricultural land, the acoustic pollution of the Baltic and North Sea, etc. The cooperation with the desert nations in question could also bring about a new relationship between the Polisario Front in particular, Moroccan interest groups and a coming to terms with the colonial past through the much more urgent environmental issues. However, the first aim was to divert the electricity only as far as the coast of Western Sahara, thus avoiding the construction of a direct, politically rather difficult south-north power line through Morocco.
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Too much time has passed now. We have tried to reduce CO2 emissions and provide an approach that efficiently brings energy from other weather regions to one of Europe's central industrial regions. We believe that a younger generation will find newer solutions to ensure the energy supply of the future of Germany and Europe.
Germany now supports a Hydrogen pipeline net in Germany.
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Below, from Satellite - currently one of the largest Solar parcs on the planet (3 deg. south of the Horse Latitudes)
The Bhadla Solar Parc is a solar power plant located in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. It covers an area of 56 square kilometers and has a total installed capacity of 2,245 megawatts (MW), making it the largest solar park in the world as of 2023. The park was developed in four phases since 2015, with $775 million in funding from the Climate Investment Fund and $1.4 billion in funding from other sources.
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The route of our Battery Ships from southern Morocco respectively a bit south of the Horse Latitudes to the Mediteranian and the layout of the high-voltage direct current cable (HVDC / HÜG) to south Germany, Swiss and East France.
Loctions are proposed and will be a balanced compromise of sunshine duration in the winter months, distance, wind and summer temperatures.
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The average sunshine hours in southern Morocco, 1.6 to twice as many as in Germany.
The average in Berlin is 4.8 hours a day (*365 = 1,752 hours each year).
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The battery-electric drive concept of our ship fleet can be made even more efficient by adding sails, so that more electrical energy is ultimately available for feeding into Europe, i.e. drive losses are reduced and the overall efficiency is improved.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is responsible for standards in shipping, supports new technologies and has announced climate-neutral shipping by 2050.
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Proposed Battery Arrangement at a Battery Ship
The battery cell housings are of ceramic compond and vertically as well as horizontally connetcted by form fit.
Other important components are offshore barges with automatically tracking and automatically gripping connectors for a solid power connection with 48 connectors of 100kV and 850A each.
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Typical: "View" onto the battery staples in a Battery Ship
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Typical: The proposed arrangement of cells and the cooling loop
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Typical: The proposed arrangement of cells for equal cooling. Cooling controls and details are not shown in the picture below.
Temperature & cooling monitoring as well as additional fans are in other detail eng. drawings. In case of interest please ask.
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Typical: The proposed methode of emergency cooling by injecting cold Nitrogen into the anyway overall cooling loop with Nitrogen
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Solar Area Comparison: The calculation below shows substantial differences between power generation with Hydrogen, Ammonia and using directly Battery Ships or Direct Cabling. The calculation does not include a probably also required water desalination.
Required Solar Area (or equivalent wind power):
Ratio: Liquified Hydrogen Transport and power reconversion in Central Europe with gas turbines versus Battery Ships: ~ 4,7 / 1
Ratio: Liquified Ammonia Transport and power reconversion in Central Europe with gas turbines versus Battery Ships: ~ 6,3 / 1
The calculation below is in German - for more and detailed information please contact.
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A proposed commuter schedule of ...below... 21 Ships for delivering 112 GWh solar energy each night at a level of 16 GW for stabilizing the grid in south Germany, Swiss and probably the Mulhouse area as well.
Of course, the battery ships can also be used for other electricity storage and on other energy transport routes.
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High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology
The director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (FhG-IISB) and holder of the Chair of Power Electronics (LEE) at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg confirms the feasibility and implementability of the concept. No particular hurdles are to be expected in the area of power grid technology. For the cable route in Europe, the direct current could also be raised to a higher level.
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A recently developed robot can reduce the time required to set up solar systems and the associated costs by up to 50 percent.
The robot primarily automates lifting work to precisely place solar panels. The robot uses artificial intelligence (AI), such as AI-supported computer vision, to independently set up the solar system as accurately as possible in real time. This robot, called Maximo, has already proven that this works when it built the Oak Ridge Solar Farm in the US state of Louisiana.
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Some Engineering References /History
Clariant, Sunliquid Project, Romania
Process and Technical Lead of the Technology Group in Frankfurt, early indentification of expected process failures and proposed solutions (but Clariant refused to listen).
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RZR Herten, Germany, Waste Power Plant
Process, study, plausibility and recommendation analysis for the intended introduction of methanol synthesis from green hydrogen and CO2 from waste incineration as a replacement for the fuel used in garbage trucks.
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Yara Norway, Bamboo project, Revamp, Capacity Expansion
Engineering of a Process Air Conditioning Unit, 2,5 MW heat removal added to an existing air flow; concept, technical clarification, engineering, P&IDs, functional description ...
also inquiries and POs for all pumps of the project.
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ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (Uhde) Dortmund, CHS Fertilizer Plant (North Dakota)
Preparation of Technical Data Sheets for Blowers and Oil Systems.
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Coker Yield Improvement Project (BP)
Select Phase for Wet Gas Compressor and Decoking Jet Pump.
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Onshore Wind Farm Northern Germany
Wind to Liquids project, Initiator of a conceptual study (2011) and project design for the production of renewable synthetic fuels using overproduced current by electrolysis, Sabatier process and Fisher Tropsch synthesis, incl. accessories (connections to an existing biogas plant and a refinery, carbon capture recommendation, CO2 transport).
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OMV Petrom, Romania
Slug Catcher for a gas pipeline, design analysis (flow, piping impulses, fire cases etc.). Process recommendations for process water treatment plants.
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Chemical Plants Lyondellbasell, Netherlands
Process related innovative compressor design concepts for efficiency & process upgrades with heat integration. Analysis of caustic waste water treatment concepts, heat balances. Guidelines for environmental upgrades.
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Lignin Project
Study on the use of lignin as a structural material to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and bind it in the long term.
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Vattenfall Europe, Jänschwalde - Carbon Capture Plant Project
Plant P&IDs (design), design of a Reclaimer package unit etc. (2010)
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Oil & Gas Companies in Libya and Algeria
Gas Turbine-Generator power plant (MAN Turbo) for Harouge Oil Operations in En Naga incl. PFD, gas turbine selection for the desert environment, gas processing (Soave-Redlich-Kwong), fuel gas compressor, plant arrangement.
Corrosion analysis & material guidance for column repairs.
Detail engineering of high pressure spheres including material analysis after cladding difficulties (Super Duplex), examinations, hydrostatic tests, FATs.
Detail engineering (inquiry, bid comparison, drawing checks) of heat exchangers, testing.
Leading the repair of a metering unit at site in Libya. Leading commissioning of a flare.
Quotation for a GOSP revamp and upgrade with new Turbos and new Reciprocating Compressors (Dresser), explaining in detail the concepts to the client in Algeria.
Claim management.
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OMV-Germany META Project Burghausen - revamp and new plant
Revamp of an Ethylene plant and engineering (mech.) of a new Olefin Conversion plant.
Detail engineering /inquiry, bid comparison, technical clarification meetings, testing, documentation, delivery.
Installation, commissioning and start up of pumps, compressors and steam turbines (Siemens).
Analysis of seal and possible pump failures and early recommendations for changes. Responsible for the settings of the seal systems. Explanation of the functionality to the operators.
Analysis of claim accusations.
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Ethylene plant - revamp BIPC /Iran (Bandar Imam)
New turbo compressors with steam turbines (MHI /cracked gas, ethylene, propylene compressors) with dry gas seals, including revision of existing P&IDs.
New condensers, new expander-compressors with magnetic bearings (Cryostar), agitator, new boiler feed water pumps, new cooling water Inquiries, technical clarifications, bid comparison, detail engineering, e.g. design pattern for the human machine interface, performance testing, hydrostatic tests of the condensers, FATs of the control panels.
Presenting the machines to the client at manufacturers, FATs.
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Ethylene plant Tiszai Vegyi /Hungary /Linde
Turbo compressors with condensing steam turbines (MAN-Turbo), Inquiries, technical clarifications, bid comparison, detail engineering.
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Project for BASF /China
Instrument air compressor, kneaders, thermo reactor Inquiries, technical clarifications, bid comparison, purchase.
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GTL - Syntroleum Sweetwater Project
Fischer-Tropsch, Gas to Liquid /Australia
Turbo compressors with steam turbines (up to 60MW), Pumps, Generator, Screw compressor, Air cooler, cooling tower, fire fighting, bio treatment (all ready for purchase).
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Projects for National Oil Distribution Company, Qatar / Buthyl Lithium, Taiwan / Yangtse River Acetyls Company, Sichuan (BP) / Leuna 2000 Refinery, Germany ... an more
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Test bench of a compressor
One of the more smaller items
Revamp of a column
One of the missions was completed
Construction site experiences are always something special when they confirm your own designs, calculations and specifications without errors. Thanks to our precise documents, quality control and approval management, we have always had joy, success and recognition on construction sites.
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Current Office Location
Dipl.-Ing. (TU) Horst Hamann, 60439 Frankfurt, Thomas-Mann-Str. 55
Phone: +49 173 3420887
Hamann studied Engineering and Biology.
The Kiosk in Google's map is not the office, the office is just close by.
(Frankfurt History: This Kiosk was built in the 1960s and is one of the so-called Frankfurt "Wasserhäuschen .... water houses" which are a traditional part of the Frankfurt cityscape and are still more than just kiosks for many locals today. These drinking halls were built in the second half of the 19th century. At that time, drinking unboiled tap water was a hygiene concern, but it was the first time that mineral water could be bottled while maintaining the gas pressure. The city-approved water houses were intended to help workers drink more water by selling these bottles and not - as was so often the case - beer and liquor. It was also known colloquially as "Bitzelwasser". Since the water houses were not tied to the official shop closing times, there were at times up to 800 drinking halls in the city. Today "our Wasserhäuschen" is run by an Indian mainly selling beer.)
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