2 October 2025
When metals need to change their shape or hardness, one thing is usually required above all else: heat treatment.However, the industrial high-temperature processes required for this often produce large quantities of the climate-impacting gas carbon dioxide (CO2). This is where the HyHeat demonstration project comes in: the schwartz Group from Simmerath - the global market leader in heat treatment systems for press hardening - and Forschungszentrum Jülich are working together to develop solutions to reduce these emissions. At the heart of the project are innovative multi-fuel burners that can also be operated with hydrogen.
HyHeat is a project of the Helmholtz Cluster for a Sustainable and Infrastructure-Compatible Hydrogen Economy (HC-H2), in which Forschungszentrum Jülich is cooperating with partners from the Rhenish mining area. The aim of HC-H2 is to accelerate the market entry of hydrogen-based, climate-friendly technologies and to generate new economic growth in the wake of the 2030 phase-out of lignite coal.
Global Market Leader from Simmerath
The schwartz Group, with 250 employees across 10 sites worldwide, has been developing and producing heat treatment systems for steel, aluminium, and non-ferrous metals for over 40 years. At the heart of the demonstration project is the low-emission heat treatment of press-hardenable steel blanks - cut or pre-punched sheet metal components, such as those used as raw material in modern automotive lightweight construction. The steel blanks are heated to over 900 °C in a complex process, allowing them to be hardened and easily formed. This takes place in a downstream process step in a cooled press tool. The schwarz Group supplies these heat treatment systems to industrial customers worldwide.
At its headquarters in Simmerath, the company will install its first system by the end of the year whose burners can be operated with hydrogen, natural gas, propane, or fuel gas mixtures. These multi-fuel burners were developed by its subsidiary Econova GmbH.
Once the system has been installed in Simmerath, the demonstration phase will follow, which the company and Forschungszentrum Jülich's Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy are hoping will show by the end of 2026 that the flexible use of hydrogen-containing fuel gases is possible without compromising product quality. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is funding the project with € 1.71 million out of a total volume of € 2.44 million.
Technologies "made in Germany"
Dr. Rolf-Dieter Jungk, State Secretary at BMFTR, explains: "By funding this project, we are making an important contribution to climate-conscious metal processing. Hydrogen is the key to reducing the overall carbon footprint of metal components. What's more, this demonstration project enables flexible industrial processes, reduces dependencies, and anchors hydrogen in rural areas. Today, hydrogen research is supporting a successful structural transformation in the Rhenish mining area - tomorrow, the results can be applied nationwide to emission-intensive processes. With this forward-looking approach, we are helping to shape the energy supply of the future. Using technologies "made in Germany", we are creating prosperity while protecting the climate.
Flexibility and CO2 reduction
The potential for CO2 savings is huge: a heat treatment system for press hardening produces up to 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. "The demand for climate-friendly components is growing. In addition to electrically heated heat treatment, systems using fuel gases continue to be in high demand. We want to give our customers the greatest possible flexibility. With a system such as the one we are demonstrating in the HyHeat project, customers will later have the option of varying the fuel gas composition during operation without modifying the heating equipment. The system automatically detects the supplied fuel gas or fuel gas mixture and adjusts the combustion control to maintain constant performance," says Frank Wilden, technical director at schwartz GmbH. The hydrogen-compatible system offers users long-term planning security, regardless of developments on the gas market.
"Our aim is to drive innovation in heat treatment systems. With the demonstration project and its subsequent practical application, we are making an active contribution to climate protection and showing our customers how they can integrate hydrogen," explains Alexander Wilden, owner and CEO of schwartz Group.
The search for the right storage solution
As part of the HyHeat project, the Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy (INW) at Forschungszentrum Jülich is using simulations to determine which storage technology is best suited when hydrogen cannot be supplied via pipelines. The INW team is particularly focused on chemical storage options, in which hydrogen is bound to a larger molecule, making it easier to store and transport. A key aspect here is heat integration.
The heat treatment systems from schwartz Group heat the steel blanks indirectly. The burner flame heats a metal tube from the inside, which then transfers the heat to the steel blank via its outer surface. The hot exhaust gas exits the tube without coming into contact with the blanks. "We want to use the energy in the exhaust gas to release hydrogen from the larger molecule," says Philipp Morsch, who coordinates the scientific support provided by INW. Temperatures of at least 290 °C are required to release hydrogen from the carrier molecule. The system will integrate previously unused waste heat to achieve this.
"One challenge is that the waste heat is not constant, as the burners are frequently switched on and off. We aim to find out which chemical hydrogen storage medium is best suited for these conditions," explains Morsch. Chemical hydrogen storage involves larger carrier molecules such as dimethyl ether, methanol, or LOHCs (liquid organic hydrogen carriers), which bind hydrogen and release it when needed. The discharged carrier molecule remains and can be recharged with hydrogen, similar to the deposit bottle principle. This charging and discharging process is known as hydrogenation and dehydrogenation. Such "deposit bottle" solutions could ensure a reliable hydrogen supply for consumers without pipeline connections in the future.
